New Zealand Parliamentarians attend Regional Human Rights Seminar

Members of the Justice and Electoral Committee will participate in a parliamentary seminar in the Philippines this week to discuss parliamentarians’ engagement in human rights issues. The delegation will be led by the Deputy Chair of the Committee Jono Naylor, and includes Marama Fox and Peeni Henare.

The seminar is being held by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Senate of the Philippines, and the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The theme of the seminar is ‘Translating international human rights commitments into national realities: The contribution of parliaments to the work of the United Nations Human Rights Council’. Its aim is to inform parliamentarians of the Asia-Pacific region about the work of UNHRC, and to identify good parliamentary practice for engagement on human rights issues.

All the New Zealand members will be speaking at the event, with Jono Naylor giving an overview of New Zealand’s engagement with the Universal Periodic Review (the process by which the human rights situation in all 192 Member States of the United Nations is reviewed by the Human Rights Council once every four years). Marama Fox will speak on the promotion of women’s rights, and Peeni Henare will discuss development and human rights issues amongst minority and indigenous groups.

The Speaker of the House, Rt Hon David Carter, said the seminar is an excellent opportunity for New Zealand parliamentarians.

“Parliament’s participation in this seminar provides a valuable professional development opportunity for our parliamentarians. They will be engaging with significant international organisations in the IPU and the UN, and making contributions to a matter of great regional and global importance. The theme of the seminar is integral to promoting inclusive democracy for all global citizens, and is one that we need to encourage and support amongst parliamentarians in our region.”

The seminar runs from 26 to 27 February.

ENDS

© Scoop Media