Overview: Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination considers report of New Zealand
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today completed its consideration of the combined eighteenth
to twentieth periodic report of New Zealand on its implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Presenting the report, Judith Collins, Minister of Justice and Minister for Ethnic Affairs, said that New Zealand took
pride in the promotion of human rights and was taking measures to promote the equal treatment of all its citizens,
reduce barriers to education, establish a comprehensive resettlement strategy for refugees, facilitate the integration
of Maori in society, and address the disparities among different ethnic groups in collaboration with local communities.
Steps were also being taken to reduce the number of working-age persons receiving benefits by 2017 and to reduce the
incidence of offending and re-offending among Maori and Pacific people. An independent Constitutional Advisory Panel was
currently reviewing New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements, including Maori representation in Parliament and in local
government.
Committee Experts noted that New Zealand had implemented most of the recommendations made during the last review; and
asked questions about the status of the Treaty of Waitangi in domestic law, steps taken to tackle the problem of
structural discrimination against Maori and Pacific people, the vulnerable state of the Maori and other community
languages, the problem of hate language, and the situation of migrant workers. The Committee also raised issues related
to the protection of Maori rights, the transposition into domestic legislation of the Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, the effects of Christchurch earthquakes and of the global economic crisis on vulnerable groups, the
over-representation of Maori in New Zealand’s prison population, and disparities among different ethnic groups in
education and employment.
In concluding remarks, Carlos Vázquez, Country Rapporteur for New Zealand, said that the human rights situation in New
Zealand was very positive and that remaining challenges were being addressed. He noted that there were many examples of
best practices which would be recommended to other countries. The Committee recommended that close attention was paid to
continued consultations with the Maori community on matters affecting them.
Judith Collins, Minister of Justice and Minister for Ethnic Affairs, thanked the Committee for their insightful
questions and said that New Zealand pursued an evolutionary and sometimes revolutionary approach in its fight against
racial discrimination.
The delegation of New Zealand included representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry for Ethnic Affairs,
the Ministry of Maori Development, the Crown Law Office, and the Permanent Mission of New Zealand to the United Nations
Office at Geneva.
The next public meeting of the Committee will take place at 3 p.m. on Friday, 22 February, when it will begin its
consideration of the combined thirteenth and fourteenth periodic report of the Dominican Republic (CERD/C/DOM/13-14).
Report
The combined eighteenth to twentieth periodic report of New Zealand can be read here (CERT/NZL/18-20).
Presentation of the Report
JUDITH COLLINS, Minister of Justice and Minister for Ethnic Affairs, said that New Zealand, a multi-racial and
multi-cultural nation, took pride in the promotion of human rights and the equal treatment of all its citizens. The
ancestors of the indigenous Maori had arrived in New Zealand a thousand years ago and by the late 18th century there had
been over 100,000 Maori in the country. Europeans had started settling in New Zealand around the same time and continued
to arrive in increasing numbers during the 19th century. The British Crown, which gained the right to govern New
Zealand, had guaranteed Maori full protection of their interests and status. In 1867 the Parliament had established four
Maori seats to give Maori a direct say in the political life of New Zealand. The Maori seats remained in Parliament
today and the Treaty of Waitangi was recognized as the nation’s founding document.
In 1975 New Zealand had established the Waitangi Tribunal to hear Maori grievances against the Crown for breaches of the
Treaty of Waitangi. Resolution of Maori grievances was achieved through Treaty settlements, which were agreements
between the Crown and Maori claimant groups and included cultural, financial or commercial redress. Since 1975, 59 Deeds
of Settlement had been signed between the Crown and Maori. In 2008, New Zealand set the goal of settling all historical
Treaty of Waitangi claims by 2014.
In the mid-1960s, persons from the Pacific had started coming to New Zealand and today the country’s Pacific population
was around 230,000. New Zealand’s immigration policy had changed in 1975 and 1987 and the primary criterion for
admitting immigrants was qualifications, not race. A large flow of migrants had arrived from Asia and New Zealand’s
largest city, Auckland, was today home to around 200 different ethnic groups. Many New Zealanders identified with more
than one ethnicity and inter-ethnic marriages were a common phenomenon.
