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AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
WILPF - Aotearoa New Zealand
PO Box 2054
Wellington
www.converge.org.nz/pma/wilpf
President Megan Hutching
P O Box 2054
Wellington
Tel: +64 4 383 5688
Fax: + 64 4 383 5688
Vice-Presidents Pauline Tangiora
PO Box 33
Mahia
Tel: +64 6 837 5816
Fax: +64 6 837 5816
Pat Jackman
14 Herne Bay Rd
Herne Bay
Auckland 1012
Treasurer Edna Butterworth
27/16 Spring Street
Freeman's Bay - Auckland/Tamaki Makaurau
edna.b@clear.net.nz
Tel: +64 9 378 1732
Fax: +64 9 360 8005
Correspondence Secretary Edwina Hughes
PO Box 39-059
Lower Hutt 5045
wilpf@xtra.co.nz
Tel: +64 4 382 8129
BRANCH CONTACTS
Auckland/IEC Member Joan Macdonald
PO Box 47-189
Ponsonby - Auckland/Tamaki Makaurau
joanmac@pl.net
Tel: +64 9 360 8001
Fax: +64 9 360 8005
Christchurch Prue Stringer
58 Martindales Road
Christchurch
pruestringer@hotmail.com
Tel: +64 3 384 46 85
Wellington Edwina Hughes
Contact details above
Number of members: 70 paid up members and 80 nonpaying supporters
Section website: www.converge.org.nz/pma/wilpf
We cannot always afford to have a Section representative at IEC meetings,
nor someone from the two International WILPF Working Groups we are involved
with, which means that our views are not always heard, even when we submit
written reports. It would be very useful for Sections, Working Groups
and Committees that do not have representatives or members at an IEC meeting
to take part in the IEC discussion by email or some other electronic means.
We would like some feedback on the section mailing.
We really appreciate the monthly Section mailings which have practical
information which is very useful for the section and branches; we like
the layout of the email version with a brief summary and links to more
information, and the longer paper version is very helpful too.
Information on what is coming up in the various bodies of the UN based
in Europe, in particular on indigenous peoples' rights, women, human rights
and disarmament; prisoners' (especially political prisoners) rights; specific
information about the activities of the New Zealand government when they
are not advancing the cause of peace and human rights, that is often information
that comes to us from organisations at UN meetings as there is a delay
in their speeches and so on being released here; monitoring and reports
from major UN meetings - such as the excellent reports you are currently
sending about the Human Rights Council.
Keeping the sections in touch with each other at what is going on at
the international level; working with and through the United Nations;
networking with other NGOs on issues of importance to WILPF's programme
and letting the sections know about this. We would also like to see some
acknowledgment of an interest in issues pertaining to the Pacific area
in WILPF's work.
We are happy with the level of communication at present, if resources
permit, more topic focused updates and reports would be useful.
Information on what is coming up at and around the UN in New York, in
particular on indigenous peoples' rights, women, human rights and disarmament;
specific information about the activities of the New Zealand government;
monitoring and reports from major UN meetings.
Working with and through the United Nations; networking with other NGOs
on issues of importance to WILPF's programme and letting the sections
know about this
We are happy with the level of communication with the New York Office
at present.
Yes
For research and report writing
Yes
They could be improved by being shorter and more frequent
Yes
For research and report writing
Yes
We also distribute it to other women's groups with an interest in this
area
Yes
We work on the New Zealand government's compliance with the human rights
covenants and conventions particularly around indigenous peoples', women's
and prisoners' rights, and use the text of the international human rights
instruments, Treaty body jurisprudence in those areas, and Concluding
Observations on NZ - particularly CERD, CAT, CRC and CEDAW - in our work.
Our submissions to government on proposed national legislation usually
include references to the relevant Covenants and Conventions, and Concluding
Observations where relevant. For example, we have recently made submissions
in favour of the Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification for Child
Discipline) Amendment Bill which would remove legal protection for physical
assaults on children, and pointed out that this was specifically recommended
by the CRC in their most recent Concluding Observations on NZ, and this
change is necessary to bring the law into line with the Convention. Similarly,
we have just made a submission on the Crimes of Torture Amendment Bill,
which is supposed to incorporate the Convention Against Torture Optional
Protocol into domestic law.
We lobby government and Foreign Affairs around forthcoming UN conferences,
albeit with limited success.
Yes
Indigenous peoples' rights and racism; demilitarisation and disarmament.
We are involved with the Working Group on Racism and the Working Group
on Demilitarisation and Disarmament.
Yes
See under water below, plus letter writing and lobbying on issues when
they arise. We have been involved in the NZ Make Poverty History campaign,
mainly trying to get the level of military expenditure accepted as a readily
identifiable contributing factor to poverty globally (with limited success);
and in the various campaigns trying to persuade the government to raise
the level of overseas development assistance to get nearer to the recommended
UN level.
