New Zealand will soon be under the spotlight at the United Nations (UN).
The UN’s Human Rights Council’s five-yearly Universal Periodic Review (UPR) has come around for New Zealand with its fourth assessment getting underway this month.
Every five years, member countries go before the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, to defend their human rights record and give an update on what's been achieved since last time.
In 2024, New Zealand's human rights record will undergo it's UPR and it will be administered by Bangladesh, Morocco, and Argentina, who were chosen at random.
In 2019, it was administered by Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, and Brazil.
All UN member states can be part of the review.
The UPR is based on a report by New Zealand's government, a summary of how well New Zealand has engaged with the UN since the last review in 2019, and a 'stakeholder report' which draws from New Zealand's Human Rights Commission, civil society, and Tangata Whenua organisations.
Between February 13 and 17, the commission and other organisations will present at a pre-session and have meetings with state delegations to share an overview of human rights within Aotearoa.
This year, the commission delegations will be led by acting chief commissioner Saunoamaali’i Dr Karinina Sumeo.
Once the review is complete, a government delegation will travel to Geneva on April 29 to explain progress on realising human rights since the last review.
Other member states will ask questions and make recommendations which the New Zealand government can choose to either accept or note.
In the 2019 review, New Zealand accepted 160 recommendations and noted 34.
Any recommendations made to New Zealand are not legally binding.
