Third Universal Periodic Review of New Zealand’s Human Rights Performance Submission

Approximately 70% of children and young people in New Zealand do well, and some do outstandingly well. But 20% are struggling, and 10% do as badly as — if not worse than — children living in the most disadvantage in comparable OECD countries. Too many children in Aotearoa continue to face unacceptable levels of poverty, abuse, neglect, violence and racial bias.

This submission to the Universal Periodic Review has a focus on five key areas that require urgent attention in order to fulfil the rights of children in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Treaty of Waitangi. The submission alerts the Human Rights Council to issues affecting children’s rights in New Zealand and calls on the Government to address issues including child poverty, affordability and availability of housing, inequitable health outcomes, racial discrimination and disparities in the education system.

The UPR is a five yearly review of our domestic human rights record. The UPR is run by the Human Rights Council which is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system and is based in Geneva. The aim of the UPR is to improve the human rights situation in each of the 193 UN Member States.