Rights of tamariki Māori
Te Wai Ariki is especially concerned with the rights of tamariki Māori (Māori children). We are committed to providing thought leadership to help ensure that tamariki Māori enjoy their particular rights and status: as tangata whenua in Aotearoa New Zealand, as partners to te Tiriti o Waitangi, and as Indigenous children under international law.
About
Our work in this area includes research and open access publications into the nature of the rights of tamariki Māori, the involvement of tamariki Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand’s care and protection system, critical commentary on recent draft legislation regarding the monitoring and oversight of Oranga Tamariki (the government department responsible for taking children into state care), and a report on determinations of the best interests of tamariki Māori in need of care and protection. We have also fed into a report by the Children’s Convention Monitoring Group on children’s rights in the COVID response. Our work has been shared with domestic child rights advocacy groups and whānau, members of the judiciary and law profession, and has fed into the work and monitoring of United Nations bodies such as the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. Our work on the rights of tamariki Māori has frequently been the subject of media attention.
Our Tamariki Rights reports
- Report on determinations of the best interests of tamariki Māori in need of care and protection
- Time to Taihoa - Report on the Government’s Oranga Tamariki Oversight Bill
- Submission on the nature of the rights of tamariki Māori to the United Nations Committee on the Rights on the Child
- Submission on the situation of tamariki Māori to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Other reports
We have also fed into the work of other bodies, including contributing to a report by the Children’s Convention Monitoring Group Children’s Rights in the COVID-19 Response.
Media
Media associated with our tamariki rights reports includes:
Date | Title | Media |
---|---|---|
15 Jul 2022 | The promise of a Māori-led transformation of Oranga Tamariki is lacking in new bill | NZ Herald |
14 Jul 2022 | Taihoa call on Oranga Tamariki Bill | Waatea News |
13 Jul 2022 | Time to hit pause on flawed Oranga Tamariki Bill | UoA |
13 Jul 2022 | Call To Hit Pause On Controversial Bill | Scoop |
13 Jul 2022 | Māori law academics call taihoa on flawed Oranga Tamariki legislation | NZ Herald |