For New Zealand the Pacific island region was integral to its national identity and foreign policy, and a considerable
proportion of New Zealand’s diplomatic resources were invested in the region. The maintenance of democracy, the rule of
law, and human rights in the Pacific region mattered greatly to New Zealand. Through the New Zealand Aid Programme the
country contributed to the work of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which maintained
two regional offices in the Pacific.
New Zealand was reducing barriers to education by funding schools to waive primary school fees in the Pacific, which had
led to increased primary school enrolment. Sustainable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation to Pacific
peoples to support improved public health and promote sustainable development.
Moreover, New Zealand remained actively engaged in peacekeeping and reconstruction missions in Afghanistan, Solomon
Islands and East Timor. New Zealand police was part of the Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme, along with
New Zealand Aid and the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police.
A comprehensive resettlement strategy for refugees had recently been put in place and 750 persons per year were accepted
for resettlement. Women at risk, persons with disabilities, and persons with family already in New Zealand were allowed
to settle in the country.
New Zealand was a constitutional monarchy and its political system was a unitary parliamentary democracy with a single
government and legal system. Citizens could vote once they had been residents for a year. Maori representation in
Parliament was a reflection of New Zealand’s population and underscored the country’s commitment to Maori integration.
An independent Constitutional Advisory Panel was currently reviewing aspects of New Zealand’s constitutional
arrangements, including Maori representation in Parliament and in local government, and the role of the Treaty of
Waitangi within constitutional arrangements.
New Zealand was committed to addressing disparities between different ethnic groups in collaboration with local
communities. Aware that Maori and Pacific peoples tended to fare worse than the general population in the areas of
health, education and employment, New Zealand had identified a set of key result areas for the public service under the
banner “Better Public Services” and aimed to reduce crime, boost skills and employment, and support vulnerable children.
In the area of health, in particular, immunization had been prioritized and assistance was offered to pregnant Maori
women so they would enrol with a physician before their babies were born. New Zealand had allocated 24 million dollars
to reduce the incidence of rheumatic fever. Other health problems targeted included mental illness, cancer, diabetes and
obesity.
In the area of education, New Zealand had a high performing education system, although the gap between high and low
performing students was very wide. The pattern was gradually changing and the rate of participation of Maori and Pacific
people in education was increasing. National standards had been established to set clear expectations for students to
meet in reading, writing and mathematics during their first eight years at school. Specific targets had been set to
improve educational outcomes and new approaches were developed to improve the way in which the needs of vulnerable
families were met. The teaching of Maori language and culture was part of the general school curriculum, and Maori was
one of New Zealand’s official languages, along with English and sign languages.
New Zealand’s economy had been affected by the global financial crisis, which was reflected in a sharp increase in
unemployment. Maori and Pacific people were particularly affected by unemployment, which created a dependency on State
welfare. New Zealand aimed to reduce the number of working-age persons receiving benefits by 30 per cent by 2017. In
2011 a Youth Employment Package had been established to promote on-the-job training and to subsidize employers who
employed young persons in permanent positions.
The over-representation of Maori and Pacific persons in the criminal justice system, both as prison population and as
victims of crime, was a serious matter of concern. Specific programmes were in place to address those complex issues in
collaboration with the wider community, with a particular focus on reducing offending and re-offending among Maori and
Pacific people.
Funding for alcohol and drug treatment services had been increased in order to cut down on the proportion of crime
attributable to drug and alcohol abuse. The Adult Alcohol and Drug Treatment Court gave offenders the opportunity to
confront drug and alcohol dependency.
New Zealand’s police had adopted policies to recruit from ethnic groups and minorities. Prisons were improving the way
in which they responded to ethnic diversity and prisoners were strongly encouraged to engage in formal training and
employment activities.
Asians were more likely than other ethnic groups to face discrimination and harassment in their employment setting. The
Office of Ethnic Affairs sought to address discrimination in employment settings by offering strategic advice on how to
manage diversity in the workplace through intercultural awareness and communication training.
The Supreme Court was currently considering a case put forward by the New Zealand Maori Council, challenging the Crown’s
plan for the partial sale of shares in the Mighty River Power Company. The Crown was committed to honouring its
obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and would continue to do so through the mixed ownership model.
