Paul Hunt (academic)

Last updated

I attended the hui to speak, listen and discuss the experiences raised by the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom, acknowledging that these experiences are part of a wider conversation about the importance of social inclusion and belonging in Aotearoa. I look forward to the Human Rights Commission further engaging with the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom in the future, in an honest and constructive spirit.

In June 2021, Newshub revealed correspondence between the Human Rights Commission and the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom to indicate that significant organisation had occurred, with an agreement that no press releases were to be published prior to the event, news media were barred access, and members would be restricted in their use of social media during the event. Hunt's attendance came about after Waikato Mongrel Mob public relations liaison Louise Hutchinson approached the HRC in December, asking if it was possible for him to do a presentation in 2021, since the Waikato Chapter were trying to engage positively in society. [71]

2022 Wellington protest

In the anti-vaccine mandate protests in February and March 2022 a large number of protesters encamped in front of Parliament House. Hunt was asked by protest leaders to meet to discuss a resolution. While government politicians and officials refused to meet with them, Hunt insisted that speaking with the protesters was "fostering inclusion". [72] Hunt met with protesters with the intention of using dialogue to resolve the protests and prevent further escalation of violence. [73] The protest nevertheless ended violently when protestors clashed with riot police as they cleared the camp. [74]

End of Term

Following the 2023 New Zealand general election, in which a coalition was formed between the conservative New Zealand National Party, the right-wing ACT Party and the populist New Zealand First Party, the new Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith confirmed that he would not seek to reappoint Hunt for a second term as Chief Human Rights Commissioner. Hunt's term expired in January 2024. [75] Earlier, Goldsmith had declined to express confidence in Hunt's role as Chief Human Rights Commissioner. [76]

However, on Hunt's completion of his term, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier, National Iwi Chairs forum Chair Margaret Mutu and President of Multicultural New Zealand Pancha Narayanan, among others, praised Hunt for his integrity and positive contribution to human and indigenous rights in Aotearoa New Zealand. [77] During his term he received the Ann Dysart Distinguished Service Award from Multicultural New Zealand and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Waikato.

Other

Hunt has provided expert testimony to the European Court of Human Rights, via the Centre for Reproductive Rights, and Inter-American Court of Human Rights. [78] In 1999–2000, he sat on the Advisory Panel of the UNDP Human Development Report, Human Rights and Human Development. [79] He was one of the drafters of, and signatories to, the Yokyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in 2006. In 2008, he co-founded the International Initiative on Maternal Mortality and Human Rights. Between 2009–2011, he sat on UNFPA's External Advisory Panel. Hunt sits on the Editorial Boards of the Health and Human Rights and International Journal of Human Rights and Drug Policy.

In 2008 Hunt was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Nordic School of Public Health. [80]

In 2014, he gave a TEDx talk, Equality – the Road Less Travelled. [81] In this he argues that the realisation of social rights, such as those in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), has a major contribution to make towards the enjoyment of substantive equality for all.

Main publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights</span> UN Secretariat department that promotes human rights under international law

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. The office was established by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 December 1993 in the wake of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Human Rights Council</span> United Nations body tasked with the promotion of human rights

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. The headquarters of the Council are at the United Nations Office at Geneva in Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations special rapporteur</span> United Nations human rights expert

Special rapporteur is the title given to independent human rights experts whose expertise is called upon by the United Nations (UN) to report or advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective.

The Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution (NHRI) for New Zealand, operating independently from direction by the Cabinet. Founded in 1977, the commission addresses issues of discrimination, equality, and human rights through education, advocacy, and resolving complaints. It provides guidance on anti-discrimination law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Alston</span> Australian law scholar

Philip Geoffrey Alston is an Australian international law scholar and human rights practitioner. He is John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, and co-chair of the law school's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. In human rights law, Alston has held a range of senior UN appointments for over two decades, including United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, a position he held from August 2004 to July 2010, and UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights from 2014-2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Richard Boyd</span> United Nations special rapporteur

David Richard Boyd is a Canadian environmental lawyer, activist, and diplomat. He was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment until 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right to housing</span> Economic, social and cultural right

The right to housing is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate housing and shelter. It is recognized in some national constitutions and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The right to housing is regarded as a freestanding right in the International human rights law which was clearly in the 1991 General Comment on Adequate Housing by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The aspect of the right to housing under ICESCR include: availability of services, infrastructure, material and facilities; legal security of tenure; habitability; accessibility; affordability; location and cultural adequacy.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a state monitoring mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC). It was established by General Assembly resolution 60/251 in 2006 to periodically review the protection and promotion of human rights in each of the 193 United Nations (UN) Member States. New Zealand has been reviewed twice via the UPR in 2009 and 2014.

Pablo de Greiff is a Colombian academic and human rights activist, who served as the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. In January 2015 he was also asked to be part of UNIIB, a United Nations mission of Independent Experts to address the situation in Burundi. From 2019 to 2020 he was part of a group of experts advising the UN Human Rights Council on its preventive functions. In April 2022 he was appointed as one of the three commissioners in the Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine established by the UN. Since 2014 he is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice of the School of Law at New York University, where he directs both the Transitional Justice Program and the Prevention Project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights and climate change</span>

Human rights and climate change is a conceptual and legal framework under which international human rights and their relationship to global warming are studied, analyzed, and addressed. The framework has been employed by governments, United Nations organizations, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, human rights and environmental advocates, and academics to guide national and international policy on climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the core international human rights instruments. In 2022 Working Group II of the IPCC suggested that "climate justice comprises justice that links development and human rights to achieve a rights-based approach to addressing climate change".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food</span> United Nations Special Rapporteur

The Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food is a Special Rapporteur appointed by the United Nations, who reports on the right to food. The mandate was established in 2000 by the former Commission on Human Rights which appointed the first Rapporteur, Jean Ziegler. In 2008 the second Rapporteur, Olivier De Schutter, was appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, the successor to the Commission. In 2014 the third Rapporteur, Hilal Elver was appointed. In 2020, the current Rapporteur, Michael Fakhri, was appointed.

The Republic of Uruguay is located in South America, between Argentina, Brazil and the South Atlantic Ocean, with a population of 3,332,972. Uruguay gained independence and sovereignty from Spain in 1828 and has full control over its internal and external affairs. From 1973 to 1985 Uruguay was governed by a civil-military dictatorship which committed numerous human rights abuses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association</span> United Nations Special Rapporteur

The United Nations special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association works independently to inform and advise the United Nations Human Rights Council. The special rapporteur examines, monitors, advises and publicly reports on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association worldwide.

Local government bodies in New Zealand have responsibilities under the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA) to perform a wide range of functions, and provide a wide range of services to the communities they represent. There is not an explicit focus on human rights in New Zealand local government, or any direct reference to human rights under the LGA. Local bodies in New Zealand are required to act in a way that is consistent with the rights guaranteed under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (NZBORA). Internationally there is growing consideration of how local government does and could promote and protect fundamental rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights and development</span>

Development is a human right that belongs to everyone, individually and collectively. Everyone is “entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized,” states the groundbreaking UN Declaration on the Right to Development, proclaimed in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agnès Callamard</span> Secretary General of Amnesty International since 2021

Agnès Callamard is a French human rights activist who is the Secretary General of Amnesty International. She was previously the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the former Director of the Columbia University Global Freedom of Expression project.

The Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016) is a set of international guidelines for the investigation of suspicious deaths, particularly those in which the responsibility of a State is suspected.

Stanley Michael Lynk is a Canadian legal academic. He is currently an associate professor at the University of Western Ontario. From 2016 to 2022 he was the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories occupied since 1967.

