A/HRC/18/35/Add.4 Maori livelihood was based heavily on fishing and hunting, as well as on cultivating plants, with agricultural areas located near good fishing and birding locations. Under the traditional Maori land tenure system, land was held by tribal groups, but an individual or a family could claim the right to use an area for a garden, catching birds or fish, cutting down a tree or building a house. 6. The colonization of New Zealand by the British and the subsequent policies adopted by the colonial and New Zealand Governments led to the widespread loss and alienation of Maori land, and assaulted the social and cultural fabric of Maori communities. This history is reflected in the disadvantage currently faced by Maori people in relation to the nonindigenous population, across a range of indicators, as discussed further in section IV below. Despite this, Maori continue to possess a strong and vibrant culture, enriching New Zealand society as a whole. III. A. The Treaty of Waitangi Background 7. Relationships between Maori and the New Zealand Government are grounded in and guided by the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840, which is understood to be one of the country’s founding instruments. While the constitutional status of the Treaty of Waitangi is the subject of ongoing debate in New Zealand, as discussed further in section IV below, the Treaty of Waitangi has an important place in the legal framework of New Zealand and has been described as part of the fabric of New Zealand society. 8. The Treaty was written in both English and Maori, and there are important differences in some of its core provisions in the two versions. Most significantly, in the English version, Maori conveyed “sovereignty” to the British Crown (art. 1); but in the Maori version, they conveyed “kawanatanga” (governorship), but retained “tino rangatiratanga” (chieftainship, a concept somewhat analogous to self-determination) over their lands, villages and taonga (treasures). Thus, many Maori believe that they retained sovereignty and gave away only limited rights of government to the Crown. 9. In part due to the differences in interpretation in the two texts, most contemporary legislative references to the Treaty of Waitangi refer to the principles of the Treaty, rather than the Treaty provisions themselves. The dominant principles articulated by New Zealand courts, though understood to be evolving, are: partnership, which includes a duty of both parties to act reasonably, honourably and in good faith; active protection, which requires the Government to protect Maori interests, although the degree of the obligation of the Government to protect depends on the circumstances of the situation and on the vulnerability of the taonga involved in the situation; and redress, which requires the Government to take active and positive steps to redress breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and to provide fair and reasonable compensation for breaches. 10. Despite the significant protections for Maori rights enshrined in the provisions and principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, during most of the nineteenth and part of the twentieth century, the British colonial and successor New Zealand Governments carried out a series of acts and omissions that resulted in loss by Maori of nearly all of the lands that they held at the time of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. These acts and omissions are now widely recognized as breaches of the Treaty. 5