50 S e cti o n One – General Socio-economic inequalities for Mäori and incomplete It recommended that New Zealand: redress for past breaches of the Treaty mean that • continue the public discussion over the status of the today’s children do not share equally in the realisation Treaty of Waitangi, with a view to its possible entrench- of their human rights. This is especially significant given ment as a constitutional norm demographic projections, which indicate that the Mäori population has a younger age structure. 19 • ensure affected communities participate in reviews of targeted policies and programmes, and inform the This section provides an overview rather than a compre- public about the importance of special measures to hensive picture of the status of human rights and the ensure equality Treaty in New Zealand today. The concluding section • ensure the 2008 cut-off date for the lodging of provides an outline of what has changed since 2004, historical Treaty claims does not unfairly bar legitimate an assessment of current status, and what the areas for claims action are now. International reviews of New Zealand’s human rights performance In 2009, New Zealand was the subject of a Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Council on its human rights performance. Many of the recommendations New Zealand received focussed on the Treaty relationship and were drawn from the 2007 recommendations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)’s. These in turn drew on the 2005 report of the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights, who visited New Zealand in the wake of the Foreshore and Seabed Act controversy. The Special Rapporteur welcomed New Zealand’s moves toward a bicultural approach based on the Treaty, but noted with concern the increasing promotion of an assimilationist position. He found that the controversy reflected the lack of constitutional recognition of the inherent rights of Mäori, and he called for responsible debate on constitu- • ensure the Treaty of Waitangi is incorporated into domestic legislation where relevant • consider granting the Waitangi Tribunal binding powers to adjudicate Treaty matters • renew Crown–Tangata Whenua dialogue on the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 • include references to the Treaty in the new New Zealand curriculum • address the over-representation of Mäori and Pacific peoples in the criminal justice system. 21 In 2009, the Universal Periodic Review recommendations reiterated a number of the CERD recommendations. These included the need for public discussion on the constitutional status of the Treaty, addressing socio-economic disparities and possible bias in the criminal justice system. New Treaty-related recommendations in 2009 included reviewing New Zealand’s stance on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and engaging with Mäori on tional issues. 20 the realisation of indigenous rights. 22 During its most recent review of New Zealand in 2007, The Crown-Tangata Whenua CERD welcomed the reduction of socio-economic relationship disparities between Mäori and Pacific peoples and the After the 2008 election, the National Party entered into a rest of the population, and the significant increase in the confidence-and-supply agreement with the Mäori Party, in number of Mäori and non-Mäori who had proficiency in which both parties agreed to act in government according te reo. to the Treaty. Mäori Party leaders were given prominent 19 Statistics NZ projections. Cited in Te Puni Kökiri (2007), For Maori Future Makers (Wellington: Te Puni Kökiri), pp 7–8. Accessible online at http://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/in-print/our-publications/publications/for-maori-future-makers/download/tpk-demotrends-2007-en.pdf 20 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous People: New Zealand, 62nd session of the Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/2006/78/Add.3. Accessed 15 September 2010 from http://www2.ohchr.org/english/ issues/indigenous/rapporteur/vists/htm 21 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2007). Concluding observations New Zealand. CERD/C/NZL/CO/17 22 United Nations Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (2009), Universal Periodic Review – New Zealand. Accessed 10 December 2009 from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/PAGES/NZSession5.aspx