The United Nations Human Rights Council’s draft Universal Periodic Review report on New Zealand has been published says Rajesh Chhana, Ministry of Justice Deputy Secretary Policy.
The Universal Periodic Review is a review of New Zealand’s progress on human rights over the last five years.
Justice Minister Andrew Little led the delegation to New Zealand’s third Universal Periodic Review in front of the United Nations Human Rights Council on 21 January 2019. The report summarises this session.
During the Review session, each United Nations member state can provide comments and recommendations to improve human rights protections in New Zealand.
“The Universal Periodic Review process provides a valuable opportunity for us to engage in an open discussion about New Zealand’s human rights record, and to learn from the collective experience of the international community”, says Mr Chhana.
“Many countries commended New Zealand for the progress made since the last review in 2014, and highlighted some of the positive achievements in recent years. These included our actions to protect the rights of vulnerable groups, and a demonstrated commitment to the promotion of human rights.”
Mr Chhana says countries also identified challenges facing New Zealand and made recommendations in areas where more work is needed, such as combatting family and sexual violence, delivering better outcomes for children, and promoting gender equality.
The Government is considering the full list of 194 recommendations from the Review and will respond to the recommendations in June 2019. The Ministry of Justice is currently conducting targeted stakeholder engagement to support the consideration of those recommendations.
The full report is available here: https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/new_zealand/session_32_-_january_2019/a_hrc_wg.6_32_l.1.pdf(external link)