The Human Rights Foundation promotes and defends human rights in Aotearoa New Zealand and abroad, through research-based education and advocacy.
TAKE ACTION NOW From Amnesty International New Zealand: Warning: This petition contains discussions of distressing mental health experiences and violence Imagine being held alone in a cell for months on end with limited human contact; hosed with pepper spray in a confined space by prison officers in full riot gear despite suffering from asthma; having to put your nose to the ground before you are fed… living with inadequate sanitation and
Margaret Bedggood Last week the Salvation Army published its annual State of the Nation report. It contains a mass of depressing social and economic topics and statistics. One stands out, yet again: the deplorable state of our benefit system. New Zealand had a proud record from the late 19th century of providing social security for the disadvantaged,
David R Boyd, University of British Columbia Recent revelations about the speed and scale of nature’s decline are hard to truly comprehend. Not since the dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago has the diversity and abundance of life on Earth plunged so precipitously. For decades, governments have signed treaties and made pledges to halt the
The Aotearoa New Zealand Human Rights Foundation invites you to a public seminar by Dame Silvia Cartwright, our Patron. Dame Silvia served as Governor General of New Zealand from 2001 to 2006 after an illustrious career at the forefront on New Zealand’s judicial system. In 2007, she was appointed as an international judge to the
On the 10th anniversary of the Urewera raids we should recount the lessons – and we should remember. Breathless police and media commentary about a cocktail of napalm bombs, terrorist cells, guns, ammunition, Maori extremists, guerrilla warfare, assassination threats against politicians, greeted the public on the 15th October 2007. You name it – the police
National Party police spokeswoman Paula Bennett had a relatively simple job to do on Sunday – get up and make a policy statement which included a previously-announced plan to separate drug-dealing gang members from their guns. Instead, apparently in her enthusiasm to beat the law-and-order drum in an election campaign, Bennett ended up declaring that
Our friends in the Human Rights Lawyers Association have today written to the Prime Minister, calling for an increase in New Zealand’s refugee quota. The Aotearoa New Zealand Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA) has written to the Prime Minister in respect of the refugee crisis that is rapidly unfolding in Europe, and about what we
The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and Human Rights It is not easy to raise questions about the TPPA or specifically about its effect on human rights since both the process and the content are shrouded in secrecy. Nevertheless it is possible from various leaked documents / drafts and from comparisons with other trade agreements, both
Join us in celebrating the launch of Kris Gledhill’s new book: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTS: THE MECHANISMS COMPARED Date: Tuesday 31 March Time: 5.30-7pm Venue: Law Student Centre, Level 2, Building 810, 1-10 Short Street Wine and canapés will be served to celebrate. RSVP: Khylee Quince – k.quince@auckland.ac.nz by Monday 30th March The aim of this book is
Twenty Seconds on a 20-20 human rights vision for International Human Rights Day (10 December) from Navi Pillay: A 20-20 Human Rights Vision Statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay for Human Rights Day, 10 December 2013 Twenty years ago, a historic document was adopted in Vienna. It crystallized the principle
