About us

The New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law, Policy and Practice aims to provide a focal point for research, education, community-service, and a range of human rights activities in New Zealand and the wider Asia Pacific region.

It was established in January 2012 by the Dean of Auckland Law School at the University of Auckland. It is a Departmental Centre, with initial funding from the Auckland Law School and the University of Auckland. However, as the name indicates, the aim is to develop as a resource for the country as a whole (and indeed the wider Asia Pacific region) and also to be multi-disciplinary: the legal framework for human rights law is only one aspect; developing effective policies and encouraging human-rights compliant practices is also crucial.

For more information see Our people.

The Centre's aims include:

• hosting public lectures and seminars on human rights topics
• encouraging research on human rights issues
• providing a forum for cross disciplinary and inter-university collaboration on human rights related research and advocacy
  
• developing courses in human rights law at the undergraduate and postgraduate level
  
• working with the legal profession to improve the use made of human rights law
  
• working with civil society organisations and government on the development of human rights policies
  
• assisting students who want to intern in human rights and graduates who want to find a career in human rights.