Mihir Kanade is an author and professor of international law, human rights and development at the University for Peace (UPEACE), a university founded by the United Nations. He holds the concurrent positions of the Academic Coordinator of UPEACE since 2016, the Head of its Department of International Law since 2014, and the Director of the UPEACE Human Rights Centre since 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right to a healthy environment</span> Human right proposed by environmental groups

The right to a healthy environment or the right to a sustainable and healthy environment is a human right advocated by human rights organizations and environmental organizations to protect the ecological systems that provide human health. The right was acknowledged by the United Nations Human Rights Council during its 48th session in October 2021 in HRC/RES/48/13 and subsequently by the United Nations General Assembly on July 28, 2022 in A/RES/76/300. The right is often the basis for human rights defense by environmental defenders, such as land defenders, water protectors and indigenous rights activists.

References

  1. "Paul Hunt - Te Piringa: University of Waikato". www.waikato.ac.nz.
  2. "Profile for Paul Hunt at the University of Essex". www.essex.ac.uk.
  3. Paul Hunt, Justice? The Military Court System in the Israeli-Occupied Territories, examined the Military Courts through the 'lens' of Israel's international human rights obligations.
  4. Sydney Bailey (ed.), Human rights and responsibilities in Britain and Ireland, Macmillan, 1988.
  5. For example, Thynne, Wilson and Gunnel v UK, 13 EHRR 666
  6. Brice Dickson and Paul Hunt, "Northern Ireland's emergency laws and international human rights", NQHR, 1993, 173,
  7. Paul Hunt and Hassan Jallow, AIDS and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, ACDHRS, 1991
  8. Richard Carver and Paul Hunt, National human rights institutions in Africa, ACDHRS, 1991,
  9. Paul Hunt, Reclaiming social rights: international and comparative perspectives, Dartmouth, 1996.
  10. Barbara Stark, Book review of Reclaiming social rights: international and comparative perspectives, HRQ, 1999, 547, at 548.
  11. Paul Hunt and Margaret Wilson (eds.), Culture, rights and cultural rights: perspectives from the South Pacific, Huia, 2000.
  12. Peter Cooper, Paul Hunt, Bill Mansfield and Janet McLean, Re-Evaluation of the Human Rights Protections in New Zealand, Report for the Associate Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Ministry of Justice, Wellington, 2000.
  13. "About Democratic Audit". 29 May 2013.
  14. E/C.12/1999/5, 12 May 1999.
  15. E/C.12/1999/10, 8 December 1999.
  16. E/C.12/2000/4, 11 August 2000.
  17. E/C.12.2002/11, 20 January 2003.
  18. E/C.12/2001/10, 10 May 2001.
  19. Human rights and poverty reduction: a conceptual framework, OHCHR, 2004.
  20. Draft guidelines: a human rights approach to poverty reduction strategies, OHCHR, 2002.
  21. Principles and guidelines for a human rights approach to poverty reduction strategies, OHCHR, HR/PUB/06/12.
  22. UN reports available at https://www1.essex.ac.uk/hrc/practice/health-and-human-rights.aspx and http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Health/Pages/SRRightHealthIndex.aspx For introductions to, and critiques of, Hunt's work as UN Special Rapporteur, see Paul Hunt and Sheldon Leader, “Developing and applying the right to the highest attainable standard of health: the role of the UN Special Rapporteur (2002–2008), in John Harrington and Maria Stuttaford (eds.), Global Health and Human Rights: legal and philosophical perspectives, Routledge, 2010, 28; Paul Hunt, “Interpreting the international right to health in a human rights-based approach to health,” Health and Human Rights, 18/2, December 2016, 109; Michael Freeman, “The right to health”, in Rhiannon Morgan and Bryan Turner, Interpreting human rights: social science perspectives, Routledge, 2009, 44; and John Tobin, The right to health in international law, OUP, 2012.
  23. 1 2 E/CN.4/2004/49, 16 February 2004.
  24. E/CN.4/2005/51, 11 February 2005.
  25. A/61/338, 13 September 2006.
  26. A/63/263, 11 August 2008.
  27. A/HRC/14/20/Add.2, 15 April 2010.
  28. 1 2 E/CN.4/2005/51/Add.3, 4 February 2005.
  29. A/HRC/4/28/Add.2, 28 February 2007.
