Ref: 221855

16 March 2023
Oscar Fernandez
via FYI.org.nz

Tēnā koe Mr Fernandez
Response to your request for Official Information
  On 20 February 2023 you requested the following information from the Human Rights
Commission (“the Commission”) under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (“OIA”):
(1)  Has the Human Rights Commission received any complaints on ‘Caste
discrimination’ since 1993?
(2)  How many complaints has  the Human Rights Commission received on ‘Caste
discrimination’ from 1993 to til  date (20/02/2023)?
(3)  Does the Human Rights Commission have any framework or guidelines to deal
with complaints on ‘Caste discrimination’?
(4)  Since 1993, has the Human Rights Commission published any reports on ‘Caste
discrimination’ in Aotearoa?
We set out our responses to each of your requests below.

Requests 1 and 2 – Complaints on caste discrimination
In response to your first request, we confirm that since 1993 the Commission has
received communications and complaints which raise issues in relation to caste.
In response to your second request, we first note that the Commission does not hold
comprehensive  information about complaints it  received  historically.  As with all
agencies, the Commission maintains and holds records for a set period of time. We
generally dispose of our enquiries records after five to ten years, depending whether
the mat er is considered significant  (such as matters that have progressed to
mediation).
From the records we hold, we have identified that between 2003 to 2022 the
Commission received at least 20 communications and complaints which raise issues
in relation to caste. Some of these  communications and complaints included
allegations that people in Aotearoa have been treated dif erently on the basis of their
caste.
Request 3 – Guidelines for dealing with complaints of caste discrimination
In response to your third request, the Commission does not itself hold a dedicated
framework or guidelines for dealing with complaints of discrimination on the basis of

Stantec House, Level 1, 10 Brandon Street, Wel ington
PO Box 10424, Te Whanganui a Tara Wel ington, Aotearoa New Zealand
Waea Telephone +64 4 473-9981 Waea Whakaahua Facsimile +64 9 377-3593
Infoline Tol  free 0800 496 877 / TTY [Human Rights Commission request email]  www.hrc.co.nz

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caste. We do however draw on existing external resources in relation to this issue.1
By way of general overview, the  Commission  would  approach  a complaint of this
nature, as we do with all others,  by assessing it in light of the test for unlawful
discrimination under the Human Rights Act 1993.2 The complaint would be passed to
our  dispute  resolution  team if it appeared to amount for a claim of unlawful
discrimination.
The case law on the meaning of ethnicity and race suggests that, depending on the
evidence, different treatment by reason of caste could amount to racial harassment
or to racial discrimination.  It is also possible that the dif erent treatment might amount
to discrimination by reason of religious belief as being Brahman, for instance, is a
religious category not exclusively an ethnic one. Complaints involving allegations of
caste discrimination may also indicate intra-ground discrimination, within or between
groups in society (for example, hereditary classes of Hindu society).
The Commission appreciates race-grounds (colour, ethnic or national origins and
race) and religious discrimination can be subtle and insidious – we therefore take a
liberal approach when assessing whether a complainant’s allegation engages the
Human Rights Act and to offer our processes including mediation and alternative
dispute resolution.
Request 4 – Publications on caste discrimination
In response to your fourth request, we have searched our historic records and have
not found any reports which the Commission has published specifically  on caste
discrimination in Aotearoa. Accordingly, we must decline this request on the basis
that the information does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot
be found.3
  Alternative avenues

If you are not satisfied with this response, under the Official Information Act you are
entitled to complain to the Ombudsman’s Of ice. Information about how to make a
complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or on freephone 0800 802
602.

Nāku noa, nā

Philippa Moran

Legal Advisor | Kaitohu Ture
Ne
  w Zealand Human Rights Commission | Te Kāhui Tika Tangata

1 See, for example, United Nations Network on Racial Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities ‘Guidance Tool on Descent-Based Discrimination: Key Challenges and Strategic
Approaches to Combat Caste-Based and Analogous Forms of Discrimination’ available at:
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Minorities/GuidanceToolDiscrimina
tion.pdf.
2 See Human Rights Act 1993, Part 1A and Part 2; New Zealand Bil  of Rights Act 1990, s 19.
3 Official Information Act 1982, s 18(e).

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