Questions by Experts
CARLOS VÁZQUEZ, Country Rapporteur for New Zealand, said that New Zealand counted with a developed framework for dealing
with human rights issues and had implemented most of the recommendations the Committee had made during the last review.
Mr. Vázquez noted that the Convention was not automatically transposed into domestic legislation but had to be
incorporated in national law by statute, and requested additional information on the ongoing constitutional reform.
The status of the Treaty of Waitangi in domestic law was another issue of concern, especially since the statutes
relating to the Convention were not binding. The 2014 aspirational deadline for receiving complaints relating to the
Waitangi Tribunal might not allow enough time for the filing of all complaints. Had New Zealand considered adopting the
practice of a formal written statement whenever the recommendations of the Waitangi Tribunal were not adopted? The
violation of Maori water-related rights and of their right to consultation was a serious issue and further details were
requested.
Regarding structural discrimination, many positive steps had been taken by New Zealand to address the issue, but the
Committee was concerned that the problem remained. An examination of practices in the areas of justice, health and
education pointed to a broader problem of structural discrimination against Maori and Pacific people. Recognizing that
there was a problem was the first step for dealing with it, what else could be done to expedite the process?
The Maori language was in a vulnerable state and required urgent protection. What plans did New Zealand have to further
protect the Maori language? The degree of financial support given by New Zealand to community languages was a matter of
concern and more information was needed on this regard.
New Zealand had agreed that the problem of the use of hate language required attention but had given priority to other
issues. The statements recently made by a Member of Parliament which had been highly derogatory of Muslims were shocking
and offensive. How did New Zealand propose to tackle similar problems?
The non-recognition by employers of foreign qualifications and of non-New Zealand work experience constituted
discrimination. How was New Zealand dealing with these issues? Also, what was the rationale behind the re-organization
of the Race Relations Commissioner’s Office?
The Committee had learnt that the confidence of the Maori in New Zealand’s police had been shaken because of “Operation
8”, undertaken a few years ago. What was the current situation in this regard? Could the delegation provide more
information on the “Three Strikes Law” and the effect it might have had on society?
An Expert requested more information concerning reports about the granting of land to Maori communities by the State and
on the issue of land claims by the Maori in general. Regarding existing legislation on marine resources and the
management of the seabed, the Expert noted that there had been positive developments, with a new law in place, and he
requested additional information. He also noted that New Zealand had taken a highly positive view of migrants in recent
years and wanted to know whether there were any particular employment issues relating to that development.
Another Expert said that New Zealand had made significant progress in formally recognizing the rights of Maori people.
Was there any intention to review and amend domestic laws so as to facilitate the transposition into domestic
legislation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?
An Expert commended New Zealand on the large number of foreign students and on the steps that taken to improve the
living standards of minorities such as the Maori. He requested further details regarding complaints of racial
discrimination received by the Commission of Human Rights. What were the differences between the system of protection
New Zealand offered to the Maori and the provisions made in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?
Another Expert asked whether the economic downturn in New Zealand had had a negative impact on specific communities. Was
there specific data on this issue? What measures was New Zealand taking to offer additional assistance to vulnerable
groups who might have suffered more during the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011? How did New Zealand go about supporting
non-governmental organizations and what specific programmes did it have in place? What was New Zealand doing to tackle
the problem of recognition of foreign qualifications? The Expert also requested further details on incidents of
discrimination experienced by women from minority groups and asked what New Zealand was doing to deal with such
problems.
An Expert welcomed the measures which had been taken to ensure respect of the specificities of ethnic groups such as the
Maori whenever they came into contact with the police authorities, and requested a detailed account of these, other
related measures and their outcomes.
After thanking the delegation for its open and frank report and presentation, a Committee Expert said that the set of
initiatives and policies which New Zealand had taken were impressive. He pointed out, however, that policy monitoring
and evaluation were equally important and said that he would have welcomed more information on the methodology and
findings of the Annual Survey on Perceived Discrimination, which could complement ethnic statistics.
An Expert congratulated New Zealand on what it had achieved since its last review and on the signing of the Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and said that she hoped that New Zealand would withdraw its reservations to the
Declaration. Was there disaggregated data on how Maori and other minority women fared in education and employment; and
what was being done to address the challenges faced by women from minority groups? Could New Zealand provide assurances
that the Maori would be involved in negotiations of the free trade agreement which the country was conducting with other
States?
