Professor Claire Charters, co-author of He Puapua, was appointed to the Human Rights Commission this year to lead work on indigenous people’s rights.
Recently, she addressed the UN to express her concern that the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has been postponed.
Charters says the Iwi Chairs’ Forum and the Human Rights Commission oppose this postponement.
Implementing rights shouldn’t be subject to the political mood of the government of the day. So we remain of the view that our human rights obligations require the government to act now.
We’ve therefore asked the UN’s Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to continue its oversight of our national plan of action – and we’ve also requested that the Special Rapporteur take up this issue with New Zealand.
Yesterday, E-Tangata published Charters’ article, in which she says:
We know, from listening to Maori communities, what action is required to support whanau to live fulfilling lives, without need, and to address our own issues.
These are things that will bring greater unity in our country, not increase separation.
Read more here. Discuss it on The BFD.
