Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Seventieth session

Summary record of the 1617th meeting

Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Thursday, 12 July 2018, at 3 p.m.

Chair:Ms. Leinarte

Contents

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention (continued)

Eighth periodic report of New Zealand(continued)

The meeting was called to order at 3 p.m.

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention (continued)

Eighth periodic report of New Zealand (continued) (CEDAW/C/NZL/8; CEDAW/C/NZL/Q/8 and CEDAW/C/NZL/Q/8/Add.1)

At the invitation of the Chair, the delegation of New Zealand took places at the Committee table.

Articles 7 to 9 (continued)

Ms. Halperin-Kaddari said that she wished to know whether migrant mothers whose residency status depended on their being sponsored by their New Zealand husbands were vulnerable to abuse and threats that the sponsorship would be withdrawn if they reported abuse to the authorities; whether, in such cases, full-time custody of small children was sometimes awarded to fathers, even when they were abusive; whether foreign mothers were sometimes forced to leave the country because they had no job or home and no right to permanent residency; and whether the New Zealand nationality of children born to foreign mothers was not taken into account by the immigration authorities when their mothers applied for leave to remain in the country.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that the immigration authorities used the definition of domestic violence contained in the Domestic Violence Act, which covered psychological violence. If the immigration status of a victim of domestic abuse depended on an abusive partner who was a New Zealand citizen or resident, the victim would be eligible for a six-month work visa and, in some cases, a residency permit. However, if the abusive partner held only a temporary or work visa, the victim would have no visa entitlements.

Ms. Halperin-Kaddari said that she remained concerned about the visa situation of migrant mothers since if, for whatever reason, custody of the children was awarded to the father, the mother might not be entitled to residency. In that case, she might be deported and thus separated from her children in violation of international human rights law.

Articles 10 to 14

Ms. Gbedemah, noting that the Government had allocated over $NZ 28 million to a programme aimed at increasing the diversity of students studying information and communications technology, said that she would like to know the demographic profile of the students who had responded to the programme and how successful the programme had been. In view of the fact that a higher proportion of women than men had studied science, technology, engineering and mathematics in 2014, the Committee would be interested to learn why only 37 per cent of scholarships in those subjects had been awarded to women (CEDAW/C/NZL/Q/8/Add.1, paras. 105 and 106).

The Committee was concerned to note that New Zealand had the eighth highest rate of births to teenage mothers among member States of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and that 23 schools across the country had been designated for teenage parents. The relatively large number of such schools revealed the scale of the problem and created a risk that either teenage parenthood might become normalized or teenagers attending such schools could be stigmatized. In view of that situation, the Committee would be interested to learn what steps were being taken to address the issue of teenage parenthood; what proportion of the total number of pregnant teenage girls dropped out of school; and what proportion of all teenage pupils became pregnant. The Committee would also welcome further information on the reasons why children dropped out of school, on the profiles of those children, including their ages and educational levels, and on school re-entry and retention rates. It would likewise be interesting to learn what subjects were offered in schools for teenage parents and what proportion of teenage mothers were enrolled in mainstream schooling.

She would like to know what steps were being taken to ensure that sex education was mandatory, comprehensive, universal and age-appropriate, and that it addressed the prevention of teenage pregnancy, responsible sexual behaviour and power relations. It would also be helpful to learn whether the Government engaged with ethnic minority groups to ensure that sex education was culturally appropriate for those groups.

She wondered what policies and legislation were in place to ensure the provision of inclusive education options throughout the State party and what measures were taken to address bullying in schools, including the bullying of children with disabilities.

The Committee wished to know whether the Government would consider using temporary special measures to close gaps in educational attainment between different sectors of the population; what steps were being taken to address discrepancies in the frequency with which members of different groups were suspended from school; whether that last issue was addressed in Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, the Māori schools’ curriculum; when the Positive Behaviour for Learning programmes mentioned in the replies to the list of issues (CEDAW/C/NZL/Q/8/Add.1, para. 99) had been initiated; what the outcome of those programmes had been; whether data on the support provided to single mothers were disaggregated by ethnicity; and, if so, how that information was being used to bridge the gap in educational attainment between different sectors of the population.

