Statement of Intent 2013 to 2016 - Human Rights Commission

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION | STATEMENT OF INTENT15making processes about housing, insurance and communitydislocation compound the psychosocial stress experiencedby Canterbury residents. Many are unable to move on withtheir lives while they navigate complex insurance assessmentand repair processes, and are largely left out of problemidentification and solution design processes. In manyinstances, they are struggling to access the informationrequired to be able to make important decisions.The current housing shortage has been exacerbated by a lossof social housing. This is affecting migrant workers arrivingfor the rebuild, families in need of temporary housing, andrenters. The Government has acknowledged the rebuildof Christchurch is an opportunity to make the city moreaccessible, safer, easier to navigate and also to have moreaccessible housing. In 2013–14, planned governmentinitiatives are focused on promoting accessible housing.Lessons from the Canterbury recovery will prove usefulto achieving improved outcomes more widely for peopleacross New Zealand in terms of housing, health andaccessibility within the community.What we will doWe are committed to working with the people ofCanterbury, government and non-government agencies,tangata whenua, local authorities and business to ensurethat people affected by the Canterbury earthquakesexperience health and wellbeing equal to, or better than,international norms in post-disaster recovery, and thatthe Government’s goal of making Christchurch the world’smost accessible city is realised.The focus of our work will be to promote the primacy ofa human rights approach to the Canterbury earthquakerecovery and to replicate lessons learnt elsewhere in NewZealand, particularly in decile 1–3 economic areas.We will continue to engage with and provide advice tocentral and local government on adopting a human rightsapproach to address systemic issues in the developmentof policies and practices. We will provide advocacy andadvice on issues related to the recovery for vulnerablecommunities and civil society organisations.We will continue involvement in the development ofan internationally benchmarked monitoring frameworkthat will work to ensure the recovery is inclusive, nondiscriminatoryand meets international best practice.Over time, we intend to leverage what we learn from ourfocus on improving outcomes of the people most affectedby the Canterbury earthquakes to identify what activitieswe might replicate more widely across New Zealand incontribution to achieving improved outcomes for the widerNew Zealand population.During 2013–14, we will:1 advocate for the informing of policy-makers andservice providers about psychosocial harm arising outof the aftermath of the earthquakes, and advocatefor government agencies, civil society and business toensure psychosocial harm is reduced2 advocate for more inclusive services and supportmechanisms to improve the wellbeing and whänau oraof people living in Canterbury3 facilitate dialogue between key influencers anddecision-makers with affected and vulnerable people toensure their participation in post-earthquake problemdefinition, solution-design and decision-making4 advocate for a human rights approach to influencetechnical and legal frameworks on building design,land use and recovery, and accessibility of the builtenvironment in Canterbury to support human rightsoutcomes5 inform decision-makers on the economics ofaffordable, accessible and healthy housing inCanterbury.Who we will work withOur partners in the monitoring framework include theOffice of the Ombudsman, the Office of the Auditor-General, the Insurance and Savings Ombudsman, and theSerious Fraud Office. We will maintain our membershipof The Earthquake Disability Leadership Group andcontinue to engage with the business sector – focusing onthe insurance, banking and property areas – to build anunderstanding of the human rights implications of theiractivities in the recovery context. We will also continueto build meaningful relationships with affected people,connecting them with decision-makers and influencers aspart of a solutions-focused, citizen-centred approach toimproving human rights outcomes.