The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC) is an international human rights agreement that was ratified by New Zealand in 1993. It describes governments’ responsibilities to ensure that the human rights of children and young people (aged up to 18) are upheld and respected.
Rainbow young people in New Zealand face specific and unique barriers to the full enjoyment of human rights based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics. They experience higher rates of violence, social exclusion and discrimination compared with other young people, and these lead to poorer health and social outcomes, including disproportionate rates of suicidality, homelessness and mental distress.
New Zealand regularly reports to the UN about how well we are doing at ensuring young people’s human rights, and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) makes recommendations for how we could improve.
In the sixth reporting round, the CRC made five recommendations that directly referenced rainbow children. In summary, the Committee asked New Zealand to:
involve LGBTI+ children in developing a strategy for preventing and combating all forms of violence against children, and improve data collection and analysis related to violence (more resources about violence prevention)
end non-urgent medical interventions on intersex children, and provide redress for victims
ensure intersex children, adolescents and their families have access to community-based psychosocial and peer support
ensure the work of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission includes a focus on LGBTI+ children, and prioritise access to affordable, quality, age-appropriate mental health and counselling services (more resources about mental health)
take targeted measures to reduce the bullying of LGBTI+ students (more resources about bullying)
Background documents from the sixth reporting cycle
CRC recommendations from the fifth reporting cycle, including recommendations on preventing LGBTI+-targeted discrimination, and ending harmful medical interventions on intersex children.
The rights of rainbow children in Aotearoa New Zealand: A submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for the draft List of Issues Prior to Reporting, March 2020 from Te Ngākau Kahukura
(Word version)The rights of intersex children in Aotearoa New Zealand, by Katrina Roen, Professor of Sociology at University of Waikato (to the List of Issues Prior to Reporting)
Intersex Aotearoa’s Thematic Report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, August 2022, with the Incentive Working Group
Medical interventions on children with intersex variations in Aotearoa New Zealand: Reply to the issues relating to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child sixth periodic report from Professor Katrina Roen, Professor Claire Breen and Ashe Yee
More about rainbow human rights and the UNCROC
The UNCROC in New Zealand
He Whakaaetanga Whakatau i te Mana o te Tamaiti a te Whakakotahitanga o ngā Whenua o te Ao (a translation of the Convention to te reo Māori)
Information from the Ministry of Justice about New Zealand’s relationship with UNCROC and our reporting to the Committee on the Rights of the Child
Mana Mokopuna - the Children and Young People’s Commission and their role in advancing and monitoring how the Government applies UNCROC
Other writing on rainbow human rights and UNCROC
From NZ’s fifth reporting cycle: Submission from the Intersex Trust of Aotearoa New Zealand (ITANZ) to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, for the 73rd session for the Convention on the Rights of the Child September 2016
The Rights of LGBTI Children under the Convention on the Rights of the Child - an academic article by Kirsten Sandberg, a former Chair of the CRC
Back Me Up! Rights of Trans Children under the Convention on the Rights of the Child - a working paper by Lina Henzel, as a collaboration of the Humboldt Law Clinic and Transgender Europe
A Rights Perspective on Parent Advocacy for their Transgender Children in Aotearoa New Zealand School Settings used UNCROC as a framework to explore parents' advocacy for their transgender children in New Zealand schools