On Tuesday, April 9, 2024, Mr Francisco Calí Tzay, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, will visit Nelson to learn about the Nelson Tenths and the ongoing litigation against the Crown.

Mr Calí Tzay will be briefed on the case and its relevance to breaches of international law as it relates to indigenous peoples, by Wakatū Incorporation, which is supporting the ongoing litigation against the Crown.

He will learn about the significance of the case within the regional, national and global landscape and undertake a tour of sites of historic, cultural and legal significance to the case.

Professor Claire Charters, Manutaki | Director, Te Puna Rangahau o te Wai Ariki| Aotearoa Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law at the University of Auckland, will attend alongside Mr Calí Tzay.

Kerensa Johnston, CEO of Wakatū Incorporation and Project Lead for Te Here-ā-Nuku | Making the Tenths Whole, the commitment to hold the Crown to account to make good on the Nelson Tenths, said:

"Mr Calí Tzay’s visit is an opportunity for us to shine a light on the Government’s ongoing breaches of human rights in respect of the Nelson Tenths Reserves.

Seven years have now passed since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision that the Crown owes a fiduciary duty to the customary Māori owners of the Nelson Tenths. Despite this no land has been returned and no compensation has been paid.

By failing to work with us on a solution to resolve our case, the Government continues to deny the customary Māori owners of the Nelson Tenths the right to their land, territories and resources, the right to redress, the right to take part in cultural life, and the right to self-determination. These are breaches of human rights under the United Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

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We hope the attention of the UN Special Rapporteur will help to both realise the human rights of the Māori customary owners of the Nelson Tenths, and remind the Government of the significance of the Nelson Tenths kaupapa as we continue our fight for justice.”

Mr Calí Tzay's visit to New Zealand will focus on the state of Indigenous rights in Aotearoa, and the foundational role of te Tiriti o Waitangi in the country’s constitution. It comes as New Zealand's human rights record faces scrutiny before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva for its five-yearly review on 29 April.

Note

Mr Francisco Cali-Tzay is the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. For more information on the Special Rapporteur: https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-indigenous-peoples/francisco-cali-tzay

The Special Rapporteur’s visit to New Zealand is an academic visit, coming at the request of Wairarapa Moana Incorporation, Wakatū Incorporation, the National Iwi Chairs Forum and Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission.

In such a visit, UN protocols mean the Special Rapporteur cannot have direct contact with media or publish reports about their visit.

For information about the five-yearly Universal Periodic Review of New Zealand’s human rights record: https://tikatangata.org.nz/our-work/upr

More on the Nelson Tenths

Te Here-ā-Nuku | Making the Tenths Whole is a commitment to hold the Crown to account to return the whenua owed to the beneficiaries of the Nelson Tenths Reserves and to compensate them for the losses caused by the Crown’s breach of its legal duties. Find out more at:

• www.makingthetenthswhole.co.nz
• www.facebook.com/makingthetenthswhole
• https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/making-the-tenths-whole

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