Amnesty International – NZ’s human rights record ‘tarnished’ at UN rights review

Responding to Aotearoa New Zealand’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the United Nations Human Rights Council’s UPR Working Group in Geneva, Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand is reiterating its call on the Government to raise the age of criminal responsibility.

“Yet again, the New Zealand Government has been called out for its failure to uphold the rights of children,” says Campaigns Director Lisa Woods.

In 2019, the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child called on countries to set their age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old. 

Last year, this Committee repeated their call on the New Zealand Government to raise this country’s minimum age of criminal responsibility, which was set at only 10 years old in 1961. 

Likewise, the UN Committee against Torture has expressed their concern at the shockingly low threshold for criminalising children in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Now, representatives from around the world – including Norway, Mongolia, Germany and Georgia – have called on our government to address this blatant breach of child rights standards.

“When children are forced through criminal proceedings at such a formative age, they can suffer immense harm to their health, wellbeing, and future.

But since their brains are still developing, the capacity for change and rehabilitation is considerable – when given a fair chance,” says Woods.

“The recommendation to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 is based on extensive research and international deliberation. The fact that successive governments have failed to respond to global criticism means Aotearoa New Zealand’s human rights record has been tarnished on the world stage. If the Government can ‘raise the energy’ it brings to international engagements, it can surely raise the age of criminal responsibility in line with international human rights standards.”

The age of criminal responsibility was one of numerous human rights issues raised during Aotearoa New Zealand’s UPR. Other key themes included the imperative to address racism and discrimination, the disproportionate representation of Māori in prison, and the need to progress an action plan to uphold the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Background

Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand launched a campaign calling on the NZ Government to raise the age of criminal responsibility in 2022.
The call to raise the age of criminal responsibility is part of a suite of changes urgently needed to reduce the harm currently occurring in the criminal justice system. At the same time, Amnesty International is calling on the Government to carry on the impetus for transformational change to ensure the country’s systems uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi and respect the human rights and dignity of all.