A/HRC/26/3 8. In response to an advance question from the United Kingdom, New Zealand confirmed that its UPR preparation had included extensive consultation with civil society and human rights organizations, including multiple public meetings. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission and the general public had been consulted during the preparation of the draft report. 9. New Zealand had increased support for international human rights instruments and engagement with United Nations bodies. In 2010, New Zealand had supported the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and in 2011, it had ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (OP-CRC-SC). New Zealand had received visits from the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples and the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture. 10. Responding to an advance question from Liechtenstein on the Kampala amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, New Zealand confirmed it was a long-standing supporter of the International Criminal Court and would make a formal decision on ratification of the amendments in the first quarter of 2014. 11. New Zealand explained that the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand were a unique group with a rich culture integral to the country’s identity. Māori constituted around 15 per cent of the New Zealand population and Te Reo Māori was an official language of New Zealand. The Treaty of Waitangi, which had been signed in 1840, was a partnership agreement between Māori and representatives of the State and a founding document of New Zealand. 12. Māori played a strong role in governance. The Māori Party and the governing National Party worked together in a formal coalition arrangement. The Governor-General, three Ministers in Cabinet and 20 per cent of Members of Parliament were of Māori descent. 13. New Zealand acknowledged that the story of Māori achievement was not consistently positive. Māori were over-represented in the criminal justice system as offenders and victims. With the adoption of the Addressing the Drivers of Crime initiative, however, the number of young Māori appearing in court had reduced by 30 per cent in the past two years. The Government had launched the Youth Crime Action Plan in 2013, aiming to reduce crime and recidivism for young Māori. 14. New Zealand described the role of women in leadership in the country. There had been two female prime ministers and two female Governors-General. Three of the four levels of the judiciary were headed by women and there were six women in Cabinet. Since 1998, the gender pay gap had been trending downwards (it currently stood at 10.1 per cent) and New Zealand ranked in the top ten of the Global Gender Gap Report published by the World Economic Forum. 15. New Zealand acknowledged that women and children experienced an unacceptably high rate of family violence; the Government was determined to eradicate that problem. In 2012, the Government had reconvened the Family Violence Ministerial Group, providing oversight to a whole-of-government approach to addressing family violence. Recognizing the link between alcohol abuse and family violence, in December 2013, the Government had enacted legislative changes governing the sale and supply of alcohol. The police had indicated that those changes were already making a positive difference to the country’s drinking culture. 16. Other significant developments had included: the introduction of Police Safety Orders; increasing penalties for breaches of domestic violence restraining orders; expanding the definition of domestic violence to include economic and financial abuse; 4