Media release - Ministry of Justice

Public invited to have say on human rights record

19 December 2014

A draft report on New Zealand’s performance under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has been released for public comment by the Ministry of Justice.

New Zealand is one of almost 170 countries that are a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Covenant covers a range of rights, such as freedom of religion, speech and assembly, electoral rights and the right to a fair trial.

Ministry of Justice Acting Deputy Secretary (Policy) Malcolm Luey says States provide regular reports to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Covenant by its State Parties.

The draft report responds to specific issues raised by the Committee, and outlines significant developments in recent years related to civil and political rights. For example, it details measures and plans the Government has in place to tackle family violence, reduce child abuse, address over-representation of Māori in the criminal justice system, and deal with human trafficking.

“As part of drafting this report, the Ministry is carrying out a consultation process with organisations and people with an interest in these issues. The Ministry will consider feedback received during the consultation process before finalising the report and submitting it to the Minister of Justice,” Mr Luey says.

The draft report is available at www.justice.govt.nz/policy/constitutional-law-and-human-rights/human-rights/consultation, along with details on how to make a submission. The deadline for submissions is 19 February 2015.

The Ministry of Justice will also hold public consultation meetings in Wellington and Auckland on the draft report in early February 2015. The dates and venues for these will be available on the Ministry’s website in the weeks to come.

The final report will be submitted in April. It is expected the Committee will officially consider it at a public session in late 2015 or mid-2016. The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State in the form of "concluding observations”, which are made available to the international community and the public.

© Scoop Media