HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE STARTS CONSIDERATION OF FOURTH PERIODIC REPORT OF NEW ZEALAND

Human Rights Committee
75th session
9 April 2002
Afternoon



Experts Question Delegation on Detention of Asylum-Seekers, trafficking in Persons
The Human Rights Committee this afternoon started its consideration of a fourth periodic report from New Zealand by questioning a Government delegation, among other things, about a change of policy in detaining asylum-seekers after 11 September; trafficking in persons; complaints on grounds of race; and the attitude of society on same-sex relations.
Introducing his country's report, Tim Caughley, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that as in the past, human rights issues over a wide spectrum continued to be the subject of lively debate both in New Zealand's Parliament and in the community, and of active consideration by relevant independent agencies such as the Human Rights Commission and the Law Commission, as well as by the courts.
Mr. Caughley said that the Government also continued to seek to eliminate disparities between Maori and non-Maori by developing an education strategy for Maori, and giving Maori the opportunity to develop health services which were more responsive to their needs. More recent initiatives had sought to promote "For Maori, By Maori" development, he said.
In addition to Mr. Caughley, the New Zealand delegation was made up of Cheryl Gwyn, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Justice; John Paki, Deputy Chief Executive, Ministry of Maori Development; Te Puni Kokiri and Petra Butler, Law School, Victoria University; and Deborah Geels, Counsellor, New Zealand Permanent Mission in Geneva.
New Zealand is among the 149 States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and as such it is obligated to submit reports on its performance aimed at implementing the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 10 July, it will continue its consideration of the report of New Zealand.

Report of New Zealand
The fourth periodic report, contained in document CCPR/C/NZL/ 2001/4, says that since the last periodic report was submitted, a number of significant developments have been made in the way in which the country gives effect to the rights recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Jurisprudence has developed in the country which recognized the value of international agreements as tools for interpreting the legislative provisions which implement them into domestic law. The Bill of Rights and the Human Rights Act of 1993 are designed to implement New Zealand's international obligations.
The report says that developments in the equal rights of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights during the report period are comprehensively covered in combined reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The representation of women in parliament increased significantly after the first elections under the Mixed Member Proportional Electoral System and remained stable in the latest elections in 1999. The Government also initiated a large number of programmes to address gender issues under the title of "Focus on Employment".
The report also noted that during its term in the Security Council in 1993 and 1994, New Zealand welcomed the opportunity to strengthen the international framework for the protection of human rights -- and specifically of the right to life -- in connection with the establishment by the Council of its Statutes creating war crimes tribunals to deal with serious violations of international humanitarian law in the former Yugoslavia, and then in Rwanda. New Zealand also participated actively in the development of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Presentation of Report
TIM CAUGHLEY, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations Office at Geneva, highlighted a number of significant developments which included adoption of the Human Rights Act in 1993; the Domestic Violence Act in 1995; and the Bill of Rights Act in 1990. The developments also demonstrated the strengthening commitment of the Government to Maori, in particular those related to the process of settling claims concerning historical grievances under the Treaty of Waitangi. The Government also continued to seek to eliminate disparities between Maori and non-Maori by, for example, developing an education strategy for Maori, and giving Maori the opportunity to develop health services which were more responsive to their needs. More recent initiatives had sought to promote "For Maori, By Maori" development.
Mr. Caughley noted that as in the past, human rights issues over a wide spectrum had continued to be the subject of lively debate both in Parliament and in the community, and of active consideration by relevant independent agencies such as the Human Rights Commission and the Law Commission, as well as by the courts.
He continued to say that the review of human rights protection and promotion undertaken in 2000 was a timely assessment of human rights laws and structures that had served the Government well for thirty years. But they needed some alteration in order to ensure their continued dynamic role in reflecting the values that New Zealanders considered fair and decent. The influence of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was seen in many of the country's domestic structures and practices, and continued to gain strength.
Mr. Caughley said that developments over the review period and since then reflected a consistent commitment by the Government of New Zealand to comply fully with its international obligations under the Covenant and to promote greater respect for human rights in the country.

