Paul Hunt, a New Zealand and British national, is a human rights expert who specialises in economic, social and cultural rights. In January 2019, he took up office as Chief Commissioner at the
New Zealand Human Rights Commission
The Human Rights Commission (Māori: ''Te Kāhui Tika Tangata'') is the national human rights institution (NHRI) for New Zealand. It operates as an independent Crown entity, and is independent from direction by the Cabinet.
Legislation and func ...
.
Formally a Senior Lecturer at the University of Waikato and a Professor of Law at the Human Rights Centre, University of Essex. He has held senior UN human rights appointments, including Member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of health and Senior Human Rights Advisor to the Assistant
WHO
Who or WHO may refer to:
* Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun
* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism
* World Health Organization
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...
Director-General, Flavia Bustreo.
Background
In 1979, he graduated from Cambridge University (UK) with a law degree. Between 1982-1985, he worked for Kingsley Napley (London) as a civil and criminal litigation solicitor, and assistant to the Senior Partner, Sir
David Napley
Sir David Napley (25 July 1915 – 24 September 1994) was an English solicitor.
Background
David Napley was born in London of Jewish ancestry. He began his articles (the equivalent of a modern-day training contract) in 1935 at age 16. He passe ...
. In 1988, he married a New Zealander and in 1992 moved to New Zealand where he took up the position of Senior Lecturer at the University of Waikato. In 1995, he was awarded a Masters of Jurisprudence (1st Class Hons) by the
University of Waikato
The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga.
The university perfo ...
(New Zealand). In 2000, he was appointed Professor of Law at the University of Essex (UK) and also became a Visiting Professor at the University of Waikato. Between 2000-2018, he was an annual visitor to, and speaker in, New Zealand. In 2018, he moved back to New Zealand to take up the position of Chief Commissioner in the New Zealand Human Rights Commission. In 2018, Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, appointed Hunt to her Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership.
Human rights
In 1985, Hunt left private practice and became a human rights lawyer in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
/
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
working for Quaker Peace and Service (now
Quaker Peace and Social Witness
Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW), previously known as the Friends Service Council, and then as Quaker Peace and Service, is one of the central committees of Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends - the national organisation ...
). Between 1985 and 1987, he lived in the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
and researched the Israeli Military Courts. Published in 1987, ''Justice? The Military Court System in the Israeli-Occupied Territories'', examined the Military Courts through the "lens" of Israel's international human rights obligations.
On his return to the UK, Hunt worked with Sydney Bailey on an inter-denominational project about human rights in Britain and Ireland. This Quaker project included
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
, shortly to become the President of Ireland, and
David Trimble
William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a British politician who was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He was ...
, shortly to become leader of the
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...
and First Minister of Northern Ireland. The project led to ''Human Rights and Responsibilities in Britain and Ireland'', edited by Bailey, and a shorter version, ''A Christian Perspective on Human Rights and Responsibilities: with Special Reference to Northern Ireland'', edited by Hunt and was responsible for one of the earliest publications in favour of incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law.
Between 1987–1990, Hunt worked for the National Council for Civil Liberties/
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
(UK) as Legal Officer, Head of the Legal and Campaign Team and Acting general secretary. He conducted national and international human rights cases, including litigation in Strasbourg under the
European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...
. In addition to prisoners' rights, he worked on the lawfulness of Northern Ireland's emergency laws. and was responsible for one of the earliest publications in favour of incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law.
Between 1990–1992, Hunt was appointed Associate Director of the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (Gambia), working under Raymond Sock (formerly Solicitor-General) and
Hassan Jallow
Hassan Bubacar Jallow (born 14 August 1951) is a Gambian judge who has served as Chief Justice of the Gambia since February 2017. He was the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) from 2003 to 2016, and Prosecutor of ...
(then Minister of Justice). The Centre paralleled and monitored the new Gambian-based
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective (peoples') rights throughout the African continent as well as interpreting the African Charter ...
established under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. With Jallow, Hunt co-authored one of the first publications on
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
and human rights in Africa, as well as research on African national human rights institutions, and children's rights in the Gambia.
