Mana tamariki mā
Help make children’s rights real in Aotearoa
Kia ora and welcome to the Children’s Rights Alliance - the collective voice for children’s rights in Aotearoa
Together, we work towards an Aotearoa where all our children and tamariki are cared for, respected and protected, have what they need, and participate in their own lives, families, whānau, communities and wider society.
CRAANZ Annual General Meeting 2024
We held our AGM on Wednesday 25 September 2024. Please read our Annual Report 2024
At the AGM we hosted a seminar with the Children’s Issues Centre, and University of Otago, Wellington on the topic:
Whanaketia - The Royal Commission (Abuse in Care)’s recommendations: A call for accountability for and realisation of children’s rights in Aotearoa
We examined the Abuse in Care Inquiry, and the state of care today, in a proactive discussion that looked at next steps in strengthening children's rights, care and protection. We aimed to provide an opportunity for civil society to come together in a safe and supportive space, to learn and reflect, with a collective vision of enduring change for children’s rights in Aotearoa.
Our keynote speakers:
Tupua Urlich, Kaitiaki – Te tira mātanga atawhai ā motu, National Care Experienced Lead, VOYCE Whakarongo Mai
Sonja Cooper, Principal Partner, Cooper Legal
Please note that The Survivors Experiences Service website provides information about resources for survivors, including information about support services. Phone 0800 456 090 or Text 8328 (weekdays 8:30am - 4.30pm)
Thirty years of children’s rights in Aotearoa - using the past to shape the future
It has been over thirty years since New Zealand ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Thirty years on from ratification, we are at a turning point for children – now is a critical time to make children’s rights real in practice – for all children, in all circumstances, all rights.
It is, therefore, very timely that in 2023 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Children released their report on New Zealand’s progress on children’s rights.
As we commence the next review cycle, let’s use the 30th anniversary of New Zealand ratifying the Convention, to ask:
“In another 30 years-time, in 2053, when we look back, what progress will we see for children stemming from this point in time and this UN review? What do we need to do to uphold the rights of our children now, and to be good ancestors for future generations of children in our country?”
Follow the UN’s review of children’s rights in New Zealand
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reviewed New Zealand’s progress on children’s rights on 26-27 January 2023
It is exciting to be at this point in this, the 6th, children’s rights reporting cycle. Many thanks to all those who have contributed to our reporting over the last 3 years - the information and insights you have shared have enabled us to paint a clear picture of the current children’s rights situation in Aotearoa and, importantly, to signpost a way forward to an Aotearoa where all children experience all their rights, in all circumstances.
Read our 2022 Children’s Rights Alliance Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Next Steps: In February 2023, the UN Committee issued a set of comments and recommendations designed to improve children’s rights situation in Aotearoa (Concluding Observations), highlighting up to 6 issues for urgent attention.
So, as one reporting cycle draws to a close, another is just beginning! Our job as civil society is to follow up on the Committee’s recommendations, using them to inform and strengthen our advocacy for children over the next reporting cycle.
We look forward to continuing to build our Alliance and working together over the next reporting cycle, to make rights real for all children in Aotearoa – all rights, all children, all circumstances.
Find out more about the UN reporting process, and read the thematic reports provided to the UN Committee, here.
“It is important to emphasise here, that when New Zealand ratified the CRC in 1993, that amounted to a promise that every single child in New Zealand was entitled to the protection of every single right provided in every single one of the 54 articles, without qualification or compromise.”
— Judge A J Fitzgerald in New Zealand Police/Oranga Tamariki v LV [2020] NZYC 117 at [72]
Nau mai, haere mai - will you join us?
Everyone is welcome to join the Children’s Rights Alliance; any child, young person, adult, family, whānau or non-government organisation who supports children’s rights, Te Tiriti O Waitangi, and the Children’s Rights Alliance’s aims and values.
Amplify your own effectiveness by joining us – together we can make a difference for children and tamariki in Aotearoa.