A/HRC/41/4/Add.1 1. New Zealand welcomes the recommendations made during the third UPR in January 2019. Following the review, New Zealand received nearly 600 written submissions from civil society on the recommendations. 2. While considering the response to the recommendations, New Zealand experienced a deplorable and unprecedented act of terrorism against our Muslim community in Christchurch on 15 March 2019. New Zealand is one of the most multicultural nations in the world and values diversity highly. This attack struck against our core values. It reinforced our commitment to protecting human rights of all people in New Zealand. The Government has no tolerance for violence and extremism of any kind. 3. New Zealand accepts 160 and notes 34 recommendations. We do not reject the intention of any recommendation, but cannot accept certain recommendations because they depend on future decision-making according to our constitutional processes. 4. New Zealand intends to submit a mid-term report in 2021. International instruments 5. New Zealand values the role of international human rights treaties in our constitutional arrangements. New Zealand agrees to consider acceding to additional international treaties, including the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Optional Protocols to both the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Communications) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Furthermore, New Zealand will consider removing existing reservations. 6. New Zealand cannot bypass its domestic process of considering the implications of international conventions. We are therefore unable to accept recommendations ‘to ratify/sign’ or to withdraw reservations. Accepted: 1, 5, 10, 18, 19, 26 Noted: 2–4, 6-9, 11-17, 20–25, 27 National human rights framework 7. Within New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements, human rights are protected through a variety of measures. For example, all draft legislation is assessed against the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (BORA). BORA codifies civil and political rights, including, freedom from discrimination. Agencies must also report on compliance of proposals with international obligations. 8. Courts can assess compliance with BORA and award remedies for breaches. Parliament will soon be required to respond to judicial declarations that legislation is inconsistent with BORA. 9. New Zealand is open to continuing the dialogue about constitutional arrangements, including the status of economic, social and cultural rights. There are, however, no plans at this stage to adopt a written constitution holding supreme legal status or include further rights in the BORA. 10. Our national human rights institution, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, plays an important role in protecting human rights. The Government will work with the Commission on identifying work priorities and on resourcing. The Government is in the process of appointing a new Race Relations Commissioner and plans to consider improvements to the Commission’s governance structure. We are developing a long-term international candidatures plan that might include reviewing the domestic process for nominating appointments to treaty bodies. 11. The Government is also strengthening domestic processes to implement international human rights standards and improve inter-agency coordination. 2