Mötika Tangata më Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Mate Korona më te Noho Rähui i Aotearoa Taumata 4 Conclusion Human rights do not provide magic solutions to grave crises, but they have a constructive contribution to make. They embody values - the importance of partnership, participation, protection, safety, dignity, decency, fairness, freedom, equality, respect, wellbeing, community and responsibility - which provide a compass for the way forward. Increasingly operational, human rights can help to both chart and implement an effective, equitable, balanced, sustainable medium and long-term response to COVID-19. They can help to strike fair balances and identify proportionate responses. In times of emergency, those in authority are granted sweeping new discretionary powers and, in these circumstances, robust accountability becomes vitally important. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the media deserve credit for holding government accountable during Level 4. The Epidemic Response Committee has also done a good job. Those exercising discretionary powers cannot hold themselves accountable. In these circumstances, nimble, effective, independent accountability mechanisms have a crucial role to play in Level 3 and beyond. In the context of COVID-19, we urge the government to renew and reinvigorate its commitment to Te Tiriti and to work in partnership with Mäori and jointly devise and implement strategies in Level 3 and the recovery phase. Human rights and responsibilities, and respect for Te Tiriti o Waitangi, should be hallmarks of the country’s recovery from the pandemic. 5