Government’s next report, due in February 2012, include information on references to the Treaty of Waitangi in legislation and recognition of Māori customary title in the foreshore and seabed. Under Article 14 of CERD the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination may consider complaints from individuals if the individual is within the jurisdiction of a state that has recognised the competence of the Committee to receive such complaints. New Zealand has not yet opted into this process. At the end of 2011, it was reviewing this position. The Human Rights Commission has written to the Government urging it to recognise the individual complaints procedure. Recognition would reflect the Government’s commitment to realising freedom from racial discrimination and upholding international human rights standards by providing this avenue to individuals. Within the past five years, New Zealand has added two new international instruments to its existing international human rights commitments. First, New Zealand ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008, submitting its first report to the UN Committee monitoring the Convention in March 2011. The report highlighted developments for Māori and Pacific people with disabilities but noted that they continue to experience disproportionate disadvantage compared to other disabled people. Second, New Zealand pledged its support for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2010. The UN Human Rights Council reviewed New Zealand’s overall human rights performance in 2009 through its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. It made 64 recommendations, of which the Government accepted 38 and conditionally agreed to 18. The Government noted many of the recommendations focused on challenging areas. These included social disparities between Māori and non- Māori, the status of the Treaty of Waitangi in legislation, family violence, equal opportunity, over-representation of Māori in the criminal justice system and ratification of further human rights treaties. Committee on the Elimination of Racial discrimination The Government is due to submit its 18th, 19th and 20th consolidated periodic report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by February 2012. After the report is submitted the Government is required to send a delegation to present the report and answer questions that the Committee may have. Once the Government has presented its report, other organisations will have an opportunity to submit their own reports about racial discrimination in New Zealand. 8