HUMAN RIGHTS IN NEW ZEALAND 20 1 0 Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 3 (plain text) the application of criminal law or by reason of mental illness, vagrancy, drug addiction or immigration control. The chapter on the rights of people who are detained examines deprivation of liberty in more detail. Introduction Tïmatatanga The right to security is closely associated with the right The right to life, liberty and security of person is made up protects the physical integrity of its citizens from external of three distinct but strongly interconnected elements. threats, such as invasion, terrorism, and biosecurity risks This chapter focusses on the right to security of the person, to human health. Individual security is how the State but an understanding of all three elements is necessary. protects the physical integrity of its citizens from abuse by The right to life is the supreme right of human beings. 1 official authorities and other citizens. It is basic to all human rights, and without it all other The right to security of the person protects physical rights are without meaning. The term ‘life’ has been integrity, which has traditionally taken the narrow focus interpreted widely by courts internationally to include of protection from direct physical trauma. However, to liberty. The right to security includes national and individual security. National security is how the State the right to livelihood, health, education, environment emerging standards are beginning to include providing for: and dignity. 2 The State has a duty to protect human life the necessities of life (such as sustenance or healthcare); against unwarranted actions by public authorities as the right to social security; and the protection of health well as by private persons. 3 and safety, particularly in employment .These issues are The right to liberty protects the physical liberty of the addressed in other chapters and so are not included here. person through a cluster of interrelated rights, including: Security of the person also raises issues about state or • the right not to be deprived of liberty except on such private surveillance of citizens. The Privacy Commissioner grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are specifically deals with impingements on a citizen’s privacy. established by law These issues will not be discussed in more detail here. • the right not to be arbitrarily arrested, detained or exiled • the right to be secure from unreasonable search and seizure, including of the person • the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment. The right to liberty may be invoked in respect of all deprivations of liberty, whether arising in relation to The right to refuse medical treatment is also part of the right to security. Some jurisdictions, when considering the right to refuse medical treatment, have placed a particular importance on the concept of informed consent. It might be inferred from this that protection of integrity of the person extends beyond the physical to other elements. While the right to ‘freedom from fear’, set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 4 is 1 United Nations Human Rights Committee (1982), general comment 6: The right to life, para 1 (16th Session: HRI/GEN/1/Rev.7). Accessed 22 November 2010 from http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/ca12c3a4ea8d6c53c1256d500056e56f/$FILE/G0441302.pdf 2 However, in Lawson v Housing New Zealand (1997) 4 LRC 369, the High Court of New Zealand observed that “it requires an unduly strained interpretation to conclude that the right not to be deprived of life encompasses a right not to be charged market rent for accommodation without regard to affordability and impact on a tenant’s living standards”. 3 There have been differing interpretations internationally of whether the right to life applies to the unborn child. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) declares that ”every human being” has the inherent right to life while in respect of other rights the expressions used are “everyone”, ”every person”, “every child” or “every citizen”. This use of different terminology has raised the question of whether “every human being” has a more expansive meaning than usually attributed to “every person” and in particular, whether it also includes an unborn child. There have also been differing views internationally on whether the right to life includes the right to die. 4 The text of the international human rights instruments is accessible online at the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: http://www.unhchr.ch/ Most of New Zealand’s human rights obligations are summarised in Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2003), Handbook on International Human Rights (2nd ed, Wellington: MFAT) A mountain biker takes a moment to savour the view near Oxford, Canterbury. 107