In this episode of Head 2 Head I catch up with Paul Hunt who was New Zealand’s Chief Human Rights Commissioner between 2019 - 2024 and who is now Professor of Law at the Human Rights Centre, University of Essex.
Among the issues he raises is the need for human rights to be incorporated in our legislation and how proposed the Treaty Principles Bill is wrong in both its conception and process.
Paul studied law at Cambridge University and Waikato University. He has lived and undertaken human rights work in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Aotearoa.
For more than a decade, he served as an independent human rights expert for the United Nations, reporting to the UN General Assembly and UN Human Rights Council. He wrote and presented some 30 UN reports, including on the World Trade Organisation, World Bank, IMF, Guantanamo Bay, the Israel-Lebanon conflict in 2006, and on numerous countries.
Paul’s focus was the human rights to healthcare and health protection. Between 2011 and 2013, he was senior human rights adviser to WHO Assistant Director-General Dr. Flavia Bustreo.
He has published extensively on human rights and has been awarded two Honorary Doctorates in recognition of his scholarship.
In 2021 he was awarded the Ann Dysart Distinguished Service Award by the civil society organisation, Multicultural New Zealand..
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