Response of New Zealand
The members of the New Zealand delegation responded to written questions prepared by the Committee members in advance. They first replied to questions raised under the main subjects of the constitutional and legal framework within which the Covenant and the Optional Protocol were implemented; gender equality and the principle of non-discrimination; liberty and security of persons; treatment of prisoners and other detainees; and the right to a fair trial.
The members of the New Zealand delegation said that following elections in 1999, the new Government, under the Consistency 2000 Project, directed all chief executives to provide information on how far they had gotten with their Consistency 2000 audit, and what possible issues of inconsistency had been discovered. The Ministry of Justice had continued to progress in a number of related human rights areas.
Under the Compliance 2001 Project, the new Government undertook an independent ministerial review of human rights protection in New Zealand, the delegation said. Compliance 2001 was led by the Ministry of Justice, in consultation with the Human Rights Commission of New Zealand, and it required agencies to determine for themselves whether their legislation, policies and practices were inconsistent with the Human Rights Act and how those inconsistencies were to be resolved by 31 December 2001.
The Human Rights Commission and the Office of the Race Relations Conciliator had been combined to form a new organization: the Human Rights Commission, the delegation said. The Commission's primary function was to advocate and promote respect for human rights in New Zealand society and encourage the maintenance and development of harmonious relations between individuals and among diverse groups in society. Complaints related to discrimination could now be made to the Human Rights Commission with respect to all government activities.
The Ombudsmen Act of 1975 provided an avenue of complaint for individuals concerned about administrative matters, the officials said. Any individual personally affected by a decision, recommendation or an act relating to matters of administration by a government department covered by the Act could complain to the Ombudsmen.
Asked about the steps the State party was taking to consider the withdrawal of its reservations to the Covenant, the delegation said that currently the Government was undertaking a review with regard to New Zealand's reservations to all the major international human rights treaties to which it was party.
Regarding the Committee's concern relating to disadvantages experienced by Maori concerning access to health care, education and employment, the delegation said that the Government had continued to work on eradicating disadvantages which the Maori people faced. An audit was conducted on the quality of teacher training which arose out of continuing concerns about the low levels of teaching Maori pupils.
With regard to privately managed prisons, the delegation said that in the contract which the Government had with the only private contract prison, there were provisions requiring the contractor to ensure observance of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and for the education of officers. Similar provisions were contained in the contracts entered into with the private providers of prison escort services.

Remarks and Questions by Committee Experts
Following the responses of the delegation to the first cluster of main subjects, Committee Experts raised a number of questions. An Expert, focusing on the issue of refugees, said that there had been a change in policy following the 11 September attacks in the United States with regard to the use of detention of asylum-seekers. Before the incident, only 5 per cent of the asylum-seekers were detained; and after 11 September, the number of asylum-seekers detained in the country had gone up to 94 per cent. The Expert said he appreciated the members of the delegation for their frank responses to the Committee's written questions.
An Expert asked what the Government could do in situations where discrepancies occurred between the Covenant and domestic law. Did the Government take measures to remedy the situation?
Another Expert asked about trafficking in persons and what measures were taken against those who committed such acts. The Expert also asked if inter-country child adoptions took place in the country.
An Expert stressed that article 2 of the Covenant said that States parties should undertake respect of the rights enshrined in the Covenant; however, paragraph 46 of the report had indicated that there were limits to the use of international material in interpreting domestic human rights statutes. The Expert also wanted to know the position of the State party with regard to preventive detention, referring to article 15 of the Covenant which said that no one should be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed.
How many complaints were made on grounds of race, asked an Expert? How many of those complaints were lodged by Maori? What was the official standing of the Maori language? What was the ultimate goal of the teaching of the Maori language? What was the attitude of the society with regard to same-sex couples?
Response of New Zealand
The members of the delegation continued to provide answers to the written questions prepared by the Committee in advance. The delegation gave responses under the main issues of rights of aliens; freedom of association; protection of family and children; rights of minorities; dissemination of information about the Covenant; and on the situation of the non-self-governing territory of Tokelau.
The delegation said that in September 2001, New Zealand agreed to consider the refugee status of 131 people who were on the vessel Tampa. Those people were all detained pending the outcome of their refugee hearings; and 130 people of that group were granted refugee status. One person was still waiting the outcome of his appeal. There was no mandatory detention of asylum-seekers; and New Zealand was in compliance with UNHCR guidelines on the treatment of detained asylum-seekers.
The Employment Contracts Act 1991 continued to protect employees' freedom of association, the delegation said. It provided for freedom to choose whether or not to associate with other employees for the purpose of advancing their collective employment interests but did not legally recognize unions as bargaining representatives.
New Zealand had no specific offence of trafficking in persons, the delegation said. There was a related offence of dealing with slaves which had a maximum penalty of 14 years of imprisonment. However a Bill was currently before Parliament which would implement the provisions of the Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols on migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons. The Bill would create an offence in relation to trafficking in persons by means of coercion or deception. The offence would be punishable by imprisonment for up to 20 years, a fine of up to $500,000, or both.
Asked about the amendments introduced by the Maori Reserved Land Amendments Act, the delegation said that it was to address longstanding Maori grievances with respect to Maori land holding that had been leased to non-Maori at rentals that no longer reflected market rentals.
The delegation said that the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Tokelau had a population of 1,500 inhabitants and Tokelau was bound by the Covenant, and as it continued to progress towards greater self-government, it faced core questions of law and custom.

Comments and Questions by Committee Experts
An Expert said that the change in policy and counter-terrorism measures were related to the 11 September events. The delegation was asked to explain the measures listed in its report to the Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee. What were the requirements for the broad definition of terrorism?
Another Expert said that a statistic should be provided on the practical implementation of legislation, such as legislation on domestic violence. There was nothing in the report on the legal acts on the right to freedom of religion; or regarding possible problems on the implementation of freedom of thought and religion.



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