National Govt to support UN rights declaration

Prime Minister John Key announced today the New Zealand Government has given its support to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The decision to support the declaration was conveyed in a speech today by the Minister of Maori Affairs, Dr Pita Sharples, to the United Nations in New York.

“New Zealand has always supported the overall aspirations of the declaration, and we already implement most provisions contained within it,” says Mr Key.

The statement in support of the declaration:

• acknowledges that Maori hold a special status as tangata whenua, the indigenous people of New Zealand and have an interest in all policy and legislative matters;
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• affirms New Zealand’s commitment to the common objectives of the declaration and the Treaty of Waitangi; and

• reaffirms the legal and constitutional frameworks that underpin New Zealand’s legal system, noting that those existing frameworks define the bounds of New Zealand’s engagement with the declaration.

“As a Government, we can be proud of the fact that we have worked through any difficulties supporting the declaration have presented,” says Mr Key.

“While the declaration is non-binding, it both affirms accepted rights and establishes future aspirations. My objective is to build better relationships between Maori and the Crown, and I believe that supporting the declaration is a small but significant step in that direction.

“This move will not compromise the fundamentals of this Government’s approach to resolving Treaty claims, and its work with Maori and all New Zealanders on the many challenges we face,” says Mr Key.

ENDS

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