Another Expert noted the disparities among European, Asian and minority communities in terms of schooling and said that
reducing disparities in education remained a significant challenge. The situation in education was closely linked to the
situation in the area of employment. Given that there was a tendency to focus on urban areas as far as job creation was
concerned, had New Zealand considered the possibility of creating more jobs for Maori in areas where it was easier for
Maori to continue to pursue a traditional lifestyle? Disparities in life expectancy were also well-documented. What
additional preventive measures could be taken by New Zealand to further reduce the gap between the life expectancy of
Europeans and the Maori? The Expert asked for further details on measures taken to deal with the significant
over-representation of Maori in New Zealand’s prison population. Exactly what were the fishing quotas for the Maori
people?
Response by Delegation
The delegation said that there were several groups that spoke for the Maori in New Zealand, because Maori belonged to
many different tribes. New Zealand was looking closely at cases of Maori coming into the criminal justice system as
victims of crime. Maori was an official language of New Zealand and Maori terms were used extensively both in everyday
life and in the report which had been submitted to the Committee. Social harmony was what New Zealand was striving for,
looking to build on its long history of democracy. The statements about Muslim persons made by a Member of Parliament,
referred to in the Committee, had infuriated the other Members of Parliament and New Zealand society in general.
The delegation said that incidents of racially-motivated crime were taken very seriously by New Zealand. Structural
discrimination affected more severely the Maori and Pacific peoples. The Commission was actively addressing issues of
racial inequality, structural discrimination and indigenous rights. Disparities in the enjoyment of human rights
remained a complex issue that needed to be addressed with the collaboration of the civil society.
The Christchurch earthquakes have had devastating effects for all ethnic groups, including the Maori and Pacific
peoples. A Maori support organization had been established, which connected Maori with government facilities and
agencies. Social media had been a vital tool for communicating domestically and abroad.
There were several proactive organizations working to improve the situation of Maori groups across the country. For
example, the “By Maori For Maori” Organization provided training, career advancement advice and scholarships to Maori
persons. The aim was to build a Maori workforce by blending health and employment expertise, which would help to reduce
crime rates and improve the overall situation of Maori.
New Zealand was a successful multi-ethnic country, thanks to the transparency and lack of corruption in the police and
the judiciary. Police and justice were working on a pilot project to collect data on victims of crimes, including
information about ethnicity and age, in order to draw more precise conclusions. Crime statistics showed that the crime
rate in New Zealand was currently the lowest recorded in several decades.
Poor education and socio-economic disadvantage rather than ethnicity were at the source of the disadvantaged place of
the Maori in society. New Zealand was working with local Maori tribes to improve youth-related responses and to help
young Maori out of the cycle of crime. Education officers would be placed in youth courts attended by young Maori who
had committed offenses to help them get back on a positive pathway. Regarding adult offenders, the focus was on reducing
reincidence through the motivation and rehabilitation of prisoners. Assistance was also provided to prisoners who were
close to release in order to facilitate their reintegration in society.
Concerning the role of the police, the police-community relation in New Zealand was unique, and the police worked with
many ethnic groups to make New Zealand a safe place. Police officers did not carry firearms but they had been recently
allowed to use tasers. Tasers were used very rarely by appropriately trained officers and only for protection, not for
enforcement. The delegation stressed that here was no connection between the use of tasers and the ethnicity of the
person on whom they were used. All New Zealand police tasers were fitted with a digital video recording device which
provided information on their use.
The “three strikes system” only dealt with serious violent and sexual offenders who had already been convicted of two
specified offences, and for which they had received a warning and a final warning. No work had been done on the impact
of that law on racial minorities. New Zealand predicted that this system would significantly reduce the number of
prisoners in the next decade.
Settlement agreements were binding by law and were made up of five parts: a historical account of the breach, an
acknowledgement of the breach and its consequences, an apology, and a cultural, commercial or financial redress. There
were specific guidelines in place which governed the procedure followed in the case of settlement agreement to ensure,
among other things, fairness and transparency of information and that Maori entitlements and legal rights were not
affected. New Zealand had engaged with 80 different groups to settle their claims.