The Committee also wished to know whether the voluntary contributions to school costs mentioned in the replies to the list of issues (CEDAW/C/NZL/Q/8/Add.1, para. 117) could be interpreted as a sign of school underfunding. What steps were in place to monitor requests for such contributions in order to ensure that parents were not being placed under undue financial pressure by schools? Lastly, noting that, despite a shortage of teachers, the number of teacher trainers at the University of Auckland had been cut, she asked what measures were being taken to address that shortage and ensure that teachers were fairly paid.

Ms. Haidar said that she wished to know when and how the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity Principles would begin its mission of determining the merits of pay equity claims; how its work would be monitored; and what steps would be taken to ensure that Māori women, Pacific women, women with disabilities and women under the age of 25 did not face discrimination in the labour market. In view of the fact that disaggregated data on women with disabilities were gathered only every five years, through the census, she wondered what could be done to ensure that such data were gathered more frequently. She would be interested to learn how the Government planned to achieve its goal of eliminating the gender pay gap in the public sector by 2021; what plans were in place to ensure that the pay gap was eliminated in all areas of the labour market, including the private sector; and how measures to eliminate the pay gap would be monitored. Noting that, according to current predictions, the gender pay gap would not be completely eliminated in every sector for many years, she asked whether the Government would consider using temporary special measures to ensure that it was eliminated much sooner.

Noting that reports of sexual harassment in the workplace were increasing and that a significant proportion of women in certain sectors had been victims, she asked what steps were being taken to investigate the scope of the problem, identify the reasons for the increase and ensure that mechanisms were in place to record and respond to complaints. Details of the measures being taken to ensure that all employers, in both the public and private sectors, adopted a policy on sexual harassment and implemented measures for supporting victims, recording complaints and identifying repeat offenders would also be appreciated.

Ms. Hayashi, noting that the Law Commission had recently been asked to undertake a review of the criminalization of abortion in law, the statutory grounds for abortion and the provision of abortion services, said that she wished to know what progress had been made in respect of the review; whether new legislation was being drafted as a result; and, if so, what time frame was envisaged for adoption of the new legislation. She would be particularly interested to know whether, under the new legislation, rape would constitute an independent ground for abortion. The Committee would also welcome the delegation’s comments on the possible threat to women’s rights posed by the inclusion of fetuses in the definition of a child in the new childcare alert system implemented by the Ministry of Health.

She wondered what steps were being taken to address the shortage of midwives; whether the new sexual and reproductive health plan had been finalized; and, if so, what measures the plan contained to address the fact that many minority ethnic women, including Māori and Pacific women, did not enjoy equal access to health-care services. Lastly, noting that the majority of persons living with dementia and most of their carers were women, she asked what efforts were being made to ensure that health services and legal safeguards afforded to older persons incorporated a gender-sensitive approach.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that the Government was carrying out a review of the Tomorrow’s Schools reforms, which provided the fundamental framework for the delivery of education across New Zealand. The examination system, school curricula and the early learning system were all being reviewed, in partnership with educators, parents and learners. Government policy on education was guided by a cross-sector advisory panel made up of a diverse range of stakeholders. In the most recent budget, the education sector had been allocated a significant level of funding that would go some way to addressing the concerns raised by the Committee about teachers’ pay and the shortage of teachers. Specific measures would be taken to enhance the inclusion of children with disabilities in order to respond to mothers’ concerns about a lack of funding and support for their children in the education system.

Ms. Hippolite (New Zealand) said that, in order to promote the study of information and communications technology, digital technology would be included in the Māori schools’ curriculum. At the tertiary level, efforts had been made to raise the visibility of women role models working in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Government supported the establishment of schools for teenage mothers, as such schools enabled them to remain in the education system, learn about motherhood and study mainstream subjects. It was working with the schooling system through a cross-sector advisory group on the prevention of bullying to ensure that measures were implemented to address bullying in schools.

