legislationary moves

peace movement aotearoa Dear all, earlier this year WILPF (Aotearoa) submitted a remit on repeal of the foreshore and seabed legislation to the National Council of Women's Board, and it was selected as one of the remits for consideration at the 2006 NCW National Conference - and it passed on Saturday! We think this is the first non-Maori organisation of its size to pass something like this? Anyway, if any of you are part of any organisation/s that would consider such a remit or resolution, maybe it would be good to try and get them to pass similar remits/resolutions. I've included the wording of the remit below, and the brief explanatory note we sent > when the remit was first submitted to the NCW Board. All the best, Edwina WILPF (Aotearoa) Remit to NCW Respect for NZ's Human Rights Obligations: that NCWNZ urges the government to repeal the Foreshore and Seabed Act (and other legislation amended thereby) and to instead develop a way forward that meets New Zealand’s domestic and international human rights obligations. Explanatory note sent with remit The crucial importance of respect for human rights as a way of ensuring a fair and just society has been, and remains, a feature of NCW's work - including respect for the particular rights of women, of children and of indigenous peoples. The way in which the foreshore and seabed legislation breaches the Treaty of Waitangi, as well as NZ human rights legislation and international human rights conventions, is now well documented - for example, in the report of the Waitangi Tribunal, the submission of the NZ Human Rights Commission, publications and submissions by Maori and Pakeha human rights lawyers and organisations, the decision of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (which monitors the International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination), and most recently in the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous People by Professor Stavenhagen (the independent UN expert on indigenous peoples' rights). While the foreshore and seabed legislation remains, it is a stark reminder of ongoing legislative racial discrimination which surely is unacceptable in this day and age. Having ratified the international human rights instruments and incorporated them (in part at least) into domestic legislation, there is an unavoidable obligation on the > government to ensure that all legislation is consistent with their provisions. <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> Peace Movement Aotearoa (PMA) the national networking peace organisation PO Box 9314, Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand Tel +64 4 382 8129, fax 382 8173 email pma@xtra.co.nz PMA website - http://www.converge.org.nz/pma Not in Our Name - http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nionnz.htm <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> war on terrorism? war is terrorism <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>