Yes
Our main work in this area is in support of indigenous peoples' rights
and we do this at the international level through the Working Group on
Racism as Joan Macdonald, contact details above, is Co-Convener. At the
national and local levels, we work with other organisations in support
of indigenous peoples' rights and to oppose the NZ government's attempts
to deny them; in particular Peace Movement Aotearoa. The fallout from
the government's confiscation of the foreshore and seabed (see the 2004
and 2005 Section reports for more information about that) from Maori continues
- having taken the foreshore and seabed, it now looks as though rivers
too will be confiscated. More funding for Maori health and education initiatives
has been withdrawn despite recent research confirming that this is needed;
and legislation is being introduced to set a deadline of 2008 for the
lodging of historical claims for loss of land and other resources because
of actions of past governments. The NZ government is one of the states
most virulently opposed to the Draft Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples including any substantive affirmation of the inherent and inalienable
rights of indigenous peoples.
The Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, Professor Rodolfo Stavenhagen, made a
country visit here in November 2005; when his Report was released in April
2006, government Ministers dismissed it as "disappointing, unbalanced
and narrow", claimed UN human rights treaty bodies regard NZ's efforts
as exemplary (which is simply not true), and said Professor Stavenhagen
didn't know what he was talking about!
Yes
At the international level, we do this in part through the Working Group
on Demilitarisation and Disarmament as Edwina Hughes (see contact details
above) is Co-Convener; and partly through contact with other sections
- Edwina attended the US Triennial Congress in 2005 and the Australian
Section Triennial earlier this year to progress this and other areas of
our work. We were one of the sections involved in the international 'Women
Say No to War' initiative on 8 March this year, information and photos
from that are at www.converge.org.nz/pma/8mar06.htm We work with West
Papuan women on demilitarisation and decolonisation issues in West Papua.
At the national and local levels we work with other peace and disarmament
groups, in particular No WARP! (Network Opposed to Weapons and Related
Production), the National Consultative Committee on Disarmament and Peace
Movement Aotearoa, who we have a joint project ' Saying NO to militarism
and war' with. Our main focuses are opposing NZ military production and
export, and government support for that; the deployment of combat troops;
and support the reduction of military expenditure. Branches organise events
around relevant international days, for example, the anniversaries of
the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Members take part in peace
vigils and anti-war protests.
Yes
We are currently involved with discussions with other groups about the
government's new Sustainable Water Action Plan - the sustainable aspect
of the Plan is commendable, but it seems from the initial analysis that
it also has confiscatory aspects, and will lead to the widespread commercialisation
of water supplies. Our work on this will be mainly in the context of indigenous
peoples' rights, and the ICESCR General Comment on the right to water.
Yes
We work with UNIFEM on issues related to this.
Yes
We write submissions and speak to government select committees on proposed
legislation with a particular impact on women, for example, on employment
issues such as flexible working hours. Most of our work in this area is
with and through the National Council of Women - we contribute to their
submissions, and currently have two remits being considered by them for
their 2006 Annual General Meeting - one calling on the government to repeal
the Foreshore and Seabed Act and to instead develop a way forward that
meets NZ's domestic and international human rights obligations; and the
other about providing for the education and rehabilitative needs of prisoners.
Some members are members of political parties and attempt to influence
those parties from within.
Yes
We work with other groups who are active in this area. At our AGM this
year we had a workshop about women in prison and their situation on release.
Women form a small proportion of the prison population here and as a consequence
are discriminated against in the amount of help they get while in prison;
there are particular issues for women prisoners who may be more vulnerable
to abuse from their guards. We are currently working on developing a section
plan of action about women in prison and developing alternatives to imprisonment.
Several of our members attended a recent national conference on prison
reform as part of that.
Although the major party in the ruling coalition is a Labour party (which
calls itself a centre party), it is regarded as centre right, and the
parties with which it governs are further to the right. The pursuit of
'free trade' agreements has continued unabated, with no analysis by the
bureaucrats or the majority of politicians of the harm that they are causing.
The gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' has continued to grow. Late
last year, a decrease in child poverty was reported - from one child in
four to one child in five - yet there seems to be no real political concern
about this level, which remains unacceptably high.
The government continues to address issues of poverty, poor health and
education outcomes although with mixed success. It has little obvious
concern with the high imprisonment rates of Maori and Pacific peoples.
There is a high rate of political representation of women at both national
and local levels - the high number of women members of parliament is partly
a result of our mixed member proportional (MMP) electoral system - although
that does not seem to have altered the thrust of government policies.
More significant is the inclusion, under MMP, of a greater number of
political parties in parliament. For example, at the last election (2005)
four MPs from the new Maori Party were elected. It is still unclear what
effect this will have on the overall political situation, but does mean
there is now a strong independent voice on indigenous rights.
N.B. We would like to add that WILPF Aotearoa is a small group which does
not have the capacity to work intensively on many issues. As a result
a great deal of our work is in association with other like-minded NGOs.
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