The Government provided guidance on the content of sex education in the curriculum. The Education Review Office was undertaking a review of sex education that would enable the effectiveness of the current programme to be assessed. Sex education was taught under the Positive Behaviour for Learning programmes, which also provided guidance for teachers on how to improve the behaviour of disruptive pupils and work with Māori families. Plans were in place to ensure that sex education was taught in both State and non-State schools.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that women’s legal right to earn equal pay for equal work had been established through the courts. The principles underlying equal pay would be incorporated into legislation, enabling women to negotiate with their employers and initiate legal proceedings to enforce their right to equal pay.

Ms. Graham (New Zealand) said that the legislation on equal pay would set out the procedures by which women could bring claims against employers that violated its provisions. The legislative framework in question had been developed in collaboration with the public sector, the trade unions and employers. Although the legislation had yet to be adopted, a number of claims relating to equal pay had already been brought by women working in the public sector. Those claims were seen as test cases that would inform the legislation being developed. The Government aimed to reduce the gender pay gap in the public sector by one third by 2021. In order to achieve that goal, a comprehensive action plan had been established that included indicators for monitoring progress. Monitoring would also be carried out by a steering group established for that purpose. In order to ensure that the goal was achieved, research into the causes of the gender pay gap was being conducted. The contributing factors included recruitment biases, lack of flexible working arrangements and parental leave.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that legislation was currently before Parliament that would strengthen collective bargaining between employees and employers and improve or restore basic working conditions. Many sexual harassment cases came to light through the media rather than complaints mechanisms because relatively few women filed complaints; instead, they came forward in groups, which meant that the perpetrators were often not named and thus no action could be taken. An organization called WorkSafe was responsible for monitoring sexual harassment in the workplace as a health and safety issue and the Minister for Workplace Relations had made tackling sexual harassment a priority.

Ms. Macris (New Zealand) said that the Government was committed to providing high quality maternity services free of charge and was reviewing the deployment of midwives across the country to that end. Health Workforce New Zealand worked to address issues relating to the attraction, attrition and retention of medical staff in rural areas. The Ministry of Health sought to develop more responsive and integrated maternity services in small communities so as to better meet the needs of women in childbirth. Improved access to maternity services would enable earlier recognition of risk factors for problems that included suicide and obesity.

Large parts of the New Zealand Framework for Dementia Care of 2013 had been implemented, the focus being on improving the training and skills of staff working with dementia patients. The Healthy Ageing Strategy specifically identified future priorities, namely, strengthening the implementation of the New Zealand Dementia Framework and working with health and social services in communities to help them become more dementia-friendly. Respite care services for family and formal carers of persons with dementia were provided for a period of 28 days per year through the relevant district health board. The Government had announced a wide-ranging review aimed at updating health and disability services to ensure that future demands could be met.

A national inquiry into addiction had been conducted as part of the Government’s efforts to improve mental health and addiction services. The resultant report would be submitted to the Minister of Health before the end of October 2018. The recommendations would form the basis for decisions concerning future arrangements for the mental health and addiction system, and would cover the re-establishment of the Mental Health Commission. The inquiry had been attentive to the specific mental health needs of different sectors of the population, including persons with disabilities, Māori and Pacific peoples, refugees and rural communities.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that the Law Commission would report to the Government in October 2018 concerning the issue of abortion. The Government would then consider the possibility of passing the relevant legislation. If the Government adopted a health-based approach to abortion, there would be no need to establish specific grounds under which the procedure could be carried out.

Ms. Halperin-Kaddari said that, given the shift towards considering abortion as a health issue, she would be interested to hear whether the Government would consider eliminating, or at least limiting, the right of health practitioners to refuse to assist women seeking an abortion. Expressing concerns about unnecessary medical procedures being performed on intersex girls without their prior or informed consent, and about reports that the Government sometimes sent children abroad to undergo such procedures, she asked what the State party was doing to address those issues, in line with the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/NZL/CO/5, para. 25).

Ms. Haidar said that intersectional discrimination required urgent action. Although tripartite negotiations were a step forward, she called on the State party to adopt a more expeditious approach.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that if the Law Commission found in favour of removing the right to conscientious objection to abortion, then the Government might consider that option. The Human Rights Commission had held a round-table meeting with medical practitioners, intersex persons and parliamentarians to initiate the process of changing the way in which intersex infants were treated. The meeting had resulted in the establishment of a new paediatrics organization funded by the Ministry of Health.

