UN to hear human rights complaint over New Zealand’s treatment of Māori | New Zealand
The United Nations has agreed to lodge an urgent complaint against New Zealand’s coalition government, alleging it is responsible for significant and persistent discrimination against Maori.
Prominent Maori leader Lady Tureiti Moxon lodged her complaint with the UN convention committee on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD).
The complaint was made under the ‘early warning and urgent action procedure’, which is reserved for serious contract breaches that escalate or require immediate action. Anyone can make a complaint.
The UN accepted Moxon’s complaint for consideration; This may result in a request for a response from the New Zealand government. If the UN accepts Moxon’s claims, it could trigger New Zealand demands for further action.
The UN has just published single decision For New Zealand to use this complaints mechanism after its controversial coastal and seabed legislation in 2005 deprived Māori of their coastal rights.
Moxon’s 42-page complaint details the history of Māori, laws that have harmed Māori for generations, the steps taken over the last 50 years to reverse some of that damage, and claims the current government has dismantled those measures.
“We are still fighting for the right to be Maori and to live as Maori in our own country,” Moxon told the Guardian.
“These governments make these decisions that harm and negatively impact our people, and when their terms of office are over, they walk away, traumatizing people.”
Maori affairs minister Tama Potaka told the Guardian it would be inappropriate to comment on the complaint until further official details were confirmed.
“CERD is likely to request information from the New Zealand government. This may take some time,” Potaka said.
“My focus remains on delivering practical outcomes for Māori.”
Moxon, chairman of the national urban iwi (tribes) authority and chief executive of Māori health organization Te Kōhao Health, has challenged the government’s policies through the courts, the human rights commission and the Waitangi Tribunal, a body set up to consider breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty is the founding document of New Zealand, signed between Maori tribes and the British Crown in 1840, and is effective in protecting Maori rights.
Challenging the government through local institutions has not resulted in change, so he wants the UN to intervene.
“The injustice here is incredible, racism is rife and there are no checks and balances,” he said.
The coalition, made up of the centre-right National Party and its junior coalition partners – the libertarian Act and populist NZ First parties – said it wanted to end “race-based policies”. Since taking office in 2023, he has spearheaded sweeping reforms to policies affecting Maori, including limiting the use of the Maori language in public services and abolishing the Maori Health Authority.
It reduced the obligations of schools and public services to consider the agreement and allowed a highly controversial bill to be introduced to parliament that aims to fundamentally change the way the agreement is interpreted. The bill was rejected on second reading.
The government’s reforms have sparked the largest ever protest over Maori rights, multiple allegations against the Waitangi Tribunal, judicial reviews and large meetings among Maori leaders across the country.
Next week the CERD committee will review New Zealand’s record on desegregation as part of an eight-year review cycle of signatories. A delegation of officials will attend.
Moxon will also travel to Geneva to present his complaint and hopes the review will lead to a change in the government’s approach.
