New Zealand Human Rights Foundation Relaunches Under New Leadership

After four years of dormancy, the New Zealand Human Rights Foundation is being revived by a new generation of leaders committed to advancing human rights across Aotearoa.

The Foundation, which retains Dame Silvia Cartwright as Patron, will focus on building grassroots capacity to use human rights frameworks as tools for accountability and social change.

"For me, it's simple: human rights provide a compass to navigate the major issues of our time," says Aaron Packard, the Foundation's new Chair. "They're about bringing dignity not just to the majority, but to all people and communities."

The revitalised organisation will take a community-led approach, establishing thematic working groups made up of members with relevant expertise and lived experience. The first working group, focusing on housing rights, is already underway, with outputs expected within six months.

"In Aotearoa, we've never fully embraced human rights," Packard says. "Yes, we've made progress in some areas—through the Bill of Rights and the Human Rights Act—but many fundamental rights, like the right to healthcare and the right to housing, are still missing."

Te Tiriti o Waitangi will sit at the centre of the Foundation's work. "Te Tiriti is, at its heart, a human rights document," Packard says. "For the Human Rights Foundation to succeed, Te Tiriti and Indigenous rights must be at the centre of everything we do."

Unlike organisations that react to individual cases, the Foundation will concentrate on collective rights and systemic change, partnering with civil society groups to strengthen human rights advocacy across the country.

"We're bringing the Foundation back to life. It's a creative process, and right now, it's happening in the margins, outside of work, after putting the kids to bed. But the energy is there."

New management committee members:

• Aaron Packard (Chairperson): Communications Manager at the Environmental Law Initiative and former Senior Communications Advisor to Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt and Indigenous rights expert Professor Claire Charters.
• Ryan Mearns (Treasurer): Former Senior Communications Advisor and Product Lead at the Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission. Founder of MobilizeHub, a digital platform empowering advocacy organisations with digital tools.
• Maria Bourn (Secretary): Staffer at Breast Cancer Foundation NZ in Tāmaki Makaurau with over 10 years of experience in the charities sector, passionate about governance and fostering positive social change through community-led initiatives.
• Jacqueline Paul, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga (Management Committee Member): PhD student in Urban Studies and Planning at MIT, researcher at Pūrangakura Māori Research Centre, advisor to Manaaki Rangatahi, a national youth homelessness collective, and served as Technical and Expert Advisor to Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission's national housing inquiry (2021-2023).
• Michael Timmins (Management Committee Member): Barrister based in Tāmaki Makaurau, former Director of Human Rights Proceedings, leading strategic litigation, and worked on refugee rights through roles with NGOs, academia, and the United Nations.
• Kat Eghdamian (Management Committee Member): PhD from UCL and an MPhil from Oxford, and formerly advised the United Nations, Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission, and USAID.