An associate professor at the University of Auckland Law School, Dr Claire Charters, is currently working on articles on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the relationship between tikanga Māori and the state legal system, tensions between human rights and indigenous peoples' rights and on the legitimacy of indigenous peoples' rights under international law, which will be published as a book by Cambridge University Press.
In a talk to be given on August 27, she will be arguing that New Zealand needs a written constitution recognising iwi rangatiratanga and the rights of indigenous peoples in her talk ‘Why we need a constitution accommodating Māori rights’
When: 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM, AUGUST 27, 2019
Where: Little Creatures Summer Pop Up, 16 Fort Street, Auckland View Map
This event is free. You can register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/why-we-need-a-constitution-accommodating-maori-rights-tickets-65091471343?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Dr Charters’ primary area of research is in indigenous peoples’ rights in international and constitutional law. She has worked extensively on indigenous peoples' rights at an international level, including for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and as an advisor to the United Nations President of the General Assembly.
Dr Charter’s other work includes:
- “Use it or lose it: The value of using the declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples in Māori legal and political claims” (2017).
- “Legitimising the state: Constitutional reform to recognise Rangatiratanga and Tikanga Māori”. A paper presented at New Zealand Law Commission Symposium, Wellington. 3 November 2016.
Calls by Māori for significant partnerships with the crown are intensifying.
Another academic who is pushing for major changes to our constitutional arrangements is Khylee Quince, who is director of Māori and Pacific Advancement at Auckland University of Technology. She bemoans a "lack of a true partnership relationship between Māori and the crown and the need for really significant change to our constitutional arrangements."
See WaateaNews: Constitutional change behind hīkoi call