Academic career
Between 1992–2000, Hunt was senior lecturer at the
University of Waikato
The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga.
The university perfo ...
, New Zealand. The focus of his teaching and research was national and international public law, especially human rights. He began to specialise in economic, social and cultural rights and his study, ''Reclaiming Social Rights: International and Comparative Perspectives'', was published in 1996. This was one of the first books published on social rights. Reviewing it in the ''Human Rights Quarterly'', Barbara Stark remarked upon the book's ambition and concluded, “Hunt succeeds brilliantly” and that the study "dazzles".
At the University of Waikato, Hunt looked at human rights in New Zealand and the South Pacific, including the relationship between culture and rights, as well as the rights of
indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
, which led to scholarship such as ''Culture, Rights and Cultural Rights: Perspectives from the South Pacific'', co-edited with Margaret Wilson. Between 1996–97, he was a visiting fellow at the
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
Human Rights Program. In 2000, Hunt, Janet McLean, Bill Mansfield and Peter Cooper were commissioned by New Zealand's Attorney-General to prepare an independent report on the country's national human rights institutions. Many of their recommendations have been implemented by legislative and other reforms.
In 2000, Hunt was appointed Professor of Law at the Human Rights Centre,
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the an ...
(UK), a position he still holds. At Essex, his teaching and research focus is national and international human rights, with a particular emphasis on economic, social and cultural rights, as well as human rights and development. He has served as Director of the Human Rights Centre and Chair of the Democratic Audit. Presently, he leads the health-rights work stream of the University's Human Rights, ''Big Data and Technology Project'', funded by the UK's
Economic and Social Research Council
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fundi ...
.
UN Committees (1999–2002)
In 1998, the New Zealand Government nominated Hunt to serve as an independent expert on the United Nations
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is a United Nations is a 18-member Committee, entrusted with overseeing implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
It meets (usually t ...
in Geneva, and he was duly elected by States. He served as the Committee's Rapporteur from 1999 to 2002. During this period, the Committee adopted several influential commentaries, known as General Comments, on economic, social and cultural rights, including on the right to adequate food, right to education, right to the highest attainable standard of health, and right to water. It also adopted some statements, including one on poverty and human rights, which broke new ground. These General Comments and statements have contributed to the growth of literature, and national and international initiatives, on economic, social and cultural rights since the turn of the century.
In light of the Committee's statement on poverty,
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, asked Hunt,
Manfred Nowak
Manfred Nowak (born 26 June 1950 in Bad Aussee) is an Austrian human rights lawyer, who served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture from 2004 to 2010. He is Secretary General of the European Inter-University Center for Human Righ ...
and Siddiq Osmani to draft detailed and operational guidance on a human rights-based approach to poverty reduction. They responded by writing ''Human Rights and Poverty Reduction: A Conceptual Framework'', followed by ''Draft Guidelines: A Human Rights Approach to Poverty Reduction Strategies'', both of which were published by the UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the United Nations Secretariat, Se ...
(OHCHR). After a period of consultation, OHCHR revised the ''Draft Guidelines'' and they were published as ''Principles and Guidelines for a Human Rights Approach to Poverty Reduction Strategies''.
UN Special Rapporteur (2002–2008)
In 2002, Hunt stepped down from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and was appointed the first UN Special Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of health ('
right to health
The right to health is the economic, social, and cultural right to a universal minimum standard of health to which all individuals are entitled. The concept of a right to health has been enumerated in international agreements which include the U ...
'). In this independent capacity, he reported, orally and in writing, to the UN
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
, UN
Commission on Human Rights
A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.
The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...
and UN
Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
. He submitted thematic reports on a wide range of right to health issues, such as sexual and reproductive health,
[E/CN.4/2004/49, 16 February 2004.] neglected diseases,
mental disability, maternal mortality, and the health-rights responsibilities of pharmaceutical companies. He also visited, and wrote right to health reports on, countries, including
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
,
[E/CN.4/2005/51/Add.3, 4 February 2005.] Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, and
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
.
