E/CN.4/2006/78/Add.3 page 6 III. THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE (MAORI) IN NEW ZEALAND: PRIORITY ISSUES 11. The Constitution Act of 1986 brings together some of the more important statutory constitutional provisions, but New Zealand does not have a written constitution. Over the years, the country has adopted a broad range of domestic human rights legislation to comply with international conventions to which it is a party. Among them are the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (BORA) and the Human Rights Act 1993. The Government of New Zealand defines its international presence as a principled defender of human rights, and it cooperates closely with United Nations human rights bodies. It has also occasionally contributed to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations. 12. The Human Rights Commission is responsible for advocating and promoting respect for, and an understanding and appreciation of, human rights in New Zealand society and for encouraging the maintenance and development of harmonious relationships between individuals and among the diverse groups in New Zealand society. The Commission is charged with promoting better understanding of the human rights dimensions of the Treaty of Waitangi. Although its decisions are not judicially enforceable, the Commission can also resolve disputes relating to unlawful discrimination. 13. The Special Rapporteur considers that New Zealand’s human rights legislation does not provide sufficient protection mechanisms regarding the collective rights of Maori that emanate from article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi (their tino rangatiratanga). He also considers that the underlying legal and political fragility of Maori rights translates into a human rights protection gap that seems not to be sufficiently covered by existing legislation. For example, the Legal Services Act 2000 prevents any body of persons from obtaining funding under the Act to defend their rights in court, except under specified circumstances. 14. The inherent rights of indigenous peoples are referred to in New Zealand common law as customary rights and/or aboriginal title. Some Maori contend that their inherent rights (Treaty of Waitangi, art. 2) are more comprehensive than any limited legal expression thereof in English common law. The Waitangi Tribunal has in several of its reports acknowledged this perspective and some of the recent settlement of Maori claims acts passed by Parliament also refer to such a wider conception of rights, which indeed coincides with the concept of indigenous rights currently evolving at the international level. 15. In New Zealand it is through the courts, parliamentary statute or administrative decision that aboriginal title and customary rights of Maori have been legally recognized and registered, very often in the form of individual fee simple ownership titles. Most Maori property rights to land are in fact acknowledged in this way, and there is extensive recognition of wider rights in addition to the land tenure system. The Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 preserves the capacity of Maori to hold land collectively. Approximately 1.3 million hectares (of a total land area of 27 million hectares) is held on this basis. On the other hand, it has also been through the courts, parliamentary statute and administrative decisions that Maori have been dispossessed over the years of their inherent rights and that their aboriginal titles have been extinguished. It is precisely this process which led to increasing discontent and the well-known protest movements of recent decades, which led to the Government’s establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal claims inquiries and then to the negotiated settlement processes that are currently taking place.