Public engagement on racial discrimination
The Ministry of Justice is seeking public submissions on a report which details efforts to address racial discrimination in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The report demonstrates New Zealand’s ongoing commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights and elimination of racial discrimination.
On 22 December 2021, the New Zealand Government is due to submit a Report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (the CERD Committee). The CERD Committee monitors how well New Zealand is implementing the Convention of the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).
The Report has been written based on contributions from various government departments. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for co-ordinating the response.
CERD is the main international human rights treaty dealing with racial discrimination. It focuses on things like as addressing race-based discrimination or violence, and condemning ideas of racial superiority or hatred. It requires countries to protect human rights in an equitable way, including rights to health and adequate housing, and freedom of expression.
Read the full text of CERD(external link)
In order for the Government to report on how it is addressing racial discrimination, we invite your feedback on New Zealand’s draft combined Twenty-Third and Twenty-Fourth Report to the CERD Committee. We are interested to hear from both groups and the general public.
What would we like to hear from you about?
We are interested to hear from you what you think about the draft Report, and how closely the Report reflects, and responds to, the experiences of you and your communities.
We are particularly interested to hear from individuals and groups who experience various forms of racial discrimination, and are interested in your answers to the following questions:
- Does the Report cover what you see as the most important issues and responses to do with racial discrimination in the last five years in Aotearoa New Zealand?
- Do you have feedback on specific areas of the Report?
- Where has the New Zealand Government done well in the last five years to address racial discrimination and improve the human rights of ethnic groups?
- What are the most important areas where the New Zealand Government could improve to address racial discrimination and have equal enjoyment of human rights?
How to give feedback
Your feedback will help to inform the CERD Report and provide information about how the Government is doing to address racial discrimination.
Submissions are open from 26 October to 23 November 2021. You can get more information and submit your feedback by completing the online survey of the questions above (link below) on the Citizen Space consultation website.
Take part in the draft CERD Report public survey(external link)