Introduction The events currently unfolding at Ihumātao raise important human rights issues. The land, which was confiscated by the New Zealand Government in the 1860s and has been in private ownership ever since, is of considerable cultural, spiritual and historical significance to Māori. 2 These issues are directly relevant to New Zealand’s human rights commitments to Māori under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (“the Declaration”). They also engage broader human rights commitments under international human rights treaties that New Zealand has ratified (signed up to). The Human Rights Commission (“Commission”) has developed this report to provide a human rights perspective on Ihumātao. We consider that New Zealand’s human rights commitments under the Declaration can provide, alongside Te Tiriti o Waitangi (“Te Tiriti”), a compelling and constructive framework within which the dispute can be discussed, addressed and eventually resolved. We issue this report under our statutory mandate under the Human Rights Act 1993 as New Zealand’s national human rights institution and our statutory function to promote the human rights dimensions of Te Tiriti. The report does not endeavour to provide a complete and comprehensive account of international human rights, including the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in relation to Ihumātao. Nor does it seek to make findings or decisions about whether international human rights instruments are being adhered to. Given the complex factual background and the current fluidity of the situation on the ground, it would not be appropriate for us to do so. Instead it is intended to provide a distinctive, constructive contribution to public discussion about Ihumātao. 7