Together, these human rights standards recognise and affirm the fundamental importance of land to the identity, culture and rights of indigenous peoples. When translated into the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, they highlight the human rights commitments of the New Zealand Government to both protect Māori rights to land and culture and to provide a fully rights-consistent and participatory decision-making framework. Central to the right to participation is the right of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent – one of the most important procedural principles in the Declaration. Disagreements within indigenous communities about whether free, prior and informed consent has been achieved, should be resolved by the indigenous peoples, using their own laws, traditions, customs, and representative institutions. The Government, for its part, should ensure that consultation processes support consensus building, are non-coercive and do not cause division. The human rights principles set out in the Declaration also reinforce traditional Te Ao Māori values and concepts that apply to the land, its guardianship and its cultural and spiritual significance for mana whenua. In summary, the Declaration provides a helpful lens through which the situation at Ihumātao can be viewed, including: • Whether there are adequate legal protections or avenues to ensure that land of considerable cultural and heritage value to mana whenua is adequately protected. • The nature and extent of consultation regarding decisions to approve the housing development under the Special Housing Act and the unavailability of a legal process to challenge the decision. • The nature and extent of consultation regarding decisions to develop the land, particularly negotiations with Fletcher Building. • The nature and extent of discussions about resolving the current situation and finding an appropriate way forward. • Whether previous processes have enabled all mana whenua affected by the housing development to properly participate. 5