Human Rights Commission
Media release
6 May, 2009

NZ Human rights report webcast from United Nations

New Zealanders can witness this significant human rights event via a live webcast from 7pm to 10pm, Thursday night.

Under its international obligations New Zealand has to prepare a national Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report that assesses progress on meeting its international human rights obligations.

As part of the process the Human Rights Commission prepared its own assessment, including recommendations that it considers will enhance human rights in New Zealand.

The Government is represented in Geneva by Justice Minister Simon Power. Chief Human Rights Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan is also attending the session before the United Nations Human Rights Council.

She said, “This is the first time that New Zealand has been able to participate in this new process. It is an assessment of our progress by our peers at the United Nations about how well we recognise and make human rights real for New Zealanders.”

“The process is a dialogue rather than a hearing. Individual UN member states can ask questions and make recommendations to New Zealand, but the Council itself does not make a judgment. New Zealand has the option to accept or reject recommendations made by individual states.”

The Council also receives a summary of submissions from the Human Rights Commission and non-governmental organisations with concluding observations made by UN bodies such as the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

She welcomed the consultative approach that had taken place with the Government and was sure the outcome of the session would prove valuable for human rights in New Zealand.

The webcast is from 7pm, Thursday 7 May, at www.un.org/webcast/unhrc

For a summary of the Government and the Human Rights Commission’s recommendations see... New Zealand Government human rights priorities

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