Hunt Fights for Our Rights

Waikato University graduate Paul Hunt has built a high profile international career as a human rights lawyer and independent expert. Hunt was elected to serve on the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1998. In 2001 he was enlisted by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, to co-author the Guidelines on Human Rights Approaches to Poverty Reduction. In 2002 he was appointed UN Special Raconteur on the right to health, a role he remains in today. He has lived and worked in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Pacific, has written prolifically on economic, social and cultural rights, and is an active member of the global Make Poverty History campaign. “Making poverty history is not just a question of morality, charity or self-interest,” he says on the Realizing Rights website. “Developed countries have a human rights responsibility, binding in international law, to assist Africa and others burdened by poverty … Making poverty history – and ensuring a fair deal for Africa – is the greatest human rights campaign of our time.”