Human Rights Commission achieves DVFREE Tick from Shine
Source: Human Rights Commission The Human Rights Commission (HRC) has been awarded the DVFREE (Domestic Violence Free) Tick this week from Shine, New Zealand’s specialist domestic violence non-for-profit. The DVFREE Tick is awarded to organisations that have taken specific, meaningful steps to create a workplace that is safe and supportive for staff experiencing domestic violence. […]
Read More →Please share your views on our strategic focus
Source: Human Rights Commission At the Human Rights Commission, we are currently planning our work programme for the upcoming year as well as ten years in the future. We have held a number of stakeholder engagements over the past two years to inform this. This survey asks you to confirm what we heard during these […]
Read More →UN members urged to end violence against disabled women and girls
Source: Human Rights Commission Steps to end violence against disabled women and girls was the focus of recommendations that Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero delivered on behalf of national human rights institutions to the world’s biggest disability meeting, the Conference of State Parties, held at the United Nations last week. The statement was delivered on […]
Read More →Commission issues 2004 – 2012 hate crime summary
Source: Human Rights Commission To assist the discussion about hate crime in New Zealand, the Human Rights Commission has today published a summary of media reports of racially and religiously motivated crime between 2004 and 2012. Around 100 incidents are included in the summary, Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt says. “These include murder and […]
Read More →Human Rights Commission appoints new Chief Executive
Source: Human Rights Commission The Human Rights Commission board has appointed Rebecca Elvy as the new Chief Executive. Ms. Elvy, who will take up her role in August, is currently Chief Executive of Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision (New Zealand’s audio-visual archive). Ms. Elvy has postgraduate qualifications in Business Administration and Strategic Studies (Massey University and Victoria University) […]
Read More →May Tūrangawaewae Newsletter
Source: Human Rights Commission Welcome to the latest Human Rights Commission newsletter Tūrangawaewae – a summary of recent developments on the New Zealand human rights landscape, and the work the Commission is doing for a better, fairer New Zealand. In this issue, we look at the Government’s 2019 Budget, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner’s response […]
Read More →Human rights critical to delivering on the Budget’s wellbeing promises
Source: Human Rights Commission Human rights, including social rights, can reinforce and sharpen the Budget’s wellbeing promises, Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt says. By Paul Hunt, Chief Human Rights Commissioner Wellbeing for every New Zealander will be fully realised when government creates an environment in which everyone can enjoy a safe, decent, dignified life […]
Read More →Wāhine Kākano to inspire young women leaders
Source: Human Rights Commission Nearly 600 young women will descend upon Auckland and Rotorua next month to take part in New Zealand’s premier young women’s festival, Wāhine Kākano. Wāhine Kākano will see young women between the ages of 16 – 22 years empowered and inspired through thought-provoking and relatable conversations on the issues many will […]
Read More →Accessibility photo library launches to drive change
Source: Human Rights Commission Accessibility advocate, Mary Fisher, in collaboration with the Access Alliance and the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, have launched a photo library to encourage the public to notice access barriers in our everyday lives. Mary toured Wellington’s city centre pausing to document both positive and problematic examples of accessibility in action. […]
Read More →The dangers of ‘one of us’: The Chief Human Rights Commissioner on othering
Source: Human Rights Commission Not long after I took up office as Chief Human Rights Commissioner, a newspaper columnist complained that I am not “one of us”. This charge raises important questions. In super-diverse Aotearoa New Zealand with its more than 200 ethnicities and 160 spoken languages, who is “us”? And who defines “us”? However […]
Read More →Disappointment at lack of pay transparency mechanism in Equal Pay Amendment Bill
Source: Human Rights Commission Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo is disappointed that a pay transparency mechanism has not been included in the Equal Pay Amendment Bill. She was reacting to the final report by the Education and Workforce Select Committee on the bill, which did not include recommending a provision for pay transparency. […]
Read More →Special permanent resident visas will help families realise their hopes of New Zealand as a safe place to live
Source: Human Rights Commission The Human Rights Commission warmly welcomes the government’s decision to offer non-residents directly affected by the Christchurch terrorist attacks the opportunity to apply for a special permanent resident visa. New Zealand’s Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt says, “In my time on the ground in Christchurch following the attacks, I have […]
Read More →Karanina Sumeo on the need for an independent pay transparency agency
Source: Human Rights Commission Karanina Sumeo on the need for an independent pay transparency agency April 18, 2019 Saunoamaali’i Dr Karanina Sumeo tells her story about being paid $40,000 less than someone who was doing the same job as her, and why it shows we need a pay transparency agency to close the gender pay […]
Read More →United Nations Indigenous Rights Experts to visit New Zealand
Source: Human Rights Commission A group of independent indigenous experts from the United Nations are visiting New Zealand to assist Government and Iwi to develop a strategy and plan for the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The delegation is comprised of members of the UN Expert Mechanism on the […]
Read More →Human Rights Commission supports business leaders’ stand against racism
Source: Human Rights Commission Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt has praised the business leaders who are taking a public stand against racism in the workplace. A group of New Zealand business leaders today published an open letter (www.nzstandtogether.co.nz) calling for a more inclusive country following the Christchurch mosque attacks on 15 March. I applaud […]
Read More →Senior United Nations official visits Christchurch in the wake of the Mosque attacks
Source: Human Rights Commission A senior United Nations human rights official is visiting New Zealand this week to show solidarity and learn, at first hand, how communities and the country are responding to the Christchurch Mosque attacks. Kate Gilmore, the United Nations (UN) Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, will be the first major UN official to visit New Zealand […]
Read More →Putting indigenous rights into action in Aotearoa
Source: Human Rights Commission The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the United Nations in 2007 and supported by New Zealand in 2010. It sets out human rights standards that align with and support our own Treaty of Waitangi and has been described as “a blueprint for implementing Te Tiriti”. […]
Read More →Tackling racism, islamophobia and hate in New Zealand
Source: Human Rights Commission By Paul Hunt, Chief Human Rights Commissioner Following the attack on two mosques, leaving many dead and injured, on 15th March 2019 in Christchurch, the Chief Commissioner spoke at Otago University as part of the University’s Give Nothing to Racism campaign. These are extended extracts, with slight revisions, from the Chief Commissioner’s […]
Read More →New research scrutinises New Zealand’s largest pay rise for women
Source: Human Rights Commission New research by the New Zealand Work Research Institute at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and the Human Rights Commission has for the first time revealed the challenges and advantages of New Zealand’s largest pay increase for women. “The Value of Care – evaluating the impact of the 2017 pay equity […]
Read More →Multiculturalism and diversity is us
Source: Human Rights Commission By Pancha Narayanan and Paul Hunt We are all in sorrow and mourning with the loss of our Muslim brothers and sisters who were targeted in the terrible Christchurch mosque attacks on Friday 15 March. Each of us is grieving. With this grief we will also all be reflecting on what […]
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