Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples New Zealand National Statement

Item 6: Country engagement

Tēnā tātou katoa, greetings to you all.

Acknowledgements

• We thank the Expert Mechanism for the opportunity to participate in this session alongside distinguished Indigenous and State representatives from Finland and Brazil.
• In 2019, Aotearoa New Zealand hosted the Expert Mechanism.
• We acknowledge the leadership of the Aotearoa Independent Monitoring Mechanism on behalf of the National Iwi Chairs Forum (‘the Iwi Chairs’, a national tribal organisation) and the New Zealand Human Rights Commission who requested the visit.

Overview of country engagement mission

• The mission took place in April 2019. The purpose of the country engagement was to provide:
  • Advice to support the drafting of a plan to achieve the ends of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand; and
  • advice on an appropriate engagement strategy to identify how Māori will partner in developing and implementing a plan.

Expert Mechanism advisory note

• The Expert Mechanism issued an advisory note, which provided useful advice for the development of a domestic implementation plan.

Developments since the mission

• Following the mission, the Government established a working group to provide advice on a Declaration plan, and how to engage with Māori.
• The working group provided its report in November 2019. Further progress was put on hold in April 2020 as the Government focussed on the COVID-19 response.
• In July 2021, work on a Declaration plan resumed with a two-step process, comprising targeted engagement with Māori and a wider public consultation on a draft Declaration plan.
• Between September 2021 and February 2022, the Ministry of Māori Development, the Human Rights Commission and the Iwi Chairs developed and implemented an engagement strategy. Over 70 workshops were held to hear directly from Indigenous communities about their aspirations for a Declaration plan.
• Throughout the remainder of 2022, work on a draft plan continued, however, despite considerable time and effort invested from all parties, we haven’t been able to finalise a draft.
• The Government has deferred a report back to Cabinet on a draft plan to next year.

Current situation

• This was a brief overview of what has taken place since 2019. The New Zealand Government acknowledges the commitment and perseverance of our partners, and the significant input from Māori communities.
• We may not have reached our goal yet, but we remain committed to ensuring Indigenous Peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand are able to enjoy the fundamental rights and freedoms in the Declaration.

Alignment with advisory note

• As we went through the first phase of the two-step process, our partners from the Iwi Chairs and the Human Rights Commission demonstrated strong leadership and encouraged us to adhere to the advice of the Expert Mechanism.
• The focus of this statement is on the process of our targeted engagement and the drafting of a Declaration plan so far. While more can be done, we hope this demonstrates our genuine commitment to partnership over the past two years.
• Working with the Iwi Chairs and the Human Rights Commission taught Government officials a novel approach for engaging on Māori issues and how to play a supportive role in an Indigenous-led processes.
• The workshops were co-designed to emulate conversations traditionally held in a tribal environment. Participants had the opportunity to share, in their Indigenous language, their experience as Indigenous Peoples and outline their aspirations for a Declaration plan. Accessible resources, and documents in the Māori language, were available to support the engagement. The workshops were also held online, at the request of tribal leaders.
• The outreach strategy was designed to reach a range of Māori interests, including youth, older people, women and persons with disabilities, as well as tribal leadership and national Māori organisations.
• A key theme from the workshops was for tino rangatiratanga, or self-determination, to be recognised, resourced and implemented at a family grouping and sub-tribe level. Māori sought to be involved in, and supported to, make decisions on issues that impact them. This applied to a range of topics, from justice, health and education to housing, the environment and cultural expression and identity.
• This helped to frame the draft plan around the main themes also related to Declaration articles.

Challenges

• This session is an opportunity for the Government to reflect on our journey so far and to acknowledge that we still have some way to go.
• A key challenge has been ensuring that Māori have adequate resources to fully participate in the process. The Government provided funding to support our Māori partners, but there remains an imbalance in resourcing that affects the extent to which Government and Indigenous groups can engage in this process.
• The Expert Mechanism mandate was to provide advice on a plan to achieve the ends of the Declaration within Aotearoa New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements.
• We continue to grapple with how the Indigenous rights contained in the Declaration can be implemented within our unique context.
• We also need to bring the country with us on this journey. We want to develop a plan that resonates with us in Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi is a key aspect of New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements. It affirms the tino rangatiratanga of Māori (the right to Māori decision-making authority or autonomy in respect of their resources) and the fundamental equality of everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand. It also affirms authority of the Crown to govern. As we continue on our journey towards implementation of the Declaration, we will reaffirm our commitment to the common objectives of the Treaty and the Declaration. We will also be guided by Indigenous communities to identify what self-determination means in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The way forward

• As we saw during the first phase of our process last year, Māori communities have a wide range of aspirations for the Declaration.
• The Government has provided some resources to the Iwi Chairs. This is to support family groups to develop plans to realise their aspirations through self-determination.
• This is a fantastic initiative that grounds the Declaration in the Aotearoa New Zealand context and empowers Indigenous communities to achieve tino rangatiratanga, or self-determination.
• Through this process, we are getting a step closer to realising the ends of the Declaration in our country.
• We again thank the Expert Mechanism for this opportunity to learn from other countries and share our experience.

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou – many thanks to you all.