New Zealand scores 99 out of 100 in the Freedom House Freedom in the World report.
The numerical ratings are generated by compiling scores from 0 to 4 on 25 human rights standards. New Zealand scores 4 on all of the standards except under the “Rule of Law” question “Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of various segments of the population?” The score there is 3 of 4.
This places New Zealand behind Finland with a score of 100 and second equal with Norway and Sweden. Unsurprisingly these are countries who regularly top the Corruption Perceptions Index.
In its narrative assessment, concerns raised by the report include:
- Weakening of rights and protections for the Māori population
- Possible breaches of campaign finance laws by members of multiple parties and
- The exploitation of migrant workers
Freedom in the World is an annual global report on political rights and civil liberties, composed of numerical ratings and descriptive texts for each country and a select group of territories. The report rates people’s access to political rights and civil liberties. Individual freedoms—ranging from the right to vote to freedom of expression and equality before the law—can be affected by state or nonstate actors.
The report’s methodology is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948. Freedom in the World operates from the assumption that freedom for all people is best achieved in liberal democratic societies.