Ms. Hofmeister said that benefit entitlements for young people had been cut as part of legislative changes in 2012 and 2013, ostensibly to reduce long-term dependence on the State. The cuts had disproportionately affected women, who made up the majority of young single parents, and the requirement for women to identify the fathers of their children in order to receive their full entitlement placed an additional burden on them. The needs of women living in poverty, and of those who carried out unpaid work in the home or community, had also been neglected.

State tax policies had a huge gender impact both inside and outside the country. Since 2000, the State party had cut its personal and corporate income tax rates by approximately 30 per cent and had almost tripled taxes on individual and household consumption. That policy had benefited businesses and wealthy households to the detriment of poorer people. In return, funding for public social and developmental services, which were needed mostly by poor women, had been reduced. Meanwhile, low taxes had encouraged increasing inward investment to New Zealand, leaving other, mostly developing countries unable to compete. That situation placed pressure on the wages of underpaid women workers, especially in special economic zones, who had to pay proportionately more tax than the business owners in order to shore up the budgets of their respective countries of work.

In view of the foregoing, she would appreciate an explanation of the measures being taken to combat discrimination against women in the welfare system and to bring tax policy into line with the Convention. She would be interested to learn whether the State party would consider amending its Social Security Act to meet its core obligations under article 13 of the Convention; how it planned to fulfil its extraterritorial obligations with regard to tax avoidance and address the abuse and exploitation of workers in countries with weaker economies; and whether, for the sake of transparency, it would establish an ownership register for public trusts, companies, partnerships and other legal entities. It would also be helpful to have information on the measures used to raise public awareness of the country’s extraterritorial obligations in the context of business activities.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that the Government had committed to overhauling the welfare system and would address the excessive use of benefit sanctions. The article of the Social Security Act pursuant to which the benefits paid to women who had not named the father of their children on the birth certificate would be repealed. A newly established working group on welfare included advocates for users of the welfare system, including young people and persons with disabilities, as well as representatives of civil society and economists. The aim was to create a welfare system that ensured dignity for all New Zealand citizens.

The Government had set up a working group to review the changes made to tax policy. Although the Government had promised not to introduce any additional taxes during its term of office, at the end of 2017 changes had been made to the system of tax credits for families that would significantly improve the revenues of low- and middle-income families. In addition, winter energy allowances ranging from $NZ 20 to $NZ 30 were available for those on income support. A strategy and action plan for the welfare of older persons was also under development.

Ms. Hofmeister’s remaining questions would be answered subsequently in writing.

Ms. Acosta Vargas said that alternative sources had revealed major gaps in the application and follow-up of policies to enhance access to services in rural areas, and that employment opportunities were constrained by the often limited availability of Internet services. With women underrepresented in policymaking and still often engaged solely in unpaid domestic work, she wondered what progress the rural development programmes had achieved and whether the academic studies used to evaluate the situation of rural women were up-to-date. It would be interesting to hear what solutions had been put forward to address the various problems faced by women in remote areas. The delegation’s comments on reports that the rules for applying for benefits were unduly complex would also be helpful.

Māori women were overrepresented in the prison system, accounting for 15 per cent of the total population. Noting that many of those women had been imprisoned for minor offences, she asked whether the Government had assessed the consequences of their imprisonment for their families and communities. She would like to know what measures had been introduced to improve access to justice for Māori women in particular and whether alternatives to custodial sentences were being considered for women with family responsibilities, in line with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules). Information about the outcomes of the incorporation of the Māori advisory board into the Department of Corrections would also be appreciated. She would be particularly interested to hear whether the State party had recruited persons of Māori origin into the police force and whether police officers received specific training on the rights of Māori women.

She further enquired whether the Government was aware of how difficult access to judicial mechanisms could be for women and girls, particularly when they had suffered abuse; whether women and girls were able to take legal action against caregivers who abused their power; whether the legal framework would be revised to authorize the sterilization of persons with disabilities following consultation with their families and specialist organizations; and whether refugee women with disabilities had access to the same support services as New Zealand nationals.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that the Government’s rural policies were designed to ensure that all citizens had the right to work and run businesses regardless of where they lived. The $NZ 1 billion Provincial Growth Fund was an example of the Government’s efforts to stimulate the economy and boost employment opportunities in rural communities. Some of the job positions created would serve to enhance the level and quality of public services in remote areas. The Government incorporated rural proofing into its policymaking, meaning that it assessed the impact of its policies on rural communities. A gender-based approach to regional investment would benefit rural women through targeted health care, increased job opportunities and improved access to services.

