Te Tiriti o Waitangi In Aotearoa New Zealand, Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti) is the foundation of all other human rights obligations. Te Tiriti predates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by over a century and foreshadows the same fundamentals of self-determination, equity and full citizenship. As noted earlier, this report should be read alongside the companion report Whakamanahia Te Tiriti, Whakahaumarutia te Tangata focusing specifically on Te Tiriti and the issues experienced by tāngata whaikaha Māori. Te Tiriti requires the government to act in partnership with tāngata whenua (article 1), protect tino rangatiratanga (article 2), advance equity for Māori (article 3) and enable Māori customary practices and beliefs (oral article 4). The Ministry of Justice22 recognise: Māori are disproportionally affected by family violence due to the complex intersection of sociohistorical and contemporary factors. Understanding violence within whānau Māori requires placing it within the social, historical, political and cultural experience of Māori wāhine, tāne, and tamariki. Western approaches to responding to violence have not been effective for Māori. The impacts of colonisation, and the ongoing institutional and societal racism combined are mutually reinforcing and entrench structural barriers with devastating cumulative impacts. These have systematically disenfranchised Māori at all levels.23 A Tiriti-based approach includes that: Māori as Tiriti partners be part of decision-making; Māori are able and supported to exercise rangatiratanga and self-determination to lead solutions; and equity for Māori is central to responses. 18 Human Rights Commission Te Tiriti mandates that tāngata whaikaha Māori must be able to self-define the origins and nature of violence in the social context of colonisation and be resourced and supported to develop and implement their own responses to violence and abuse. This is endorsed in He Puapua (2019), the report of the Working Group detailing how Aotearoa can implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. He Puapua says: The rights and interests of tāngata whaikaha Māori (disabled), wāhine Māori (women), kaumātua (the elderly), rangatahi (youth), tamariki Māori (children), and takatāpui (LGBTIQ+) communities must also be front and centre of both a Declaration plan and engagement.24 Tāngata whaikaha Māori experience multiple barriers and intersecting disadvantages.25 A Tiriti-based approach that considers the particular factors affecting tāngata whaikaha Māori is one way the government can ensure that it does not exacerbate inequalities and leave disabled people even further behind. As expressed during a meeting of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) expert group on indigenous persons with disabilities: “now we are at the table neither as indigenous peoples nor as disabled, but as indigenous persons with disabilities, that changes everything”.26