Human Rights and Language Policy

Joris de BresRace Relations CommissionerLanguage, Education and Development ConferenceUniversity of Auckland, November 2011

Rights of minorities“In those states in which

ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language.”

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Article 27

NZ Bill of Rights Act

• A person who belongs to an ethnic, religious, or linguistic minority in New Zealand shall not be denied the right, in community with other members of that minority, to enjoy the culture, to profess and practise the religion, or to use the language, of that minority. (Section 20)

Rights of Indigenous peoplesIndigenous peoples have

the right to revitalise, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons. (Article 13)

Review of Human Rights in New Zealand 2004

• identified language as a key priority for human rights and race relations

• vision of a bilingual nation by 2040 with support for use of other community languages

• 2005 NZ Action Plan called for a national languages policy

Human Rights Commission Initiatives

• Language Policy Network• Monthly newsletter, Te Waka

Reo• Annual Language Policy

Forum• Annual Review of language

developments• Statement on Language

Policy• Promotion of Language

Weeks• Facebook and YouTube

Statement on Language Policy

• Launched at LED in 2005• Purpose was to provide

an elementary framework to prioritise, implement and monitor language policy development in NZ pending a more substantive strategy

Statement on Language Policy Te reo Māori

• New Zealand has a particular responsibility under the Treaty of Waitangi and international law to protect and promote te reo Māori as the indigenous language of New Zealand.

Statement on Language Policy Other indigenous languages

• New Zealand also has a special responsibility to protect and promote other languages that are indigenous to the New Zealand realm: Vagahau Niue, Gagana Tokelau, Cook Island Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language.

Statement on Language Policy Other Pacific languages

• New Zealand has a regional responsibility as a Pacific nation to promote and protect other Pacific languages, particularly where significant proportions of their communities live in New Zealand.

Milestones 2005-2011

• Mind Your Language project • Language Line• NZ Sign Language Act• New Zealand Curriculum• Te Marautanga, Māori Medium Curriculum• Guidelines for Māori in English medium schools• Language curriculum statements• Use of te reo Māori in the public domain• Language weeks• Establishment of Māori Television

In process

• Response to Waitangi Tribunal report• Response to Māori language review• New Māori Language Strategy• Kohanga Reo claim• Pacific Languages Framework

Obstacles to Progress

• Government’s resistance to cost implications of language strategies and action plans

• Education Ministry’s narrow focus on national standards of English literacy

• Ministry does not recognise duty in relation to endangered Pacific languages

• No home or leadership responsibility for language policy in government

Educational imperativeEthnicity of all students 2010

22%

10%

9%

55%

MaoriPacificAsianPakeha

Educational imperative:Students in northern region 2010

42%

18%

19%

16% 3% 2%

PakehaMaoriPacificAsianOtherIFP

Health and safety imperativeCivil emergencies

International dimensions

• Māori in Australia• Islands in the New Zealand realm: Cook

Islands, Niue, Tokelau• Samoan Treaty of Friendship• International human rights• Trade and international relations

Human Rights Review 2010

• Acknowledged progress in past five years

• Renewed call for:– development and

implementation of a national languages policy and dedicated strategies for Māori, Pacific and community languages and interpreting and translation services

– mechanism to promote the maintenance and development of NZ Sign Language

Immediate priorities

• New Māori language strategy• Pacific languages strategy• NZ Sign Language strategy• Community languages strategy• Revisiting the need for an overall national

languages policy, framework or strategy

Immediate priorities

• Increasing Ministry of Education commitment to language learning and maintenance

• Te reo Māori as a core subject in schools• Civil emergency preparedness and response• Encouraging communities to assert their

human right to language