Feedback on the Recommendations from New Zealand's Fourth Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council in Geneva

5 June 2024

Human Rights Team

Ministry of Justice

National Office

Ministry of Justice

SX10088

Wellington

Email: humanrights@justice.govt.nz

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Re: Feedback on the recommendations from New Zealand's fourth Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council in Geneva

T

he New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW NZ) is pleased to provide feedback to the recommendations from New Zealand's fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

As an apolitical, civil society, BPW NZ is committed to the advancement of equality for all women. The UPR reporting process ensures that we, as a country, are taking stock of progress in regard to women’s as well as other human rights. We offer our encouragement to government engagement with UPR reporting.

We have ordered our feedback using the questions that you provided:

1. What is the (1) most, (2) second most, (3) third most important theme of recommendations to you?

First: Discrimination Against All Women: including gender-based violence, the gender pay gap, women in leadership, women in prisons, economic opportunity including in entrepreneurship, leadership, online harm, access to childcare (and affordability), intersectional discrimination (e.g. ethnic, elderly, disability, rural, LGBTQI+ etc).

Second: Poverty: particularly with an intersectional lens (e.g. ethnic, elderly, disability, rural, LGBTQI+ etc), including the areas of social security, equal economic opportunity, and the gender pay gap.

Third: Climate Change: women and girls experience the greatest impacts of climate change, which amplifies existing gender inequalities and poses unique threats to their livelihoods, health, and safety.

We note General Recommendation 37 (GR37) from the CEDAW Committee’s 69th session 2018, Gender-Related Dimensions of Disaster Risk Reduction in the context of Climate Change. GR37 provides recommendations for action to governments to address gender-based violence (GBV) in the context of disaster risk reduction and climate change, among other gender-related recommendations.

New Zealand has work to do to:

• integrate Gender in disaster risk reduction / mitigation, relief, early recovery and reconstruction policies and legislation, including climate risks;

• encourage women’s inclusion, participation and leadership in disaster preparedness and response;

• make inequalities visible by collecting and communicating gender disaggregated data, conducting gender analyses, building and sharing evidence to empower those left furthest behind.

Kay Harrison, the New Zealand Climate Change Ambassador noted with concern that too few women are participating in COP27 climate negotiations despite global acknowledgement that the climate crisis is not “gender neutral”. 

The three items we have highlighted are all interrelated. For example as we have said women are disproportionately impacted by the effects of poverty and climate change.

2. What are the key recommendations in the report that you think New Zealand should accept, and why?

We would recommend New Zealand accepts all recommendations that advance the themes we have highlighted above.

3. Are there any recommendations that you think New Zealand should not accept, and why?

BPW NZ policy calls for equitable access throughout New Zealand to legal termination of pregnancy as a core health service. We therefore recommend New Zealand does not accept:

6.71 Deepen commitment to the protection of life, at all stages, by adopting measures that further prioritize the well-being and dignity of every individual, including unborn children (Nigeria).

BPW NZ does not discriminate based on ethnicity, religious affiliation, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation. We therefore recommend New Zealand does not accept recommendation 6.170 relating to access to single-sex spaces as we are concerned about discrimination against our gender diverse community.

6.170 Redouble efforts to eliminate discrimination and violence against women and girls, including by ensuring their access to single-sex spaces and closing the gender pay gap between men and women (Nigeria).

Our Organisation

Our organisation’s aims are to link professional and business women throughout the world, to provide support, to lobby for change and to promote the ongoing advancement of women. We work for equal opportunities and status for all women in economic, civil and political life and the removal of discrimination in all countries. We promote our aims and organise our operating structure without distinction as to race, language or religion.

International Status

BPW NZ is an affiliate of BPW International. BPW International is one of the most influential international networks of business and professional women with affiliates over 100 countries in five continents.

BPW International has General Consultative Status at the United Nations through the UN Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC). This enables BPW International to appoint official representatives to UN agencies worldwide and to accredit members to attend specific UN meetings. BPW New Zealand speaks strongly for women in international forums and works hard in relation to the advancement to the status of women.

We hope that our comments are of use and welcome questions about any of the above items.

On behalf of New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women Inc.

Janet Gibb, President

BPW New Zealand