  30. 1 2 E/CN.4/2006/48/Add.2, 19 January 2006.
  31. Paul Hunt, "The challenge of non-state actors: the experience of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of health (2002–2008)”, in Aoife Nolan, Rosa Freedman and Therese Murphy (eds.), The United Nations Special Procedures System, Brill Nijhoff, 2017.
  32. E/CN.4/2004/49/Add.1, 1 March 2004.
  33. A/HRC/7/11/Add.2, 5 March 2008.
  34. A/HRC/11/12/Add.2, 5 May 2009.
  35. E/CN.4/2006/120, 27 February 2006.
  36. A/HRC/2/7, 2 October 2006.
  37. Cynthia Rothschild, Written out: how sexuality is used to attack women's organizing, IGLHRC and CWGL, 2005, 117.
  38. Ibif., 118.
  39. Sandeep Prasad, "Enhancing international accountability for maternal mortality and morbidity: the work of civil society at the United Nations Human Rights Council”, in Paul Hunt and Tony Gray (eds.), Maternal mortality, human rights and accountability, Routledge, 2013, 85 at 96. In her Foreword to the same book, Navanethem Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, took the same view: “The work of Paul Hunt … was significant in bringing attention to the human rights implications of maternal mortality and morbidity and placing the issue on the human rights agenda”, xv.
  40. “The janani betrayal: maternal care should prick us far more”, Indian Times, 7 December 2007.
  41. Ariel Frisancho Arroyo, "Looking for more inclusive and sustainable health policies: the role of participation”, in Patricia Cholewka and Mitra Motlagh (eds.), Health capital and sustainable socioeconomic development, CRC Press, 2008, 323 at 338.
  42. Dan Biswas, Brigit Toebes, Anders Hjern and others, "Access to health care for undocumented migrants from a human rights perspective: a comparative study of Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands”, Health and Human Rights, 14/2, August 2013.
  43. The Lancet (2009). "Right-to-health responsibilities of pharmaceutical companies". The Lancet. 373 (9680): 1998. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61090-4. PMID   19524762. S2CID   34975875. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  44. Discussed in Paul Hunt and Gillian MacNaughton, "A Human Rights-Based Approach to Health Indicators" in Mashood Baderin and Robert McCorquodale, (eds.), Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Action, OUP, 2007, 303.
  45. Human rights indicators: a guide to measurement and implementation, OHCHR, 2012, HR/PUB/12/5.
  46. Backman, Gunilla; Hunt, Paul; Khosla, Rajat; Jaramillo-Strouss, Camila; Fikre, Belachew Mekuria; Rumble, Caroline; Pevalin, David; Páez, David Acurio; Pineda, Mónica Armijos; Frisancho, Ariel; Tarco, Duniska; Motlagh, Mitra; Farcasanu, Dana; Vladescu, Cristian (2008). "Health systems and the right to health: An assessment of 194 countries". The Lancet. 372 (9655): 2047–2085. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.590.2950 . doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61781-X. PMID   19097280. S2CID   9124616.
  47. The Lancet (2008). "The right to health: From rhetoric to reality". The Lancet. 372 (9655): 2001. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61814-0. PMID   19097274. S2CID   205953129.
  48. UN Human Rights Council, Oral remarks of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of health, 11 March 2008
  49. Flavia Bustreo, Paul Hunt, Sofia Gruskin and others, Women's and children's health: evidence of impact of human rights, WHO, 2013, 12.
  50. Paul Hunt, Ali Yamin and Flavia Bustreo (guest eds.), Evidence of the impact of human rights-based approaches to health, Health and Human Rights, 17/2, December 2015.
  51. Paul Hunt and Tony Gray (eds.), Maternal mortality, human rights and accountability, Routledge, 2013.
  52. Paul Hunt, “A three-step accountability process for the UN Secretary-General's Global Strategy on Women's and Children's Health”, presented at, From pledges to action, A partners’ forum on women's and children's health, organised by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, and The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, New Delhi, India, 12–14 November 2010, Plenary IV: Holding Ourselves Accountable.
  53. Working Group on Accountability for Results, Final Report, Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health, WHO, 2011.
