Human rights and te Tiriti framework In Aotearoa New Zealand, te Tiriti o Waitangi provides a constitutional foundation upon which the Crown’s human rights obligations rest. Te Tiriti is the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand and established a relationship, akin to partnership, between the Crown and Māori rangatira. It affirms the rights that Tangata Whenua had prior to 1840. The right to work, the right to equal pay for equal work and the right to a decent income and working conditions are rights enshrined in the UDHR (Article 23). The right to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work, including fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value, and an adequate standard of living is recognised in Article 7 and Article 11 of the ICESCR. Te Tiriti also gives tauiwi (non-Māori) and the Crown a set of rights and responsibilities that enabled them to settle in Aotearoa New Zealand. Upholding te Tiriti and addressing the legacy of colonisation in Aotearoa New Zealand, including structural racism, will not only benefit Tangata Whenua but also all tauiwi, including Pacific peoples. In addition, Aotearoa New Zealand has ratified several international conventions that protect the rights of ethnic minorities from discrimination in employment matters and promote equality of opportunity in employment. These include the: In addition to its Tiriti commitments, the New Zealand Government is bound in international law to protect human rights. • United Nations (UN) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and associated Optional Protocols (ICCPR) – collectively known as the International Bill of Human Rights – provide the framework for the other international human rights treaties that protect and affirm the rights of particular population groups. • ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention • UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women • UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Domestically, the Human Rights Act 1993 prohibits discrimination in employment matters, including on the grounds of ethnicity, national origin or race. Business and human rights The focus of the Inquiry was on the experience of workers in the private sector. It is increasingly recognised that business enterprises have an important role to play in the upholding of human rights as outlined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.9 The three core principles of these guidelines are grounded in the recognition of: • the state’s existing obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights and fundamental freedoms organs of society performing specialised functions required to comply with all applicable laws and to respect human rights • the need for rights and obligations to be matched to appropriate and effective remedies when breached. We have further outlined the international and domestic human rights obligations relevant to this Inquiry in Appendix Two. • the role of business enterprises as specialised 9 Ruggie, John. “Protect, Respect and Remedy: A Framework for Business and Human Rights – Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises.” Voices of Pacific peoples 19