UN calls for Maori crime to be addressed
19 August 2007 A United Nations committee is calling on the New Zealand Government to do more to address the over-representation of Maori in the crime statistics. It is one of several issues raised by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination, which has delivered a report on New Zealand's progress. It points up the Foreshore and Seabed legislation as being an issue that needs dealing with, along with embedding the Treaty of Waitangi into legislation. The committee believes New Zealand is not taking sufficient account of offenders' community and cultural backgrounds when it comes to sentencing. |