The National Iwi Chairs Forum (NICF) has made a formal submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, urging the international body to scrutinize New Zealand’s legislative developments that pose significant threats to Indigenous and human rights.

The NICF People’s Action Plan Against Racism members include Kahurangi Rangimarie Naida Glavish, Ahorangi Margaret Mutu, Rahui Papa and Aperahama Edwards.

The Forum has raised concerns regarding the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill and the Regulatory Standards Bill, which, if enacted, will radically undermine existing human rights protections, Indigenous rights, and constitutional safeguards in Aotearoa.

Advisory lead to the NICF People’s Action Plan Against Racism Tina Ngata, will be in Geneva this March to discuss these issues with the United Nations Human Rights Committee, to ensure these are placed firmly on the international agenda. Ms. Ngata will assert the recommendations as outlined in the report which demonstrates the regressive impact of the proposed legislation.

The report highlights contradictions between the bills and s New Zealand’s commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and other international human rights obligations, severely impacting upon New Zealand’s human rights record in the international arena.

“The Human Rights Council and Human Rights Committee are institutions that set the global standards for human, civil and political rights. Repeatedly, over the years, various United Nations bodies and the Human Rights Council have recommended that New Zealand needed to strengthen its commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi within its constitution, and these bills fly in the face of those recommendations.

While New Zealand has previously held a relatively high ranking in our human rights status, these bills could seriously compromise that status. It’s important that the New Zealand government is held to account not only under Indigenous rights standards but under human, civil and political rights standards.” Ngata says.

The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill seeks to replace well-established jurisprudence and legal interpretations of Te Tiriti o Waitangi with a set of principles rooted in individual property ownership. This move effectively disregards the Crown’s obligations to Māori, significantly weakening Indigenous rights protections. These are just some of the themes we are hearing in the oral submissions currently in front of the Justice Select Committee, which make up just a tiny fraction of the unprecedented amount of written submissions sent to Parliament.

The Regulatory Standards Bill further compounds these concerns by embedding an ideological framework that prioritizes private property rights over fundamental human, Indigenous, environmental, and social values, diminishing the status of not only Te Tiriti o Waitangi but also the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, which frames the Crown’s human rights obligations.

Both bills have been widely condemned for their unconstitutional overreach, erosion of judicial oversight, and blatant disregard for New Zealand’s obligations under international law. The NICF asserts that these legislative measures perpetuate systemic discrimination against Māori and violate principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined in the ICCPR.

The NICF People’s Action Plan Against Racism is a set of actions and priorities that will be set from iwi Māori and the New Zealand public to hold the government to account on their commitments to eliminate racism. The Maranga Mai working group will be collecting public input into the plan from April through to August 2025, with a view to a completed plan being produced in October 2025.

Note:

The Human Rights Committee is the body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its State parties.

All States parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how civil and political rights are being implemented. States must report initially one year after acceding to the Covenant and then whenever the Committee requests. In accordance with the Predictable Review Cycle, the Committee requests the submission of the report based on an eight-year calendar. The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of ‘concluding observations’.

In addition,

Article 41 of the Covenant provides for the Committee to consider inter-state complaints.

The Optional Protocol to the Covenant gives the Committee competence to examine individual complaints regarding alleged violations of the Covenant by States parties to the Protocol.

The Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant relates to the abolition of the death penalty by States who have accepted the Protocol.

The Committee also publishes its interpretation of the content of human rights provisions, known as general comments, on thematic issues or its methods of work.

The Committee meets in Geneva and normally holds three sessions per year.

Source: Maranga Mai Working Group for the People's Action Plan Against Racism

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