• • redress have emerged. These have related to things such as recognition of mana and recognition of cultural taonga; initiatives which aim to give better effect to cultural expertise and the principle of self determination. Examples of this approach are Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success: The Māori Education Strategy 2008-2012 and the introduction of ten marae-based courts and two Pasifika courts for Māori and Pacific young people involved in the youth justice system; and the release of the Constitutional Advisory Panel’s report on the Constitutional Conversation. Challenges remain, however, to fully realising human rights for everyone in New Zealand. Two major earthquakes and numerous aftershocks struck the Canterbury region in September 2010 and February 2011. The earthquakes resulted in significant loss of life and destruction of homes, businesses, community2 and city infrastructure. The State has invested a large amount of resources and efforts in the Canterbury earthquake recovery process. However, significant issues have emerged relating to rights to property, health, housing and participation by affected people in decision making. The Canterbury earthquake recovery process has brought renewed attention to a number of enduring human rights challenges for New Zealand and highlighted the fragility of some human rights protections. On 10 December 2013 the Commission released a report which outlines the human rights challenges raised by the Canterbury earthquakes. The aim of the report is to encourage key influencers and decision-makers to apply a human rights approach, by putting human rights principles at the centre of decision-making in civil emergencies, and more broadly when developing policies.3 Constitutional and Legal Framework (Art. 2) Despite New Zealand’s commitment to its international obligations, in practice not all of the rights contained in the various international treaties to which New Zealand is a party are given explicit domestic legal expression or protection. For example: • • • the rights and freedoms protected by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (BoRA) are set out in Part 2 of the BoRA and reflect some, but not all, of those incorporated in the ICCPR;4 the Canterbury earthquake recovery has highlighted the importance of the right to be free of arbitrary interference with home and property. The right to property links to the realisation of many economic, social and cultural rights as and to the guarantee of rangatiratanga under Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi. It can be traced back to the Magna Carta which became part of New Zealand’s law in 1840.5 Property rights are protected to some extent by the common law and legislation,6 but are not among the rights and freedoms in BoRA; while aspects of social and economic rights are addressed in New Zealand through some legislation, at present economic social and cultural rights are not recognised as fundamental, 2 Community infrastructure includes churches, church halls and community centres. The loss of these facilities has been particularly challenging, increasing social isolation for some groups, especially older people and disabled people. 3 A copy of the report is available here: http://www.hrc.co.nz/key-projects/canterbury-earthquakerecovery/monitoring-human-rights-in-the-canterbury-earthquake-recovery 4 In particular, there is no equivalent of Art. 17 of the ICCPR which guarantees “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, or to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.” The right to found a family, a general right of equality before the law, and additional rights protecting children are other rights which are not included in the BORA. 5 Chapter 29 of the Magna Carta provides “No freeman shall be...disseised of his freehold...but ...by the law of the land.” This aspect of the Magna Carta has been recognised by the Courts over the years (for example, Cooper v Attorney-General [1996] 3 NZLR 480) and is implicit in Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi. 6 Such as the Public Works Act 1981 and the Resource Management Act 1991. Page 2 of 35