Lawyers warn UN of New Zealand human rights failings

New Zealand's top legal representative body has told the United Nations Human Rights Council that the country needs stronger human rights protection after the government passed a series of laws that fail to meet its international obligations.

New Zealand must take action in a number of areas to ensure it ceased to infringe or jeopardize human rights and the rule of law, the New Zealand Law Society said in a submission for the council's review of New Zealand's human rights record.

Society president Chris Moore said New Zealand had a generally good record on human rights, but its constitutional arrangements meant their protection depended on rigorous scrutiny of policy and legislation, close adherence to the rule of law, and political restraint.

"Unfortunately on a number of recent occasions legislation has been passed despite conflicting with the rule of law and human rights," Moore said in a statement Thursday.

"There have been 12 pieces of legislation in recent years that have been identified as inconsistent with the rights and freedoms protected in the New Zealand Bill of Rights, and on a number of occasions urgency has been used in Parliament to limit or bypass select committee scrutiny."

The society was also concerned about legislation prohibiting review of government decisions by the courts.

"Other significant concerns include giving the power to amend legislation by regulation without parliamentary scrutiny, and not vetting late amendments to draft bills for their consistency with the Bill of Rights," he said.

The society's submission recommended the government take concrete, targeted steps to give international human rights obligations greater visibility in New Zealand.

It also recommended the government establish a formal process for publicizing, considering and responding to human rights recommendations by United Nations bodies.

New Zealand's human rights performance is being reviewed for the second time at by the United Nation's Human Rights Council as part of the Universal Periodic Review process that began in 2006.