[E/CN.4/2006/48/Add.2, 19 January 2006.] Hunt took the unorthodox step of undertaking visits to, and preparing right to health reports on, non-state actors, such as the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
,
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
and
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
, and
GlaxoSmithKline
GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...
. Also, he prepared reports with other Rapporteurs on Guantanamo Bay, as well as the Lebanon/Israel conflict of 2006. Many people wrote to Hunt with alleged violations of their right to health and he took up some of these complaints and subsequently reported to the UN about them.
His reports have elicited a wide response, for example, in 2005, Cynthia Rothschild discussed the report on sexual and reproductive health, "Hunt's 2004 report is certainly one of the UN system's most far-reaching documents to incorporate a focus on sexual orientation and gender identity and health". Some commentators called the report “shocking” and Hunt was branded “unprofessional” in the UN Commission on Human Rights.
On
maternal death
Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to pre ...
and morbidity, Sandeep Prasad wrote, it "was
unt
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...
who first started bringing the human rights dimensions of the issue of maternal mortality to the attention of the
N Human RightsCouncil as a global Health and Human Rights crisis." Following a press conference in Delhi at the end of his visit to India, during which he focussed on maternal mortality in Rajasthan and Maharashtra, the ''Indian Express'' devoted an editorial to the issue, reflected on Hunt's findings, and agreed with his conclusion that “the situation does not befit a country of India's stature and level of development.”
Following Hunt's report on Peru, Ariel Frisancho Arroyo remarked upon “
e key role" played by Hunt in "supporting the health authorities' interest on how to increase the realization of health-rights". Following his report on Sweden, scholars wrote, “Since Hunt's report and the resulting
ight to Health Care Initiative most county councils have issued more generous guiding principles for the health care of local undocumented patients." In an editorial, ''
The Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823.
The journal publishes original research articles, ...
'' commended Hunt's thematic report on the health-rights responsibilities of pharmaceutical companies, as well as his twin report on GlaxoSmithKline. Hunt devoted three UN thematic reports to the methodological problem of how to measure the progressive realisation of the right to health and their influence is manifest in the key OHCHR publication ''Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation''. He drew on several of his UN reports to co-author a major study on health systems and the right to health which was described by ''The Lancet'' as a “landmark” report.
Human rights and the WHO
Hunt's reports, such as his studies on
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
and
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
,
demonstrate constructive engagement with the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO). In 2008, during his last oral report to the UN
Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
as Special Rapporteur, Hunt acknowledged this co-operation but also emphasised its limits: “Over the last six years, I have enjoyed excellent cooperation with a number of WHO members of staff on a range of policy and operational issues. For this, I am extremely grateful. However, to the best of my knowledge, neither the World Health Assembly, nor the WHO Executive Board, have ever considered one of my reports. Despite requests, I have never met a WHO Director General since my appointment in 2002.”
However, between 2011–2013, Hunt was appointed as a part-time Senior Human Rights Advisor to the Assistant Director-General, WHO, Flavia Bustreo, and he directed a project which researched whether there was evidence of impact of a human rights approach to health. This interdisciplinary and multi-author research concluded that applying human rights to women's and children's health policies and other interventions “not only helps governments comply with their binding national and international obligations, but also contributes to improving the health of women and children.” In 2015, Hunt co-edited a Special Issue of Harvard's ''Health and Human Rights'' which deepened analysis of this topic.
In September 2010, Hunt co-organised an international roundtable in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
on maternal mortality, human rights and accountability, and the proceedings were subsequently published. In this roundtable, and in a paper he presented at an international conference in Delhi during November 2010, Hunt began to analyse accountability as having three components: monitoring, review and remedy. This analysis was novel because, in the context of global health, accountability was usually understood as monitoring and evaluation, without the components of either independent review or remedy.
In 2010–11, Hunt sat on a Working Group of the UN Commission on Information and Accountability on Women's and Children's Health (COIA). The Working Group refined Hunt's conception of accountability in its submission to COIA. In its final report, ''Keeping Promises, Measuring Results'', COIA adopted this understanding of accountability. This conception of accountability shaped COIA's recommendations to the UN Secretary-General,
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
, and led to the Secretary-General establishing the independent Expert Review Group on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health (iERG). The iERG sat from 2011 to 2015 and was succeeded by the Independent Accountability Panel which largely shares COIA's understanding of accountability. In 2015, Julian Schweitzer wrote on the ''British Medical Journal (
BMJ
''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origina ...
