Oranga mokopuna: A tāngata whenua rights-based approach to health and wellbeing

Rights-based approaches to health in Aotearoa New Zealand have increased in recent years. However, dominant Westernised conceptualisations of rights have been criticised for their ties to colonialism and individualistic focus. This paper presents Oranga Mokopuna as an alternative which disrupts Western notions of rights that are assumed to have universal application. Based in Te Ao Māori, Oranga Mokopuna provides a conceptual frame of reference for the realisation of tāngata whenua rights to health and wellbeing. Inherent tāngata whenua rights derive from and are nurtured by whakapapa from beyond the origins of the universe, and are grounded in tikanga Māori and affirmed by the two internationally recognised instruments he Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tīreni and te Tiriti o Waitangi. International human rights instruments such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples further develop and support tāngata whenua rights. Our vision is for mokopuna to thrive and flourish as our rangatira of today, through the full realisation of their tāngata whenua rights to health and wellbeing.