By Rich Bowden
Img: Maori flag
New Zealand's Maori Affairs minister Pita Sharples has told Radio New Zealand that his Government will ratify the non-binding United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within weeks, reversing the previous Labour party's policy.
Previously one of only four countries - along with Australia, Canada and the United States - to refuse to endorse the declaration, New Zealand has now decided to ratify the key declaration which guarantees Indigenous peoples the right to right to self-determination, autonomy and the self-government of their local and internal affairs.
Australia has since decided to change its stance on the document.
Mr Sharples told Radio New Zealand he expected to make a joint announcement within weeks with Prime Minister John Key on the details of the ratification.
Mr Sharples, who is also the co-leader of the Maori Party in the Government coalition, said the the ratification of the declaration would protect Maori culture and would not override New Zealand sovereign law or provide additional claims of self-determination.
However the declaration has been criticised from a number of quarters.
One of the bones of contention is Article 26 which says Indigenous peoples have the right to "...own, use, develop or control lands and territories that they have traditionally owned, occupied or used."
The NZ Herald quoted New Zealand's permanent UN representative, Rosemary Banks, as saying such an arrangement would be unworkable in the country.
"For New Zealand, the entire country is potentially caught within the scope of the article. The article appears to require recognition of rights to lands now lawfully owned by other citizens, both indigenous and non-indigenous."
However the document supporters contend that it is intended as an aspirational declaration rather than legal and the New Zealand Government has decided, unlike the previous Labour administration, that ratifying its posed no legal dilemmas.
Img: Maori flag
New Zealand's Maori Affairs minister Pita Sharples has told Radio New Zealand that his Government will ratify the non-binding United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within weeks, reversing the previous Labour party's policy.
Previously one of only four countries - along with Australia, Canada and the United States - to refuse to endorse the declaration, New Zealand has now decided to ratify the key declaration which guarantees Indigenous peoples the right to right to self-determination, autonomy and the self-government of their local and internal affairs.
Australia has since decided to change its stance on the document.
Mr Sharples told Radio New Zealand he expected to make a joint announcement within weeks with Prime Minister John Key on the details of the ratification.
Mr Sharples, who is also the co-leader of the Maori Party in the Government coalition, said the the ratification of the declaration would protect Maori culture and would not override New Zealand sovereign law or provide additional claims of self-determination.
However the declaration has been criticised from a number of quarters.
One of the bones of contention is Article 26 which says Indigenous peoples have the right to "...own, use, develop or control lands and territories that they have traditionally owned, occupied or used."
The NZ Herald quoted New Zealand's permanent UN representative, Rosemary Banks, as saying such an arrangement would be unworkable in the country.
"For New Zealand, the entire country is potentially caught within the scope of the article. The article appears to require recognition of rights to lands now lawfully owned by other citizens, both indigenous and non-indigenous."
However the document supporters contend that it is intended as an aspirational declaration rather than legal and the New Zealand Government has decided, unlike the previous Labour administration, that ratifying its posed no legal dilemmas.
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