UNICEF Aotearoa is the latest major organisation urging the Government to scrap plans to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act.

Section 7AA reinforces Crown accountability to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, actively addressing institutional racism and promoting the best interests and wellbeing of tamariki Māori. It supports the child's best interests by recognising the crucial role of whakapapa, culture, connection and identity in nurturing development.

Echoing deep concern from other high-profile stakeholders in the children’s sector, as well as iwi groups, UNICEF Aotearoa says the repeal would work against recommendations in both the recent Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, and New Zealand’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

UNICEF Aotearoa CEO Michelle Sharp says the repeal risks real harm and undermines the indigenous rights of tamariki Māori.

"New Zealand has international obligations to uphold children’s rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, yet monitoring of New Zealand has found continued lack of progress in multiple areas, including for mokopuna Māori and for children living out of a family environment. This repeal would negatively impact both of those factors.

We should be investing more in solutions led by Māori communities to stop mokopuna Māori being placed in homes away from their whānau, hapū and iwi and risking loss of identity - as recommended by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child," she says.

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The recent Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care also recommended New Zealand’s care system should actively uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi and enable Māori to exercise tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) with children’s best interests as a primary consideration, consistent with the UNCRC.

It further recommended recognising the right of whānau Māori, hapū and iwi to retain shared responsibility for the wellbeing of tamariki and rangatahi Māori, consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

UNICEF Aotearoa Young Ambassador Sara McLaughlin, who has lived care experience, says it’s time for the Government to listen to the voices of the people directly affected by its decisions.

"Young people who are care-experienced often feel a loss of identity - it's something that’s hard to understand from the outside perspective but deeply impacts children in care," Sara says.

"The Government should focus on supporting parents and caregivers to look after mokopuna, so fewer end up in care, as well as making sure mokopuna in care have a say in decisions that affect them, especially their whakapapa, and feel their culture and community is respected. Removing this part of the Oranga Tamariki Act is doing the opposite of that and not upholding te Tiriti o Waitangi".

UNICEF Aotearoa was part of the Children’s Rights Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand Joint Children’s Rights Sector Submission in opposition to the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill, along with over 20 other organisations and individuals from the sector.

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