Maori Party welcomes new UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights
Press statement, Hon Tariana Turia 31 March 2008
The Maori Party has welcomed the appointment of James Anaya as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of fundamental
freedoms and human rights of indigenous people.
Co-leader Hon Tariana Turia said this will be the first time an indigenous person has held this position.
“The Special Rapporteurs of the UN system bring an international perspective, free of local bias, to the issues they
investigate under their mandate,” she said.
“The importance of this particular position for tangata whenua, and all New Zealanders, was highlighted by the visit of
James Anaya’s predecessor, Rodolfo Stavenhagen, to investigate the treaty settlements process; the Foreshore and Seabed
Act; policies designed to reduce social inequalities; education, housing and health care for tangata whenua; and the
cultural revitalization of Maori.
Rodolfo Stavenhagen’s report found the confiscation of foreshore and seabed to have breached the human rights of tangata
whenua – something many local experts apparently found difficult to recognise – and described “the underlying
institutional and structural discrimination that Maori have long suffered”. He recommended more resourcing for the
Waitangi Tribunal; better support for Maori education; and he encouraged political and public leaders not to use
language that may incite racial or ethnic intolerance.
“Rodolfo Stavenhagen was a staunch advocate for indigenous peoples, and we salute his contribution to the UN over many
years. James Anaya’s appointment this week is a sign of the growing number of indigenous people who have become world
experts in a wide range of fields,” said Mrs Turia.
“Professor Anaya is considered a pre-eminent expert on indigenous peoples in international law. He has been a
long-standing participant in meetings on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, so we can have full
confidence in his opinions and advice to the United Nations,” said Mrs Turia.
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(See attached CV.)
S. JAMES ANAYA is the Samuel M. Fegtly Professor of Law at the University of Arizona, where he teaches and conducts
research in the areas of international law and organizations, constitutional law, and issues concerning indigenous
peoples.
He received his B.A. from the University of New Mexico (1980) and his J.D. from Harvard (1983). Among his numerous
publications is his book, Indigenous Peoples in International Law (Oxford University Press, 1996). Professor Anaya was
on the law faculty at the University of Iowa from 1988 to 1999, and he has been a visiting professor at Harvard Law
School, the University of Toronto, and the University of Tulsa.
Prior to becoming a full time law professor, he practiced law in Albuquerque, New Mexico, representing Native American
peoples and other minority groups in regard to land, voting rights, and civil rights issues. He has also been an
Associate Justice for the Court of Appeals for the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe, and has represented Indigenous groups
from many parts of North and Central America before courts and international organizations.
He serves as special counsel to the Indian Law Resource Center, a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization with
consultative status at the United Nations, and in that capacity he successfully litigated the landmark Indigenous land
rights case of Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
ENDS