surveillance and other political and civil rights concerns; and the human right to participation, property, adequate housing and health in the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery. Violence and abuse in our communities, particularly family and sexual violence and bullying in schools, is a major human rights issue facing thousands of New Zealanders and we are continuing to advocate for positive change across a range of initiatives. We also continued to advocate for full realisation of the rights of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual and Intersex New Zealanders. The Commission attended the sixth review by the United Nations Committee against Torture of New Zealand’s performance of its obligations under the Convention against Torture. This year the United Nations examined New Zealand’s performance under the CRPD for the first time. The Commission also continued our work on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The past financial year saw the Commission complete a major restructuring, and despite the challenges of working through a number of organisational changes the Commission’s people have continued to perform well and achieve challenging targets. Our sincere thanks to everyone in the organisation for their continued commitment. During this year we farewelled Executive Director Joanna Collinge and welcomed a new Chief Executive, Cynthia Brophy. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Amendment Bill completed its first and second reading in Parliament and has now moved into committee. Na mātou noa nā David Rutherford Chief Commissioner Te Amokapua Dame Susan Devoy Race Relations Commissioner Kaihautū Whakawhanaunga a Iwi Dr Jackie Blue Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Kaihautū Ōritenga Mahi Paul Gibson Disability Rights Commissioner Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga Karen Johansen Commissioner Kaihautū Annual Report 2015 Richard Tankersley Commissioner Kaihautū 7