Queen Street, Auckland during COVID-19, Alert Level 3. Photo courtesy of RNZ. Case Study: Ensuring human rights and Te Tiriti in the COVID-19 response COVID-19 was an unprecedented health crisis and human rights emergency for Aotearoa New Zealand. It was an especially difficult time for older people, disabled people, those with underlying health problems, tangata whenua and people living in poverty. History demonstrates the severe and unequal impact of introduced disease on tangata whenua. Human rights place binding obligations upon the government to abide by the commitments it has made. These commitments are especially crucial in times of emergency. Human rights also place responsibilities on individuals to their communities. With this in mind, the crisis was an opportunity to affirm human rights as not just about ‘I’ and ‘me’, but also about ‘we’ and ‘us’ reflecting our collective responsibilties, as a community.1 1 16 While the Government’s approach to COVID-19 had some significant shortcomings, it acted decisively in protecting the rights to health and life and is to be commended for ensuring the health and lives of so many. Our healthcare and protection system performed well, especially when compared to other high-income countries. New Zealanders responded with dignity and care for one another in response to the Prime Minister’s call to ‘be kind’. In letters to the Prime Minister and Ministers, and in public statements and reports, we called for human rights and Te Tiriti o Waitangi to be at the centre of the Government’s response. Our Ahi Kaa team also contributed by developing a framework for a Te Tiriti and human rights approach to COVID-19. https://www.hrc.co.nz/news/human-rights-and-duties-community/ Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2019/20