Regarding the 2011 Marine and Coastal Area Act, the delegation said that the Act was the product of extensive
consultations and was the Government’s response to criticism voiced against discriminatory effects on Maori resulting
from the Foreshore and Seabed Act of 2004.
Concerning the role of the Human Rights Commission, the delegation said that the Human Rights Amendment Bill had changed
the structure and functions of the Commission, including removing the statutory positions of the Race Relations
Commissioner and Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner. Nevertheless, the Bill retained the focus on race
relations and equal employment opportunities by requiring full-time Commissioners to be made responsible for those
areas, so it did not diminish the functions of the Commission.
The Law Commission had proposed changes in key areas, including legislation responding to harmful digital behaviour and
digital communications, and combating bullying in all its forms, including cyber-bullying.
In the last five years, 60 per cent of race-related complaints to the Human Rights Commission were from men and 40 per
cent from women. Among them, 8 per cent of these complaints were from Pacific people, 16 per cent were from Maori, 23
per cent were from Asian, and 29 per cent were from New Zealand Europeans or Pakeha. In cases where mediation was not
successful, the Commission advised complainants of their right to proceed to the Human Rights Review Tribunal. The
Commission was not aware of any significant judicial cases involving racial discrimination.
Concerning the Treaty of Waitangi in modern society, the delegation said that Maori were entitled to the same rights as
all other New Zealand citizens and that Maori had particular rights and interests to self-determination with regard to
their properties. The Waitangi Tribunal was responsible for interpreting the meaning of the Treaty of Waitangi and had
developed a set of principles about how the Treaty should work in modern society. Recent claims included the
relationship of Maori tertiary institutions to the Ministry of Education and the provision of health services to Maori
people.
There were different expressions of the Treaty of Waitangi principles in New Zealand law, ranging from high-level
statutory weighting to lower levels of statutory weighting. The decision about which statutory weighting was applied was
taken on a case-by-case basis and reflected the level of Maori interests in the matter at hand.
The Maori language was recognized as an official language and New Zealand had a long-standing commitment to take steps
to protect it. However, recognizing the fragile status of the Maori language, the Government was putting together a new
language strategy for 2013 to help the revitalization of the Maori language.
The Wai 262 claim dealt with Maori intellectual property rights. New Zealand did not have a domestic policy covering the
interface between intellectual property and traditional knowledge and cultural expressions but there were certain
initiatives in the Trade Marks Act and in the proposed Patents Bill which covered these issues.
Regarding the Mixed Ownership Model Act and Maori water-rights claims under the Treaty of Waitangi, the delegation said
that the proposed sale of 49 per cent of shares in power-generating State-owned enterprises had been challenged in
claims before the Waitangi Tribunal and the courts. The sale had been deferred pending resolution of these claims, which
contended that the partial share sales obstructed the Government in recognizing the claimants’ treaty interests. New
Zealand believed that the sale concerned shareholdings in publicly owned companies that provided hydroelectric and other
energy and therefore it did not affect ownership or regulation of related natural resources. The Government had
consulted with Maori on the proposed legislative changes and the Maori raised concerns about their rights over water.
Concerning questions about Maori commercial fisheries and commercial aquaculture, the delegation said that under the
Maori Fisheries Act 2004, the Maori had been allocated more than 80 per cent of Fisheries settlement assets worth more
than 500 million dollars, made up of deep-water fish quota, inshore fish quota, and shares in Aotearoa Fisheries.
On the matter of the administration of Maori land, the delegation clarified that there were two types of Maori land.
First, land which had been retained in Maori ownership since the Waitangi Treaty and was organized in several thousand
blocs owned by multiple owners and managed by committees of owners. That land was administered by the Maori Land Act
1993. The second class of Maori land included land which had been returned to Maori as part of cultural or commercial
redress under Treaty Settlements, and was managed by Maori tribal authorities.
In response to questions about migrants in New Zealand, the delegation said that migrant workers were chosen primarily
on the basis of skills. According to national surveys, the majority of the population believed that Asians were most
discriminated against and many Asians said that they had experienced discrimination. Overall, however, New Zealand
society recognized the contribution that migrants made. It was reported that over 70 per cent of all migrants were
participating in the labour force and the majority of those migrating to New Zealand did not have problems finding
employment. A number of public and private initiatives were in place to help migrants find employment and to give them
access to English language classes. Training on how to manage diversity and inter-cultural communication in the
workplace was also provided. Recognition of skills and qualifications was particularly important in the healthcare
sector where the risks were higher. A number of steps had been taken to help migrants to obtain recognized
qualifications. Programmes were in place to support ethnic minority women, who were under-represented in high-level
positions. New Zealand had a zero tolerance policy with regards to violence in the family, and community networks
supporting women who had experienced violence had been developed.
