Itiiti Rearea,
Kahika Teitei,
Ka Taea
Big change starts small:
the smallest bellbird
is able to climb to the
heights of the tallest
Kahika tree
(Our Race Relations Day theme 2015)
This year we have seen significant improvements in the way we monitor our
human rights performance as a nation with the online publication of New
Zealand’s Human Rights National Plan of Action (NPA). The NPA sets out
our Government’s actions in response to New Zealand's second Universal
Periodic Review (UPR).
Publishing the NPA as an interactive, easily updateable, online tool is an
innovative way of demonstrating how our Government is doing when it
comes to improving human rights for all New Zealanders. This is about
increasing government accountability through transparency. Its publication
is just the beginning; the NPA is also a useful tool for government agencies
and civil society for reporting, monitoring and advocacy. The NPA will be
used as the basis of the mid-point UPR review and will include actions in
response to future United Nations Treaty Body reviews of our Government’s
human rights performance. Internationally, the way the Commission has
linked the publication of the NPA to the conclusion of the UPR cycle is a
world first. It has created significant overseas interest as a new way to
monitor government actions in response to UPR recommendations they
have accepted.
The Commission continued to implement its communications and
engagement strategy by using data visualisation to make our reports more
accessible. Our web-based monitoring and reporting tool, Tracking Equality
at Work (TEW) was published online, and the Crown Entities Good Employer
online report used data visualisation for the second time. The Good
Employer report, TEW, and NPA all contribute to the Commission building
an evidence based, comprehensive picture of human rights progress that’s
accessible and easy to understand. We also launched a refreshed, easy to
navigate website that provides an engaging platform for our tracking and
reporting tools. It integrates all of our digital content (website, newsletter,
social media, video) showcasing the Commission’s human rights work across
many platforms.
In the face of an unprecedented number of displaced people in the world,
this year’s Race Relations Day saw the Commission call on our Government
to increase New Zealand’s refugee quota for the first time in 27 years.
Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae hosted a Race Relations Day
celebration at Government House in Auckland for migrant and refugee
youth and their families.
The Commission continued its work co-ordinating the Independent
Monitoring Mechanism for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (CRPD).
The Disability Commissioner has worked with partners to improve the rights
of disabled people, with a particular focus on the inclusion in schools of
disabled students, the rights of disabled people to make their own decisions
(with support), and ending long-term seclusion practices in health facilities.
The Commission continued to advocate for respect for human rights
across a wide range of issues, including race relations; counter terrorism;
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Human Rights Commission