A United Nations committee has issued a sharply critical report on New Zealand’s record on racial discrimination and its treatment of the Indigenous Māori population. The report, released by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination after reviewing New Zealand’s record as part of its periodic review process, warns that recent government policies risk weakening protections for Māori rights and deepening existing inequalities.
The committee focused on a series of changes enacted or pursued by the centre-right coalition government that took office in 2023. Among the policies it singled out were the dismantling of the Māori Health Authority, cuts to funding for Māori-focused services, and efforts to reduce the role of the Treaty of Waitangi in law, education and governance. The report says these moves may weaken the legal, institutional and policy frameworks that support racial equity and the implementation of obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
A leading Māori figure, Lady Tureiti Moxon, who presented a complaint to the committee in Geneva, described the review as the most severe rebuke New Zealand has ever received from the body. According to Māori leaders, the language of the report is unprecedented in its critique of the government’s direction and its assessment that New Zealand is moving backwards on racial equality and Indigenous rights.
The committee’s concerns extend beyond policy changes to broader disparities experienced by Māori in key areas of life. It highlighted ongoing gaps in health outcomes, housing, education and participation in public and political life. The report also took issue with how affirmative action measures intended to address structural disadvantages have been publicly characterized by some political and public figures as racial privilege rather than necessary responses to systemic inequities.
Another point of concern was the way in which Māori political expression has been treated. The committee warned that Māori voices and movements can be subject to disproportionate scrutiny and sanction, and that recent legal changes could significantly undercut statutory protections for Māori land rights. It expressed particular alarm about efforts to remove Treaty principles from legislation, saying such steps could entrench historical and systemic discrimination rather than help address it.
The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840 between representatives of the British Crown and Māori chiefs, is New Zealand’s founding document and a cornerstone of the relationship between the state and Māori. The committee urged the government to strengthen efforts to revitalize the Māori language and to uphold the treaty’s role in public life and law.
In response to the report, New Zealand’s minister for Māori Crown relations acknowledged the committee’s findings and said the government was committed to improving equity and quality of life for Māori. He described the review as one of many sources offering insights into longstanding and complex issues facing the country. The government has defended its policies as aimed at ending what it describes as race-based policies and affirming equal treatment, but has faced nationwide protests, legal challenges and criticism from Māori communities and rights advocates.
The coalition government’s reforms have been deeply controversial and have sparked the largest public demonstrations in New Zealand’s history over Māori rights. In the face of the UN committee’s criticism, Māori leaders and civil society groups are calling for concrete actions to address the gaps highlighted in the report, including systemic discrimination, deaths in custody, environmental protection, and land rights.
The UN committee has asked New Zealand to provide a follow-up report outlining steps taken to implement its recommendations. Māori leaders and rights campaigners say the report is a pivotal moment that underscores the urgent need for meaningful engagement, legal protections and policy frameworks that genuinely address inequalities and uphold Indigenous rights in New Zealand.
