Chief Commissioner’s Foreword The COVID-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented health and human rights challenge globally, and in Aotearoa New Zealand. It has again emphasised the crucial work of the Human Rights Commission and its strategic priorities to: • Make Aotearoa a fully inclusive society, based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, where the rights of people are respected and upheld • Work towards ensuring human rights are better known and understood, relevant and meaningful to people’s everyday lives • Advocate for the elimination of poverty • Reduce violence and abuse in Aotearoa New Zealand by raising particular awareness of its impact on older and disabled people, and migrant communities, and in settings such as the home and residential and care communities • Strive to be a human rights exemplar that fosters excellence in our people and work. In this past year the Commission has deepened its commitment to be an organisation based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Early evidence of this was the report on the Government’s response to COVID-19, Human Rights and Te Tiriti o Waitangi: COVID-19 and Alert Level 4. In it the Commission called on the Government to make Te Tiriti and human rights central to its decisions. The Commission’s work to respond to COVID-19 is covered in more detail in a case study later in this annual report. The world faces a staggering accumulation of crises exacerbated by COVID-19, and Aotearoa New Zealand is not immune. Responding to these challenges is where human rights can play a vital and constructive role. Aotearoa New Zealand was one of the architects of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – the seminal instrument which seeks to dignify individuals, empower communities and inform good policy-making, and for which our government is routinely held accountable in the United Nations. The challenge is to bring this approach home and to implement human rights within our unique national context, including Te Tiriti. The Commission has also continued to pay close attention to the work of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch mosque attacks of 15 March 2019, raising questions about proper process and engagement with affected communities. We also alerted the Government to the need for an improved response from social services to meet the needs of the Muslim community. None of the work would have been possible without the expertise and dedication of the Commission staff, and the clear and strong leadership of chief executives, Pele Walker (Acting) and Rebecca Elvy (from August 2019). In all its work, the Human Rights Commission continues to focus on making human rights relevant and by putting people and communities at the heart of all policy-making and its implementation. Doing this will help Aotearoa New Zealand be fairer, safer, more inclusive, and provide a dignified life for all. Paul Hunt Chief Commissioner 2 Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2019/20