GFANZ Supports The UNDRIP

Genomics for Aotearoa New Zealand (GFANZ) is a charitable organisation whose purpose is to promote the use of genomic science for the benefit of all society. GFANZ affirms its support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and upholding Te Tiriti O Waitangi (Te Tiriti).

GFANZ was designed to be inclusive, with a focus on those things which make genomics special in Aotearoa. For us, the interconnection of taonga, mātauranga Māori and genomics tools are incredibly powerful and unique. They are more than the sum of their parts.

The GFANZ objectives were designed by a group of about 20 people, many of whom had never met.

This was done via a shared document in a little over a month’s time. The group was made up of a wide variety of people, all of whom brought their best selves to the process. In this way, we all learned about what mattered to each other and crafted the objectives to reflect those things. This included the significance of Te Tiriti, Te Ao Māori (the Māori world), and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

GFANZ Objectives

1. To promote, research, develop, and apply genomics for the benefit of all society;

2. To promote and support Te Ao Māori and the Te Tiriti o Waitangi as innate to New Zealand genomics;

3. To promote and support collaboration on genomics within New Zealand and internationally, cognisant of the 61/295 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;

4. To promote and support education and public engagement in the field of genomics;

5. To promote and support collaboration between genomics and a variety of disciplines; and

6. To provide guidance to stakeholders in regards to genomics.

The UNDRIP[1] is a UN resolution that affirms the rights of Indigenous peoples the world over, and which passed by an overwhelming majority in 2007. The UNDRIP was endorsed by Aotearoa New Zealand under the National government and its then coalition partner in 2010.

The strength of the combination of genomics science and mātauranga Māori is unique to Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Tiriti and the UNDRIP provide a framework recognising the value of traditional knowledge which can complement the application of western science. GFANZ is committed to continue to use the UNDRIP as a source of ethical guidance for conducting scientific research. The UNDRIP in combination with Te Tiriti, provides significant protections to Māori as the Indigenous Peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand and our Taonga Species.

GFANZ objects in the strongest terms to any actions by the Aotearoa New Zealand government which undermine its UNDRIP or Te Tiriti commitments. We invite other organisations to join us in publicly acknowledging the benefits of Te Tiriti, Te Ao Māori, and UNDRIP to science in Aotearoa New Zealand.

[1] UNDRIP Full Text: https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n06/512/07/pdf/n0651207.pdf

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