SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION 1 The New Zealand Human Rights Commission (“Commission”) is New Zealand’s National Human Rights Institution (“NHRI”). It is accredited as an “A” status NHRI. It is an independent Crown Entity pursuant to the Crown Entities Act 2004 and derives its statutory mandate from the Human Rights Act 1993 (“HRA”). The long title to the HRA states it is intended to provide better protection of human rights in New Zealand in general accordance with United Nations human rights Covenants and Conventions. 2 The Commission welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to the Human Rights Committee (“Committee”) in relation to New Zealand’s 6th periodic review under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”) 3 The major political and civil human rights issues in New Zealand relate to violence or the threat of violence, particularly family violence, sexual violence and the threat of violence from terrorists; and discrimination that sees more Māori and more disabled people in our prisons. Significant research and work is being led by the Government to reduce family and sexual violence, balance the political and civil rights in counterterrorism activities and eliminating the bias that the Government has accepted is present in the criminal justice system. The Government’s delegation should be in a position to update the Committee at the review of New Zealand on the steps the Government is taking. These include major work on family and sexual violence under the leadership of the Ministers of Justice and Social Development; the report of the surveillance and intelligence due in early March; and the expansion of the Police strategy – The Turning of the Tide - to include the whole Justice Sector. These issues are addressed in sections 4, 6 and 8 of this submission. 4 The other major ICCPR human rights issue in New Zealand is discrimination (Article 2). Apart from the discrimination in the criminal justice system mentioned above, the effect of this discrimination is seen in unequal realisation of economic and social rights – particularly adequate standard of living (income and housing), education and health. These issues are addressed in section 5 of this submission. 5 The submission has been presented according to thematic issues identified in the Committee’s LOIPR. For each thematic area, the Commission has identified the relevant articles of the Convention and paragraphs of the LOIPR, as well as providing a summary of the key issues and proposed recommended actions. 6 A full list of proposed recommendations is attached as Appendix 1. Page 4 of 93 Human Rights Commission submission to the Human Rights Committee in relation to New Zealand’s 6th periodic review under the ICCPR