The Human Rights Foundation promotes and defends human rights in Aotearoa New Zealand and abroad, through research-based education and advocacy.
The police watchdog says a police officer who drove more than 80kmh over the speed limit in pursuit of a fleeing driver should have been charged. In a statement, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) said a criminal investigation should have been undertaken, as the officer could have been convicted for dangerous driving. The IPCA oversaw a police investigation
The United Nations Secretary General has given a nod to indigenous rangatahi in their fight for climate justice. Yesterday morning, rangatahi Māori activists made their way to Auckland Museum’s event centre for an unusual meeting. Te Ara Whatu, Aotearoa’s first indigenous youth delegation to the United Nations, joined climate minister James Shaw and other climate activists in
Previously classified documents released by the inquiry into Operation Burnham show the NZDF thought civilians may have been killed in the days following an attack in Afghanistan. Twenty-two documents, 14 directly relating to Operation Burnham, have been uploaded to the Inquiry website. It comes ahead of a public hearing on 22 May into allegations that six
OPINION: What does it take to get a conviction in a rape trial, these days? I’m genuinely interested to know. In Hawke’s Bay two men, Jason Trembath and Joshua Pauling, were found not guilty of rape. The woman said she did not consent to sex with them. She was so drunk that she has little memory of that
Nicky Hager, whose book Hit & Run sparked an inquiry into New Zealand Defence Force actions in Afghanistan, will make two presentations at the second public phase of an inquiry into what happened. The Operation Burnham Inquiry is investigating allegations that six civilians were killed in Afghanistan during a New Zealand-led raid in 2010, and
The “Christchurch Call” launched by Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron falls short of dealing with the scale of hatred online, new social media research says. The call to action seeks a global agreement to attempt to stop platforms like Facebook being used to promote terrorism. But content moderation alone won’t be enough, researchers behind the Digital Threats to Democracy report have
The Police Commissioner does not see the routine arming of police as an inevitability after the Christchurch terrorist attack. “Quite firmly, I do not. I hope we never go there. What I, as commissioner, have to consider every day is the safety of the public, the safety of New Zealand police officers,” Mike Bush said. The
Warning: This story discusses issues related to rape and sexual violence. New Zealand has stubbornly high rates of sexual violence, despite feminist movements like #MeToo. Laura Walters looks at the the societal barriers to ending rape. The advent of online dating and aggressive porn increasingly appear to be a contributing factor to stubbornly high rates
The High Court has refused to allow lawyers representing Afghanistan villagers to seek further information from the government inquiry into Operation Burnham. The inquiry is investigating allegations that New Zealand soldiers killed six Afghanistan civilians during a military operation in 2010 and the military then covered up what happened. Those allegations were the subject of
Afghanistan villagers, who claim to have lost relatives in a military operation involving New Zealand soldiers, need to be front and centre of an inquiry into the incident, a lawyer says. Operation Burnham is investigating allegations that New Zealand soldiers killed six Afghan civilians during a military operation in 2010 and the military then covered up