The previous government had mapped out the special services available for victims of sexual violence across the country in the light of concerns over insufficient funding and inadequate provision. Work was currently under way to expand services further into rural areas. However, the process was not straightforward: for example, even where public service contracts indicated that companies could, in principle, provide services in certain areas, funding or other limitations often meant that, in practice, coverage did not extend much beyond urban centres.

The Government had committed to implementing priority 7 (b) of the New Zealand Disability Action Plan 2014–2018, which was to assess the framework that protected the bodily integrity of disabled children and adults against non-therapeutic medical procedures, with a focus on protection against non-therapeutic sterilization without fully informed consent.

Ms. Hippolite (New Zealand) said that measures adopted in response to the alarming increase in the number of women prisoners had included the establishment of a new women’s prison designed specifically with healthy mother and child relationships in mind; the launch of a support programme to help incarcerated mothers deal with the trauma of being separated from their children; the introduction of new ways of maintaining contact between mothers, children and their communities; and the development of partnerships with tribal groups that could serve to strengthen prisoners’ sense of affiliation and nurture their personal development while in prison.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that a recently created working group would endeavour to reduce the country’s incarceration rate, which was among the highest in the developed world, by addressing the root causes, which included gender-based and family violence. Access to justice was a key concern for the Government and the legal aid system was currently under review.

Ms. Acosta Vargas said that it would be useful to know what percentage of police officers were of Māori origin; whether Māori women were represented within the justice system; and whether a mechanism existed whereby individual cases could be re-evaluated in order to identify any miscarriages of justice and cases in which imprisonment was not merited.

Ms. Halperin-Kaddari said she was concerned that homelessness appeared to affect growing numbers of women, some of whom did not report their situation for fear of losing their children. Data on homeless women and families and details of the steps taken by the Government to address the public housing shortage would therefore be welcome. She would also like to know whether the Government would be amending legal aid eligibility requirements for women in divorce proceedings and child custody disputes, given that, at present, they did not become eligible until they had committed three months’ salary.

Ms. Haidar said that she would be interested to know the extent to which women were involved in the development and implementation of climate change and risk reduction policies, since it was unclear how action taken at community level fitted in with the overall strategy. She would also like to know what the authorities would be doing to ensure that its efforts to deal with increasing migration from nearby islands would be gender-sensitive, and what policy it had adopted with regard to environmental refugees.

Ms. Gbedemah said that, according to alternative sources, a number of rural communities faced school closures, combined with a lack of broadband Internet. She asked whether the Government would make broadband available before its 2022 target in order to minimize the disruption to children’s education.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that the review of legal aid provision would encompass proceedings before family courts. The Government intended to clarify existing legislation in order to ensure that the courts understood how to apply the Domestic Violence Act in cases involving carers of persons with disabilities.

Mr. Gill (New Zealand) said that, as part of its efforts to improve access to justice, the Government would be addressing the results of a survey which had revealed that women were less likely to seek legal advice than men. Since, in family court proceedings, most legal aid applicants were women, he expected access to legal aid in the early stages of proceedings to be reinstated following the review.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that the Rural Broadband Initiative had extended faster Internet to remote areas but that she did not expect the Government to complete delivery of the Ultra-Fast Broadband programme before 2022. The Government strove to meet children’s educational needs; measures to address the problem of school closures included education by correspondence.

The Government acknowledged that the country faced a housing crisis and that almost 70 per cent of persons registered for social housing were women. The Government had addressed the fact that New Zealand was no longer a nation of homeowners in its budget, since the housing situation had an impact on various other aspects of society.

