The Human Rights Commission has achieved a key objective in the past year, to retain “A” status accreditation as a National Human Rights institution with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI). This status is the highest recognition of independence that a national human rights institution can achieve and provides the right to speak at the United Nations and to make written statements for inclusion in the official record of meetings. The Commission is required to apply for re-accreditation every five years. Successful achievement of “A” status accreditation sends a strong signal internationally about New Zealand’s commitment to effectively promote and protect human rights. In the past year we increased our focus on business and human rights, recognising that the business and human rights landscape has changed. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights outline steps businesses should take to embed human rights into their daily operations and provides a framework for managing human rights risks. Our partnerships with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and major corporations in New Zealand were developed for investors and business and a programme of events designed to strengthen New Zealand’s corporate human rights practice. New Zealand businesses are increasingly recognising that respecting human rights is not just the right thing to do – it’s also good for business. Businesses also need to consider the rights of people in every country their business impacts. In March 2016, we published the Business of Human Rights, an overview for business on how to be good corporate citizens. Many of the business-related complaints we deal with are about employment and pre-employment discrimination. The Commission also published the AÐZ Pre-Employment Guide to Human Rights for Employers and Employees, a set of guidelines aimed at ensuring equality and fairness for all job applicants, regardless of characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, age, disability and religion. Harmonious Relations Working with Government and stakeholders, the Commission advocated for an increase in the annual refugee resettlement quota, alongside a commitment to alternative forms of admission to people of refugee backgrounds. The quota was increased by the New Zealand Government in 2016 from 750 to 1000. Development of our first nationwide anti-racism campaign was initiated during the period of this report, with financial assistance from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The campaign aims to reduce the proportion of recent migrants who have experienced discrimination and will work towards creating a culture in which racist attitudes, statements and actions are considered unacceptable 6 Human Rights Commission