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rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
Rights Aotearoa
@rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
1K followers 1.5K following 130 posts
Rights Aotearoa is Aotearoa's leading NGO championing the universal human rights of all kiwis with a particular focus on the rights of transgender, non-binary, and intersex people.
www.rightsaotearoa.nz
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https://opencollective.com/rights-aotearoa
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rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
We stand with the Lemkin Institute's call for GANHRI to withdraw the UK EHRC's accreditation. The EHRC has abandoned its mandate, systematically eroding trans & intersex rights. A captured institution cannot be a human rights body. #TransRights

www.lemkininstitute.com/_files/ugd/c...
Statement on the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission: Violation of the Paris Principles and erosion of protections for transgender and intersex people Released on 5 September 2025 The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention & Human Security calls on the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) to withdraw accreditation from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in Great Britain due to violations of the Paris Principles and the erosion of protections for transgender and intersex people. The EHRC is Britain’s independent equality and human rights regulator. It currently has an “A status” accreditation as a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), bestowed by GANHRI, which is co-funded by the United Nations and European Union. To maintain accreditation as an NHRI, an organisation needs to follow the Paris Principles. The Lemkin Institute believes that the EHRC has violated the Paris Principles, particularly in actions targeting the rights and protections for transgender and intersex people. The most recent example of such actions is the appointment of Dr. Mary-Ann Stephenson as the new EHRC Chair, contrary to the advice of the two committees involved in the appointment: the Women and Equalities and Joint Human Rights Committees. While the EHRC is supposed to be a neutral and non-partisan public body, in the past few years it has behaved as a lobby group for erasing the rights of intersex and trans people on the basis of gender critical views. This has been explicitly confirmed by the leader of the UK’s Official Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, who posted on X (formerly Twitter): “having gender-critical men and women in the UK government, holding the positions that mattered most in Equalities and Health [...] It was when the ministers changed that everything changed.” One example of this takeover Badenoch shamelessly boasted about is the appointment of Baroness Falkner of Margravine under the Conservative Government headed by Liz Truss. In 2022, the EHRC wrote to the Scottish Government recommending a delay to the reform of the Gender Recognition Act—a reversal from its prior support for such reforms. This dramatic shift was not precipitated by the appearance of any new substantive evidence. It was quite partisan in nature. That same year, the EHRC issued a statement calling for a “more careful approach” to conversion therapy legislation that would specifically exclude transgender people from protections. Such an approach contradicted overwhelming evidence from both the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists and signalled a departure from Evidence Based Policy Making. Additionally, the EHRC published interim guidance encouraging single-sex service providers to exclude transgender people, significantly misrepresenting the legal thresholds of such exclusion as a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.’ It also intervened in the case For Women Scotland v. Scottish Ministers, arguing for a definition of sex that would exclude transgender people from their acquired legal sex as represented by their Gender Recognition Certificate. Rather than presenting a legal position, this argument is clearly based on an ideological stance on transgender people, which goes against the EHRC’s statutory obligation to equally protect all citizens. These actions did not go unnoticed; GANHRI’s reports on the EHRC acknowledged concerns by the civil society groups in the UK around human rights issues facing LGBTI people and migrants and asylum seekers in particular, recommending the EHRC address these issues in an ‘independent, effective, public and transparent manner.’ wrong in law or a breach of human rights. Translucent, a UK-based transgender advocacy organisation, has also begun legal action against the EHRC in light of this interim guidance. This interim guidance has been challenged, but it has already caused irreversible damage. It has led to many organisations changing policies to exclude all transgender people from the gendered spaces of their lived gender and, in some cases, from the spaces of their sex assigned at birth as well. The guidance dictates that anyone who is not binarily “male” or “female” is excluded from single sex spaces, ranging from public toilets to groups such as a single-gender choir. Again, intersex people are left ignored; for example, it is not clear how guidance would apply to an intersex woman who was recorded initially as male at birth and had her birth certificate amended to female. When asked if intersex people had been considered in this guidance, Baroness Falkner responded that intersex people had not been considered as they are not included in the Equality Act (2010). Meanwhile, EHRC Commissioner Akua Reindorf KC stated in a personal capacity that trans people have been lied to about what rights they had and that there needed to be a period of correction, as other people also have rights. This goes against the EHRC’s own 2022 guidance that stated in Sch. 2, Paragraph 28: “If a service provider provides single or separate sex services for women and men, or provides services differently to women and men, they should treat transsexual people according to the gender in which they present.” Though the harm this guidance has caused the transgender and intersex community in the United Kingdom cannot be understated, the EHRC’s ‘consultation’ on the guidance provided no opportunity to give feedback on this harm. The original consultation was scheduled for two weeks and, upon challenge, was extended to six weeks. However, it remained significantly shorter than the usual timeframe of 12 weeks The Lemkin Institute amplifies the voices of these organisations and calls on the GANHRI to urgently review the status of the EHRC as a human rights body, noting that GANHRI’s instruction of engagement with transgender groups to remain compliant with the Paris Principles has not only been explicitly disregarded but actively worked against, with the EHRC prioritising anti-transgender activist groups time and again, and more recently refusing Freedom of Information requests from individuals and groups concerned with transgender intersex rights. We reiterate the words of our recent Red Flag Alert: there is a transparent attempt to eradicate transgender and intersex people from British life. This is a clear example of the 9th Pattern of Genocide: Denial and/or Prevention of Identity. The EHRC has undergone an institutional takeover and has been captured by transphobic and interphobic people and agendas. As of the 5th of September the finalised EHRC guidance has been given to the Government, there is no guarantee the guidance will be given time for debate in parliament before going into effect. If this is the case, the EHRC will have succeeded in undemocratically stripping transgender and intersex people in the United Kingdom of fundamental human rights and dignity. The continued accreditation of EHRC as a human rights body, despite being a key player in this attempt of identity erasure, is a disgrace. GANHRI is allowing the EHRC to claim they are fully compliant with the Paris Principles whilst the voice of transgender and intersex people in Britain as well as other minority groups are left ignored. If GANHRI does not take action against the EHRC, it risks its credibility on the international stage and will be complicit in the genocide towards transgender and intersex people. The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention & Human Security reaffirms a commitment to the rights of transgender and intersex people..
September 7, 2025 at 6:13 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
Personal message from Paul, our CEO:
--
Tomorrow, in the Wellington High Court, my outstanding legal team will argue my case against Paul Goldsmith, the Minister of Justice.
I want to thank everyone who has supported me over the last year on the Judicial Review.

