Popularising human rights We will work towards making human rights better known and more widely understood, relevant and meaningful among the whole population of Aotearoa New Zealand. We wish to convey and demonstrate that human rights can be made real, practical, operational and meaningful. Rationale People are more likely to exercise their human rights and to respect the human rights of other people when they know what these rights are and feel empowered to expect them. Human rights language can be legalistic and technical at times, so we have an obligation to use language and media that are accessible to the widest possible range of people and to do our very best to make sure they know it is there. Awareness of the Human Rights Commission and the services we offer is relatively low, especially among communities most likely to experience discrimination or harassment. Interventions The Human Rights Commission will: » help all people in Aotearoa New Zealand know and understand their human rights and to do this in ways that are meaningful to them » help all people in Aotearoa New Zealand know their human rights responsibilities to each other » help communities and individuals to be empowered to advocate, action and claim their human rights at an individual, community, local government, central government and national level » promote public understanding of human rights and the Commission’s role encompassing civil, political, economic (i.e. workers’), social and cultural rights, including the right to a healthy environment and indigenous peoples’ rights » 14 help to build human rights communities. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION