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Racial Discrimination in New Zealand: Māori at the Heart of the Debate

26 March 2013

Owing to its multicultural past and the mix of different populations who migrated from all the corners of the planet, New Zealand might be one of the most tolerant countries of the world; in spite of this, Māori and Pasifika people have continuously been suffering from structural racial discrimination, mainly in education, justice and work.

Māori people were therefore the main issue of the review of New Zealand at the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), for which WILPF’s section in New Zealand has worked on a report, jointly with other local NGOs.

A vicious circle of discrimination against indigenous people

The lack of education is the starting point of a vicious circle that then leads to a higher rate of unemployment and poverty, to diverse social problems such as alcoholism and the use of drugs and to an overrepresentation of Māori in jails.

The recent economic crisis affected all regions of the world, including New Zealand, where indigenous people were particularly impacted by unemployment. Māori, especially young Māori, are disproportionately represented among the unemployed population.

The economic downturn also contributes to the palpable social tensions among New Zealander society. Asian and indigenous people have endured racial discrimination, particularly in their access to employment.

Maori Artist Performs Traditional Dance
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Yet, the State party argued that migrant populations continue to face difficulties to find a job, mainly because they lack relevant professional experience and sometimes don’t speak English well enough. The delegation stated that the government is trying to promote the advantages of hiring migrants and having a diverse and multicultural workforce.

Unemployment and poverty lead to social problems such as alcoholism, which has devastating effects on Māori and negative consequences on the way they are perceived by the rest of the population. Such factors contribute to reinforce racial discrimination and prejudice against Māori and Pasifika.

The issue of overrepresentation of indigenous people among the penal system is also a source of concern: though the number of Māori imprisoned has decreased, they still represent the majority of prisoners in New Zealand, not to mention they are also overrepresented among victims of crime. This can be explained by a combination of the above-mentioned factors such as lack of education, poverty, social issues and racial discrimination.

Obvious disparities and inequalities remain in the judicial system of New Zealand and these have to be addressed at every level of the criminal justice system. Access to legal services by migrants and the Māori must also be improved.

Māori women particularly impacted

A member of the Committee pointed out the gender dimensions of racial discrimination: women are particularly impacted by such discrimination, especially in terms of employment and health. Moreover, the expert reminded those present that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was deeply concerned about violence against Māori women and the low level of prosecution relating to this. She therefore called upon the delegation of New Zealand to make further efforts in this domain and to detail in the next report what has been done for indigenous women.

Among others, the members of the Committee also expressed their concerns about Māori’s access to water, the lack of constitutional protection for the CERD rights, the risk of erosion of the Māori language, their lack of access to land and other resources, and the implementation of recommendations made by the Waitangi Tribunal.

What to do now?

The process of human rights reviews does not end at the review itself but is a continuous process that civil society needs to be involved in to ensure the supervision of the implementation of observations from the Committee.

The concluding observations of the Committee, which are a great tool for advocacy, are now available here.

It is the obligation of the Member State to widely share the content of these concluding observations in the local languages, and civil society should also contribute to the public awareness of the results using adapted resources that speak to everyday life situations.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.

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