HUMAN RIGHTS IN NEW ZEALAND 20 1 0 based solely on needs, rather than on human rights. committee. Similarly, the impact of international human However, needs and rights are not mutually exclusive, and rights in New Zealand is directly related to the vitality of complement each other in a number of ways. the national civil-society community and their knowledge A human rights approach stresses the moral importance of the interests at stake and emphasises the priority they should be accorded in the allocation of resources, the status of the rights-holder (as an autonomous and empowered holder of entitlements), and the prescriptive (rather than merely aspirational) nature of the duties imposed on the state with respect to realisation. 21 A human rights approach also prioritises the rights of the most vulnerable groups. While the development of a human rights approach to social policy will still be subject to limitations of progressive realisation and resource constraints, it emphasises the importance of the relevant right. This can influence its priority in terms of resources, as well as ensure principled decisions about resource allocation and progressive realisation that take account of human rights standards. The role of civil society Civil society organisations (CSOs) play a critical role as watchdogs of human rights. The UN has made strong of human rights law. 22 For example, the Human Rights Foundation and Amnesty International New Zealand played a role in promoting the case of Ahmed Zaoui; 23 various women’s organisations have had a significant part in the CEDAW reporting process; and Mäori groups have a major impact on how New Zealand’s compliance with CERD is viewed, as well as on perceptions of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. National human rights institutions NHRIs have an internationally recognised role in advocating for, contributing to the implementation of and monitoring the delivery of human rights within their own jurisdiction. Based on the UN Paris Principles, 24 NHRIs are considered to offer higher levels of accessibility than the courts. 25 In recent years, NHRIs have developed networks to share information and promote their work. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) has a national institutions unit designed to foster the establishment and development of NHRIs in a variety of countries, statements about the importance of CSOs, and some are and acts as the national secretariat to the International accredited to the UN. Arguably, without the monitoring Co-ordinating Committee (ICC), which grants accredita- of CSOs, international standards and process could tion. The Chief Commissioner of the New Zealand Human remain unobserved. The persistent campaigning by CSOs Rights Commission is the current ICC Chair. (for example, the initiatives which led to the banning of land mines) has played a large part in the community of nations agreeing to the international code of rights, which has evolved over recent decades. In New Zealand, CSOs contribute to, and monitor compliance with, international conventions by participating in the preparation of New Zealand’s periodic reports to the UN committees. CSOs may also provide independent New Zealand’s international commitments New Zealand has actively supported the development of international human rights law through the UN. It played a significant role in the deliberations on the declaration in 1948 and, most recently, chaired the Working Party on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. commentaries on the country reports and monitor the New Zealand has ratified most of the major treaties with implementation of the concluding observations of the few reservations, and is committed to removing most 21 Geiringer C and Palmer M (2007), ‘Human Rights and Social Policy in New Zealand’, Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 30, pp 12–41 22 Bedggood M (2010), ‘The International Law Dimension of Human Rights in New Zealand’, in Bell S (ed), Brookers Human Rights Law (Wellington: Brookers), para IHRL1.3 23 See Zaoui v Attorney-General (no. 2) [2005] NZSC 38, [2006] 1 NZLR 289 24 The Paris Principles were established in 1991 at a meeting of NHRIs in Paris and later adopted by the UN General Assembly. The principles are broad-ranging, but establish certain fundamental criteria which NHRIs are required to meet to obtain accreditation. 25 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2008), p 70 19