marriage of 16 and 17-year-olds in exceptional circumstances.27 The “exceptional circumstances” criteria recommended by the CEDAW Committee are not reflected by the relevant Marriage Act provisions. 28. As noted above, the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 (formerly the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act 1989) has brought the age thresholds of the youth justice and child protection jurisdiction into general conformity with the Convention. However, the Commission notes that the minimum age of criminal responsibility in New Zealand under the Crimes Act 1961 remains below international human rights standards.28 This issue will be elaborated on in Section I: Special Protection Measures. Definition of the child: Recommendations The Commission recommends that the Committee seek the following information from the New Zealand government: (a) Information on the number of times and circumstances under which a Family Court judge has approved a marriage involving a 16 or 17-year-old since the enactment of the Minors (Court Consent to Relationships) Legislation Act 2018. (b) The government’s position on whether it intends to amend the Marriage Act to: C. i. Restrict the minimum legal age of marriage to 18 years in all circumstances; or ii. Introduce the “exceptional circumstances” criteria recommended by the CEDAW Committee. General principles Non-discrimination 29. Māori, disabled and Pacific children continue to experience structural discrimination across several socio-economic indicia. The recent Māori Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki (New Zealand’s child protection agency) found that the proportion of Māori and Pacific children entering into state care has increased by 7% between 2009/10 and 2018/19.29 As at 30 June 2019, 68% of the 6450 children in state care under a custody order identified as Māori or Māori/Pacific.30 The Child Poverty Monitor 2019: Technical Report also reported disparate outcomes for Māori or Pacific children across a range of indicia regarding health, mortality, household income and standard of living.31 30. The report noted some positive progress, including that Māori and Pacific students showed the steepest increases among ethnic groups in achieving the (secondary school) NCEA Level 2 and University Entrance qualifications.32 Conversely, a 2017 survey of almost 1700 school students by 27 CEDAW Committee, Concluding observations on the eighth periodic report of New Zealand, 25 July 2018, paragraph 48(e) 28 Crimes Act 1961, section 2 29 Ko Te Wā Whakawhiti, It’s Time For Change - A Māori Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki – Report, Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency, 2020, https://whanauora.nz/assets/6f126cc001/ORANGA-TAMARIKI-REVIEW-REPORT.pdf, p 21 30 ibid 31 http://nzchildren.co.nz/ 32 ibid, see Figure 51 8