Ms. Graham (New Zealand) said that the Government had invested heavily in housing initiatives, including the Housing First programme for persons who had been homeless for more than a year and the KiwiBuild programme providing affordable homes for first-time buyers. Emergency grants, transitional housing and various housing benefits were also available.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that the Government aimed to ensure that new housing was easily accessible by public transport with a view to reducing car emissions and families’ costs. The motivation for reducing emissions stemmed partly from the country’s close ties with the Pacific islands, whose land and culture were at risk. The Government was working to address concerns surrounding persons displaced by climate change and provided advice to city councils on how to improve support for those affected by internal displacement caused by sea level rise.

Women accounted for 64 per cent of the staff of the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management and were adequately represented in policy planning for disaster risk reduction and climate change.

Ms. Hippolite (New Zealand) said that Māori, including Māori women, accounted for just over 12 per cent of the police force. The police force was working closely with Māori communities with a view to reducing police interventions in those communities.

Articles 15 and 16

Ms. Halperin-Kaddari said that she would like to know the time frame for adoption of the Minors (Court Consent to Relationships) Legislation Bill. Would the Bill allow marriage for persons between 16 and 18 years of age in exceptional circumstances and by court approval only, thereby precluding marriage by parental consent?

She wondered whether the Government would reconsider the possibility of collecting data disaggregated by ethnicity on victims and perpetrators of practices such as forced and underage marriage, female genital mutilation and honour-based violence. It appeared, for example, that the police did not always register forced marriage as family violence, but without such data it was impossible to assess the prevalence of certain culturally specific practices. Difficulties that hampered data collection in small communities could be overcome.

Noting that, according to the alternative report submitted by the Backbone Collective (INT/CEDAW/NGO/NZL/31456), the family courts failed women and child survivors of domestic violence, and that the Government review of the 2014 family justice reforms offered little prospect of improvement, as it would not address the systemic and structural obstructions to victim safety, she asked what action the authorities had taken after receiving the Backbone Collective reports. She wondered whether the Government was aware that many women had to face their abusers in mandatory mediation, which was contrary to the guidance given in paragraph 23 (b) of the Committee’s general recommendation No. 35. She would like to know whether the Government was reviewing the family courts’ reliance on parental alienation theory in child custody disputes, as that practice could lead to abusive fathers gaining custody. Information about any particular legal provisions that offered guidance for court decisions on child custody in domestic violence cases would also be helpful. Lastly, since it had been shown that children’s welfare was impaired when the courts granted shared physical custody, because in such circumstances the mothers no longer received child support, she asked whether the review of the family court system would assess the impact of shared physical custody on women and children’s welfare.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that the Government would draw on the Backbone Collective’s research and that the review was expected to address the inappropriate use of mediation, shared custody and child protection, among other issues. Although there were no straightforward solutions, she appreciated the Committee’s feedback.

Mr. Gill (New Zealand) said that the Government acknowledged the concerns raised about the family court’s approach to family violence following the 2014 reforms, which had changed the manner in which allegations of violence were handled. The upcoming review, which would focus on improving women and children’s safety, would include a reassessment of the Care of Children Act, of the impact of removing the Bristol Clauses, which had formerly banned unsupervised contact for parents alleged to have used violence against their children, and of the use of out-of-court mediation. Any issues outside the immediate scope of the review would be referred to the Government for further consideration.

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said the Government recognized that any situation in which legal protection mechanisms caused further harm was extremely serious. It also acknowledged the need for comprehensive data on forced marriage. Under new legislation, marriages in which one of the partners was under 18 years of age would be subject to court approval, with judges being required, inter alia, to assess minors’ understanding of the implications of marriage and ensure that they were not under any pressure. Civil and de facto unions involving minors would also be subject to scrutiny. Awareness-raising in the community would be needed to make those provisions workable, however, as would training.

Ms. Halperin-Kaddari said that she had heard from alternative sources that use of the term “family harm”, which had apparently been adopted by the police, had in fact been endorsed by a multi-agency Government team. Would the Government be sending out a strong message, perhaps as part of the family court system review, that use of such language should be avoided?

Ms. Logie (New Zealand) said that she had not been aware of that problem and would raise the issue with the relevant persons. She thanked Committee members for their observations and suggestions and assured them that New Zealand would work hard to address the recommendations issued in the concluding observations.

The meeting rose at 5.05 p.m.