Tracey Whare Trustee Aotearoa Indigenous Rights Trust c/- 125 Perry Street MASTERTON
6 October 2004
Hon Phil Goff Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Parliament Buildings WELLINGTON
Dear Mr Goff
Consultation on the United Nations draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
1. The Aotearoa Indigenous Rights Trust requests the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (“MFAT”) to initiate
robust consultation with Maori iwi, hapu, whanau, organisations and individuals on its proposed amendments to the
Sub- Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights text of the draft Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (“draft Declaration”).
2. The reasons for recommending consultation include:
consultation is required by the Treaty of Waitangi; the draft Declaration itself includes an indigenous peoples’ right
to consultation when issues are considered by government that impact on indigenous peoples; the New Zealand
government’s credibility when suggesting amendments to the draft Declaration at the United Nations Working Group
of the draft Declaration (“WGDD”) is seriously undermined when other governmental and indigenous delegations
learn that there was no consultation whatsoever with Maori iwi, hapu, whanau, organisations and individuals on
the proposed amendments; and until there is consultation with Maori iwi, hapu, whanau, organisations and
individuals, it is very difficult for Maori delegates at the WGDD to comment on, or respond to, any suggested
amendments to the draft Declaration. 3. The consultation should take place before the next meeting of the
WGDD, which starts on 29 November 2004.
4. Consultation with Maori iwi, hapu, whanau, organisations and individuals must be robust. We recommend that
MFAT send out:
copies of the draft Declaration; the government’s proposed amendments to the draft Declaration; and information about
the process involved in the drafting of the draft Declaration including the work completed by the United Nations
Working Group on Indigenous Populations and the process the draft Declaration would need to follow before adoption by
the United Nations General Assembly.
5. We recommend at least a day hosted by government in which it:
presents the background to the draft Declaration; presents its suggested amendments; and explains the United Nations
process that the draft Declaration must go through for adoption by the United Nations.
6. There should be an opportunity for Maori individuals who have attended the WGDD to, in private, present
their perspective on negotiations on the draft Declaration thus far coupled with indigenous caucus perspectives. It
could be followed by a session for all Maori iwi, hapu, whanau and organisation representatives and individuals to
discuss the government’s proposed amendments in private to assess whether there is room to accommodate the
government’s concerns. At the end of the day, it would be appropriate to allow time for an open-discussion between
government officials and Maori iwi, hapu, whanau and organisation representatives and individuals.
7. Following the consultation day, we recommend allowing Maori iwi, hapu, whanau and organisation representatives
and individuals time to devise their own respective responses to the government’s proposed changes to the draft
Declaration. These could then be forwarded to the government (if they feel it appropriate) or Maori individuals who
plan to be present at the WGDD meeting in November and can present their views.
8. The trustees recognise that the time frames for robust consultation are tight. However, this problem is of the
government’s making.
9. We will be disseminating this letter widely to our Maori networks.
10. We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Tracey Whare Trustee Aotearoa Indigenous Rights Trust
ENDS