👀⬇️ This FSU tweet has aged poorly🧾
August 3, 2025 at 6:47 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
Media release from Nov 2024.
August 1, 2025 at 6:31 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
Our CEO's personal action is below:
August 1, 2025 at 6:10 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
Five days ago, Brooke Van Velden's office informed us that information existed and she would be withholding it. (left picture)

Today, they told us no information existed. (right picture)

44 days after our request. This is nothing but a delaying tactic.
July 31, 2025 at 7:30 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
Rights Aotearoa condemns the use of antisemitic conspiracy rhetoric by Martyn Bradbury. When commentators deploy "Zionist" as a sinister cabal trope, they betray human rights principles & undermine legitimate advocacy.

Professional consequences must follow.

Bigotry has no place in our movement.
July 25, 2025 at 7:02 PM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
July 24, 2025 at 6:40 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
WOOHOO! We had our first internship application - from a young french student looking for a stage.
I replied - my french is pretty rusty so I hope I haven't made too many mistakes.
Chère Mademoiselle Barbé, Nous vous remercions chaleureusement pour l'intérêt que vous portez à Rights Aotearoa et pour votre candidature spontanée, qui constitue d'ailleurs notre toute première demande de stage – fait qui nous touche particulièrement et témoigne de votre perspicacité quant aux enjeux contemporains des droits humains. Permettez-moi d'ajouter une note personnelle : ayant moi-même vécu dix années au Luxembourg, je mesure pleinement la richesse que peut apporter une expérience européenne dans la compréhension des enjeux transnationaux des droits humains. Cette proximité culturelle et linguistique me permet d'apprécier d'autant plus votre démarche. Votre parcours pluridisciplinaire ainsi que votre engagement personnel en faveur des droits fondamentaux correspondent parfaitement aux valeurs que nous défendons au sein de notre organisation. Votre approche méthodique, alliant formation juridique et ouverture internationale, révèle une maturité intellectuelle qui ne peut que nous séduire. Hélas, nous nous trouvons dans l'obligation de vous informer qu'aucun poste de stagiaire n'est actuellement disponible au sein de notre structure. Néanmoins, soyez assurée que votre candidature demeurera dans nos dossiers actifs, et nous ne manquerons pas de vous recontacter dès qu'une opportunité correspondant à votre profil se présentera. Nous vous encourageons vivement à poursuivre vos démarches et à maintenir cet élan qui vous anime. Le domaine des droits humains a besoin de professionnels de votre trempe. En vous renouvelant nos remerciements pour cette démarche spontanée, nous vous prions d'agréer, Chère Mademoiselle, l'expression de nos sentiments les plus distingués. Paul Thistoll Directeur général Rights Aotearoa
July 23, 2025 at 7:42 PM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
Rights Aotearoa joins Chris Bishop in roundly condemning anti-semitism.
There is no place for hate in modern day Aotearoa.
We must resist it.
July 23, 2025 at 3:19 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
CW: Hate Speech against Islam

