Decision 1 (66) on the New Zealand Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004

Decision 1 (66) on New Zealand Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 18 7

The Committee has noted with satisfaction the State party's intention to submit its fifteenth periodic report by the end of 2005, and requests the State party to include full information on the state of implementation of the Foreshore and Seabed Act in the report.

The Committee requests the State party to monitor closely the implementation of the Foreshore and Seabed Act, its impact on the Maori population and the developing state of race relations in New Zealand, and to take steps to minimize any negative effects, especially by way of a flexible application of the legislation and by broadening the scope of redress available to the Maori.

Bearing in mind the complexity of the issues involved, the legislation appears to the Committee, on balance, to contain discriminatory aspects against the Maori, in particular in its extinguishment of the possibility of establishing Maori customary titles over the foreshore and seabed and its failure to provide a guaranteed right of redress, notwithstanding the State party's obligations under articles 5 and 6 of the Convention.

The Committee has reviewed, under its early warning and urgent action procedure, the compatibility of the New Zealand Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 with the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in the light of information received both from the Government of New Zealand and a number of Maori non governmental organizations and taking into account its general recommendation XXIII (1997) on indigenous peoples.