Human Rights Act amendment to protect religious communities ‘very disappointing’, says Commission

New Zealand announced on Saturday that it will amend the current law “to make sure religious communities feel safe and welcome”.

Minister of Justice Kiri Allan said under the Human Rights Act 1993 it was already illegal to publish or distribute threatening, abusive, or insulting words likely to “excite hostility against” or “bring into contempt” any group on the grounds of color, race, ethnic or national origins.

“Those grounds will now be extended, in both the civil and criminal provisions, to cover religious belief”, the minister added.

The Human Rights Commission said the change was very disappointing.

In a statement it said the amendment “fails to protect some communities that are most vulnerable to harmful speech in Aotearoa New Zealand.”