We are making a community of people who believe in universal human rights and that Aotearoa's current legal posture towards hate speech is inadequate.
We are currently overwhelmed with actions on multiple fronts.
So I urge one of our community to take this to the HRC.
July 21, 2025 at 11:51 PM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
A message of goodwill from us to Wellington Pride.

YOU HAVE GOT THIS!!!

(Also, I will start using alt text more consistently.)
​Tasmin, I am sending you the very best wishes of the entire human rights advocacy community. You have the stronger case, the better legal team, and the more credible witnesses, and you are on the side of universal human rights. That last point is key - it gives the other side a huge starting deficit. It could all be a bit moot anyway because we are aggressively lobbying for legislative change You have got this. If you need any moral support, get in touch, and drinks/gift vouchers/coffees can be arranged for any of you. Mā te wā! Paul
July 21, 2025 at 8:06 PM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
Actually, Academic Institutions do have free speech.
Our CEO will be making this point to the Education and Workforce Committee next week!
July 1, 2025 at 10:19 PM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
www.rightsaotearoa.nz/letter-to-the-prime-minister-re-dpm/
June 26, 2025 at 12:26 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
The Free Speech Union is back on their favourite broken record: “hate speech laws are too subjective!”

As if subjectivity isn’t already baked into half of New Zealand’s legal system.

Spoiler: it is. And we’re doing just fine.
June 24, 2025 at 2:38 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
This is a very disingenuous post from the Free Speech Union.
David Seymour did not attempt to engage with the academics.
He just abused them and encouraged hate towards them in contravention of the Cabinet Manual.
Tory said academics should be kept safe from abuse and targeted harassment.
June 24, 2025 at 2:07 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
It is our opinion that Fern Hickson has improperly tried to interfere with a coronial investigation. She has disgustingly used a young man's death for her ideological ends.

We have written to the Chief Coroner this afternoon with our concerns.

www.rightsaotearoa.nz/letter-to-ch...
June 13, 2025 at 2:40 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
We just sent a further email to RNZ asking them why they did not disclose the name of the group advocating on behalf of the family.

Fern Hickson has deliberately tried to pre-empt the coronial findings to suit her own warped and twisted ideological ends.

www.rightsaotearoa.nz/further-emai...
June 12, 2025 at 7:09 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
Right's Aotearoa just complained to RNZ over the disgusting erasure of a young person's preferred identity in an article today.

CISGENDER PEOPLE DON'T GET TO DEFINE TRANSPEOPLE IN LIFE OR DEATH.

You can read at the link below, or screenshot attached:

www.rightsaotearoa.nz/formal-compl...
June 12, 2025 at 1:24 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
June 10, 2025 at 5:10 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
June 10, 2025 at 5:10 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
We have just written to DIA urging them to deregister Ethos Alliance.
Quite simply, if Family First can't register as a charity, then neither can Ethos Alliance because they suffer from almost exactly the same deficiencies as the Bobster's Family First.

www.rightsaotearoa.nz/formal-reque...
June 10, 2025 at 5:10 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
David Seymour’s Regulatory Standards Bill is a quiet attempt to rewrite the rules of our democracy.

It would create a hierarchy of human rights, even though all human rights are equally important.

They exist independently of each other and are of equal priority.
June 1, 2025 at 11:23 PM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
Gender-gate drops Tuesday.
June 1, 2025 at 8:49 AM
rightsaotearoa.bsky.social
It’s Pride Month! 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

Did you know? Since 2006, the Human Rights Commission has said loud and clear: trans people are protected under the Human Rights Act. 💪💖

Rights matter. Visibility matters. Pride matters!
June 1, 2025 at 8:29 AM