  54. Keeping promises, measuring results, Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health, WHO, 2011. http://www.who.int/topics/millennium_development_goals/accountability_commission/Commission_Report_advance_copy.pdf
  55. See, Every Woman Every Child, The Global Strategy for Women's Children's and Adolescents' Health (2016–2030) Survive Thrive Transform, UN, 2015. and Independent Accountability Panel, Old Challenges, New Hopes: Accountability for the Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health, UN, 2016.
  56. Schweitzer, Julian; Expert Consultative Group for Every Women Every Child on Accountability (2015). "Accountability in the 2015 Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health". BMJ. 351: h4248. doi: 10.1136/bmj.h4248 . PMID   26371221.
  57. Human rights inquiry: emergency health care, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, 2015.
  58. Ruth Lister and Paul Hunt, To combat right-wing populism, we need to reclaim human rights, 12 December 2016.
  59. 'How to advance social rights without jeaopardising the Human Rights Act 1998,' The Political Quarterly 90 (2019), 393-401
  60. "New appointments to the Human Rights Commission". The Beehive.
  61. "Human Rights Commission :: Appointment of two new Commissioners for the Human Rights Commission". www.hrc.co.nz.
  62. "The Post".
  63. https://tikatangata.org,nz/our-work/housing-inquiry-final-report [ bare URL ]
  64. https://tikatangata.org,nz/our-work/inquiry-into-the-pacific-pay-gap [ bare URL ]
  65. "Maranga Mai!".
  66. "Stuff".
  67. "Have your say: Was it appropriate for the Human Rights Commissioner to give a koha to Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom?". Newshub . Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  68. "Human Rights Commission's donation to the Waikato Mongrel Mob revealed". NZ Herald. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  69. "Green Party's Marama Davidson, Human Rights Commissioner under fire for attending Waikato Mongrel Mob gathering". Newshub . Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  70. "Koha to Mongrel Mob: Willie Jackson defends 'tikanga', Chris Hipkins says Human Rights Commission 'independent'". nzherald.co.nz. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  71. "Human Rights Commissioner had 'safety guaranteed by Mongrel Mob' at gang event, publicity tightly controlled, documents reveal". Newshub . 4 June 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  72. Walters, Laura (21 February 2022). "Fostering inclusion means listening to protesters - human rights commissioner". The Post . Stuff. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  73. "'Conciliatory process' under way with protesters". Otago Daily Times . 22 February 2022. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  74. "LIVE: Wellington protest appears to be at 'final standoff' on CBD street". 1News . 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  75. Ensor, Jamie (8 December 2023). "Paul Goldsmith won't reappoint Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt". Newshub . Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  76. "Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith refuses to express confidence in Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt". Radio New Zealand . 7 December 2023. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  77. "Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Farewells Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt". scoop.co.nz. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  78. Tysiac v Poland, ECHR 2007-I, 20 March 2007; Artavia Murillo et al ("In Vitro Fertilization") v. Costa Rica, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Judgment 28 November 2012; and TGGL and Family v. Ecuador, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Judgment 1 September 2015.
  79. "Human Development Report 2000" (PDF). UNDP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2014.
  80. "Professor Paul Hunt". The School of Law. University of Essex. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  81. "TEDx Talks - YouTube". www.youtube.com.
Paul Hunt
Paul Hunt Photo (cropped).jpg
Hunt in 2019
Chief Human Rights Commissioner
In office
14 January 2019 13 January 2024