The Māori are the Indigenous People of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Although New Zealand has adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the rights of the Maori population remain unfulfilled. In addition, New Zealand has not ratified ILO Convention 169, an international legal instrument that specifically addresses the rights of Indigenous and tribal peoples.
Māori, the Indigenous People of Aotearoa, represent 16.5% of the 4.7 million population. Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) was signed between the British Crown and Māori in 1840. There is a Māori-language version (Te Tiriti), which most Māori signatories signed, and an English-language version.
Te Tiriti granted a right of governance to the British over their subjects, promised that Māori would retain tino rangatiratanga (self-determination or full authority) over their lands, resources and other treasures and conferred the rights of British citizens on Māori. Te Tiriti has limited legal status, however; accordingly, protection of Māori rights is largely dependent upon political will and ad hoc recognition of Te Tiriti.
The gap between Māori and non- Māori is pervasive: Māori life expectancy is 7 to 7.4 years less than non-Māori; the median income for Māori is 71% that of Pākehā (New Zealand Europeans); 25.5% of Māori leave upper secondary school with no qualifications and over 50% of the prison population is Māori.
In 2016, Matike Mai Aotearoa, an independent working group led by iwi on constitutional transformation, published its report on an inclusive constitution for Aotearoa. The report is based on hundreds of meetings, presentations and discussions with the Maori people, and includes consideration of the possible foundational values of a new constitution, such as community, belonging and conciliation.
The working group identifies 2040 as an aspirational goal for some form of constitutional transformation for Aotearoa. Its recommendations include the need to continue discussions on constitutional transformation, as well as formal dialogue between Maori, the Crown and local authorities, and the establishment of an additional working group. It also recommends that by 2021, a dialogue be initiated with the Crown to organize a convention on the Constitutional Transformation Treaty. The government has not commented on the report.
The Māori and the Crown continued to seek the settlement of Maori claims regarding historic Treaty infractions throughout 2017. Three groups had their mandates recognized, 5 negotiating terms signed with the Crown, 6 signed an agreement in principle, 9 agreed to that their settlement writings were ready to be presented to their members for ratification, one signed a deed in agreement with the Crown, 1 signed a memorandum of understanding, 4 had enact legislation that implements their agreements and 3 enacted legislation that gave effect to your agreements.
In February 2017, in its historic decision in Wakatū v. Attorney General, the Supreme Court of New Zealand held that the Crown owes equitable duties to traditional Maori landlords to protect their property rights. The progress continues in the recognition of the rights of the indigenous peoples in Aotearoa, with the pioneering decision of Wakatū and the continued impulse in the settlement of the historical claims of the Treaty.
The Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa, represent 15% of its 4.5 million people. The gap between the Māori and nonMāori is pervasive: Māori life expectancy is on average 7.3 years shorter than non-Māori; household income is only 78% of the national average; 45% of the Māori leave upper secondary school with no qualifications, and over 50% of the prison population is Māori.1
James Anaya, Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, carried out a country visit to New Zealand from 19-23 July 2010. During his visit the SR assessed the situation of the Maori people, in follow up to the 2005 visit by his predecessor, Rodolfo Stavenhagen.
Statement of Mr. Carlos Mamani, Chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) Mr. Carlos Mamani, Chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), welcomed New Zealand’s endorsement of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, issuing the following statement:
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples releases report on situation of Maori people in New Zealand. The advanced unedited version of the report examines the situation of Maori people in New Zealand on the basis of information received during the Special Rapporteur's visit to the country from 18-23 July 2010 and independent research.
UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation and Fundamental Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya has concluded his visit to New Zealand. As “troubling” inequalities persist between Maori and non-Maori, New Zealand must press ahead with efforts to improve the human rights of its indigenous people, a United Nations independent expert said at a briefing on 23 July.
IWGIA - International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs - is a global human rights organisation dedicated to promoting and defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Read more.
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IWGIA's global report, the Indigenous World, provides an update of the current situation for Indigenous Peoples worldwide. Read The Indigenous World.
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