New Zealander Elected to UN Committee

"A New Zealander, Paul Hunt, has been elected to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights," Foreign Minister Don McKinnon said today.

The election held last night, was keenly contested and Mr Hunt beat off candidates from Germany and Italy for one of two available seats on the Committee.

Mr McKinnon welcomed Mr Hunt's appointment.

"It is fitting that in the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a New Zealander has been elected to this important Committee."

"The result reflects the quality of the candidate and the high regard for New Zealand among members of the United Nations."

The 18-member Committee is responsible for considering the reports of the 136 countries which have ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Mr Hunt, a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Waikato, is the first New Zealander to serve on the Committee. He has been elected as an independent expert to serve in a personal capacity for a term of four years.

Mr Hunt joins Dame Silvia Cartwright of Auckland as one of two New Zealanders serving on a United Nations Human Rights Treaty Body. Dame Silvia is currently a member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).