)'' that the COIA's "definition of accountability – a cyclical process of monitoring, review, and action … – is now widely accepted in global health". Hunt was the main architect of this conception of accountability in global health.
After WHO
Hunt has recently turned his attention to social rights in the UK. In 2014–15, he sat on the statutory human rights inquiry into emergency health care established by the
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) is a non-departmental public body funded through the Northern Ireland Office but operating independently of government as the national human rights institution (NHRI) for Northern Ireland. It ca ...
. He has joined the Board of the
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
(NHS) England initiative, ''Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, Inclusion and Empowerment'' (SHRINE). He has been appointed a Patron of ''Just Fair'', a London-based think-tank on economic and social rights. With
Ruth Lister, Baroness Lister of Burtersett
Margot Ruth Aline Lister, Baroness Lister of Burtersett, (born 3 May 1949), is currently Professor of Social Policy at Loughborough University. She has written or contributed to a number of books, pamphlets and articles on poverty, social secur ...
he has written for the think-tank, ''Compass'', on social rights in the UK. In 2017 the Centre for Welfare Reform published Hunt's ''Social Rights are Human Rights - but the UK System is Rigged''.
In 2018, Hunt was appointed by
Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...
, First Minister of Scotland, to her Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership. The Advisory Group is due to report in December 2018.
New Zealand Human Rights Commission
Appointment
On 2 October 2018, the New Zealand Minister of Justice
Andrew Little announced Hunt's appointment as the Chief Human Rights Commissioner at the New Zealand Human Rights Commission. He took up the role of Chief Human Rights Commissioner on 14 January 2019.
2021 Mongrel Mob Meeting
On 1 May 2021, Hunt attended a gathering of the
Mongrel Mob
The Mongrel Mob (sometimes self-labelled as the Mighty Mongrel Mob or colloquially known as the Mob) is an organised street gang and Prison gang based in New Zealand. With a network of more than thirty chapters throughout the country and additi ...
criminal gang, along with
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
Co-leader
Marama Davidson
Marama Mere-Ana Davidson (née Paratene; born 1973) is a New Zealand politician who entered the New Zealand Parliament in 2015 as a representative of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, of which she is the female co-leader.
In October 20 ...
, Green MP
Elizabeth Kerekere
Elizabeth Anne Kerekere (born ) is a New Zealand politician and LGBTQ activist and scholar. She was elected a member of parliament for the Green Party in 2020, but resigned from the Green Party on 5 May 2023, expressing her intention to remain in ...
, and
Anjum Rahman of the New Zealand Islamic Women's Council, focused on issues of supposed human rights, social justice, and racism. It was later revealed that Hunt had given a $200 dollar
koha (donation) of
taxpayer money to the gang according to figures obtained under the
Official Information Act by news organisation Newstalk ZB. Hunt was a speaker at the event, discussing inclusion, building relationships, and the "stigmatising" idea of being tough on organised
criminal gangs. This was highly controversial, especially in the wake of news implicating the Mongrel Mob in an international drug bust.
Hunt stated: "Human rights means that every voice is heard, including your voice, and that you also listen with respect."
Hunt and Davidson were widely criticised by the general public, as well as by politicians from the
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
and
ACT parties. National Party police spokesperson, Simeon Brown opined that it is "astonishing" that the pair had accepted an invitation to speak at the gathering, stating that: "The Mongrel Mob peddles drugs, wields firearms and engages in violence, causing misery in communities across the country. They have no regard for their victims." The
ACT Party
ACT New Zealand, known simply as ACT (), is a Right-wing politics, right-wing, Classical liberalism, classical-liberal List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. According to former party leader Rodney Hide, ACT's ...
also criticised Davidson and Hunt for attending, with justice spokesperson
Nicole McKee
Nicole Raima McKee (born ) is a New Zealand politician who was placed third on the ACT party list, and elected to the New Zealand parliament at the 2020 general election as a representative of the ACT New Zealand.
