On 25 and 26 November 2025, the government's performance in implementing the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is being assessed by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) during its 116th session in Geneva from 17 November to 5 December 2025.

• This page has information on the 116th session: when and where you can watch the session, the government delegation to CERD, who said what in Geneva, and media coverage - please scroll down the page if these internal page links do not work in your browser.
• Background information: on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), New Zealand and ICERD, the government's report to CERD, the List of Themes sent to the government by CERD, NGO parallel reports to CERD, what CERD has said about New Zealand before, and useful links to other relevant information are available here.

When and where you can watch the session

The interactive dialogues between Committee members and government representatives were webcast live on Tuesday, 25 November from 3pm to 6pm (NZ time: Wednesday, 26 November, from 3am to 6am) and on Wednesday, 26 November from 10am to 1pm (NZ time: Wednesday, 26 November, from 10pm to 1am on Thursday, 27 November), and are now permanently available on those links. Information about the process, including the role of the interactive dialogues, is available on this page.

The government delegation

The government delegation was led by Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith, accompanied by Andrew Kibblewhite, Secretary for Justice and Chief Executive, Ministry of Justice, and officials from the Ministry of Justice, Police, Ministry of Health, Te Puni Kōkiri, and the Ministry of Education, as well as diplomatic representatives from the New Zealand Permanent Mission to the UN.

Who said what in Geneva

The UNOG overview of the interactive dialogues 'Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Commend New Zealand on Efforts to Welcome Refugees, Ask Questions on Historic Abuse of Persons with Disabilities in State Care and Challenges in Education for Māori', 26 November 2025, is available here.

The Summary Record of the two interactive dialogues, which provide a detailed record of who said what, will be added here as soon as the documents are released.

Media coverage

• Towards a World Without Racism: 60th Anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 4 December 2025
• On the ground in Geneva, Roimata Smail, 30 November 2025
• UN to Review NZ’s Treatment of Māori – A Turning Point in Racial Accountability, Waatea News, 27 November 2025
• New Zealand's track record of racial equality under review at the UN, Te Manu Korihi, 26 November 2025
• UN to hear human rights complaint over New Zealand’s treatment of Māori, The Guardian, 19 November 2025
• Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Opens One Hundred and Sixteenth Session in Geneva, UNOG, 17 November 2025
• Lady Tureiti Moxon Files Urgent Human Rights Complaint To UN Over Systemic Discrimination In Aotearoa New Zealand, National Urban Māori Authority, 11 November 2025
• Human rights complaint filed to United Nations over treatment of Māori, RNZ , 11 November 2025
• UN-bound report warns discrimination against Māori is worsening in Aotearoa, National Indigenous Times, 30 October 2025
• Constitutional transformation must be based on Te Tiriti and He Whakaputanga: UN-bound report warns racial discrimination is worsening in NZ, 29 October 2025
• Interview: UN Shadow Report Warns Māori Rights at Risk Under Current Government, Waatea News, 29 October 2025
• Racial Discrimination Escalating In Aotearoa, Aotearoa Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law (Te Wai Ariki), 28 October 2025