Planning was underway to ensure that the mass arrival of asylum seekers could be managed effectively and, to that end,
the Immigration Amendment Bill was currently before Parliament and was expected to be passed in 2013.
Regarding the discriminatory statements about Muslims recently made by a Member of Parliament, the delegation said that
a motion about respect for religious diversity had been passed in Parliament without debate, and a number of articles
expressing opposition to those statements had since appeared in the media.
New Zealand’s Law Commission was looking for ways to deal with the problem of hate speech and was currently in the
process of proposing law amendments in order to tackle the relatively new phenomenon of cyber-bullying. It was generally
felt that mediation, wherever possible, was far more effective in changing human behaviour than prosecution.
New Zealand recognized the expertise of many non-governmental organizations by contracting their services to provide
social support to communities. Non-governmental organizations also had access to State grant funding.
The Office of Ethnic Affairs sought to increase responsiveness to linguistically diverse communities by providing
Language Line, a telephone interpreting service that offered clients of participating agencies free services in 44
languages. More than 90 public agencies used Language Line to assist in their interactions with clients.
Inciting racial disharmony was an offence under Section 131 of the Human Rights Act and persons affected by racial
disharmony could claim compensation and other civil remedies under Section 61 of the Human Rights Act. There had only
been one instance of prosecution under Section 131 in 2008.
Questions by Experts
An Expert asked about perceptions about the state of ethnic relations in New Zealand’s society and drew attention to
reported Pakeha claims that reverse racism existed in favour of, rather than against, Maori. The Expert asked whether
efforts were made to address public perceptions of racism and to explain related issues to the wider public.
A Committee Expert asked whether New Zealand had some kind of customary justice system and said that a distinction
should be made between the State’s justice system and the development of a truly customary or tribal justice. Were there
traditional forms of justice and did the State accept that traditional justice prevailed in certain sectors such as
civilian life?
A further question was asked about the role of sport in combating racial discrimination in New Zealand. Also, was the
Maori language taught in early childhood education?
Response by Delegation
The delegation said that sport in New Zealand functioned as a major unifying element for its multi-ethnic,
multi-cultural society and that the country saw itself as a leader in sport internationally.
Anybody could be subject to discrimination and in certain cases even New Zealand Europeans and Pakeha had made
complaints about racial discrimination. It was difficult for persons who had always been part of the majority to
understand what it was like being part of a minority. It was important for citizens not to feel threatened by racial
equality policies and this could be achieved through education.
Customary processes were taken into account and there had been several initiatives to allow for greater flexibility so
that fora which were more culturally aligned with Maori and Pacific peoples would help improve the justice system.
Early childhood education in Maori was provided through “language nests” as part of the early childhood immersion
education system. However, early childhood education in Maori was optional and the decision remained with the parents.
Teacher supply was an ongoing issue because, as time went by, the pool of Maori language teachers decreased. The problem
was being addressed through a series of relevant programmes and policies.
Concluding remarks
CARLOS VÁZQUEZ, Country Rapporteur for New Zealand, said that the human rights situation in New Zealand was very
positive overall. Challenges remained were being addressed and there were many examples of best practices which would be
recommended to other countries. The Committee hoped that the concerns that had expressed during the interactive dialogue
would be taken into account and that recommendations would be fully implemented. Close attention should be paid to the
continued importance of consultations with the Maori community on matters affecting them.
JUDITH COLLINS, Minister of Justice and Minister for Ethnic Affairs, thanked the Committee Experts for their insightful
questions and said that the level of engagement of New Zealand’s non-governmental organizations with the work of the
National Human Rights Commission was very helpful. New Zealand pursued an evolutionary and sometimes revolutionary
approach in its fight against racial discrimination, and the issues that had been raised in relation to the situation
the Maori community were taken very seriously.
ends