Early life and career
McKee ...
saying it is a "kick in the guts" for victims of the Mongrel Mob. As a result of this, National Party leader
Judith Collins
Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 14 July 2020 to 25 November 2021. She was the second female Leader of the Natio ...
called for the resignation of Hunt, while ACT Party leader
David Seymour
David Seymour may refer to:
* David Seymour (English politician) (died 1557/58), 14th-century Member of Parliament (MP) for Wareham and Great Bedwyn
*David Seymour (New Zealand politician) (born 1983), leader of the ACT Party
*David Seymour (photo ...
emphasised the need for the end of the Human Rights Commission in favour of creating a new more appropriate organisation. Collins spoke to various media organisations:
Seymour stated that under Paul Hunt, the
Human Rights Commission
A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.
The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...
had become highly politicised and
bias
Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, ...
ed towards
left wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...
, and that it was no longer fit for purpose in actually advocating for human rights.
In a statement to Newshub New Zealand, Hunt defended attending, speaking at the event, and using taxpayer money to provide a donation to the gang:
In June 2021, further information was revealed about the event. Leaked correspondence between the
Human Rights Commission
A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.
The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...
and the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom reveal that significant organisation had occurred, with an agreement that no press releases were to be published prior to the event, news media were barred access, and members would be restricted in their use of social media during the event. Hunt's attendance came about after Waikato Mongrel Mob public relations liaison Louise Hutchinson approached the HRC in December, asking if it was possible for him to do a presentation in 2021.
2022 Parliament occupation protests
Hunt met with the protesters who were camped out in front of
Parliament House in Wellington between February and March 2022, as part of the
2022 Wellington protests
The 2022 Wellington protest was an anti-vaccine, anti-mandate occupation of the grounds of Parliament House and Molesworth Street in Central Wellington during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It began in February 2022 and lasted just over ...
against vaccine mandates, saying speaking with the protesters was "fostering inclusion". Hunt met with protesters with the intention of using dialogue to resolve the protests and prevent further escalation of violence. The protest however ended violently when riot police cleared the camp.
Other
Hunt has provided expert testimony to the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
, via the Centre for Reproductive Rights, and Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In 1999–2000, he sat on the Advisory Panel of the UNDP Human Development Report, Human Rights and Human Development. He was one of the drafters of, and signatories to, the ''Yokyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity'' in 2006. In 2008, he co-founded the International Initiative on Maternal Mortality and Human Rights. Between 2009–2011, he sat on UNFPA's External Advisory Panel. Hunt sits on the Editorial Boards of the ''Health and Human Rights'' and ''International Journal of Human Rights and Drug Policy''.
In 2008 Hunt was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Nordic School of Public Health.
In 2014, he gave a TEDx talk, ''Equality – the Road Less Travelled''.
In this he argues that the realisation of social rights, such as those in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...
(1948), has a major contribution to make towards the enjoyment of substantive equality for all.
Main publications
* ''Reclaiming Social Rights: International and Comparative Perspectives'' (Dartmouth, 1996)
* with Margaret Wilson (eds.) ''Culture, Rights and Cultural Rights: Perspectives from the South Pacific'' (Huia, 2000)
* with Willem van Genugten and Susan Mathews (eds.), ''World Bank, IMF and Human Rights: Including The Tilburg Guiding Principles on World Bank, IMF and human rights'' (Nijmegen, 2003)
* with Tony Gray (eds.), ''Maternal Mortality, Human Rights and Accountability'' (Routledge, 2013)
* with Flavia Bustreo et al., ''Women's and Children's Health: Evidence of Impact of Human Rights'' (World Health Organization, 2013)
* ''Social Rights are Human Rights - but the UK System is Rigged'' (Centre for Welfare Reform, 2017)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Paul
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
United Nations special rapporteurs
Academics of the University of Essex
University of Waikato faculty
University of Waikato alumni
Human rights lawyers
New Zealand officials of the United Nations
British officials of the United Nations