A national of the United Kingdom and Aotearoa New Zealand, Paul Hunt served on the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and was the first UN Special Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of health.

As UN Rapporteur, he wrote and presented some 30 UN human rights reports, including on the World Trade Organisation, World Bank, IMF, Guantanamo Bay, the Israel-Lebanon conflict in 2006, and numerous countries.

Paul was Senior Human Rights Adviser to WHO Assistant Director-General Dr. Flavia Bustreo and, between January 2019 and January 2024, served as New Zealand’s Chief Human Rights Commissioner.

He has lived, and undertaken human rights work, in Israel/Palestine, Africa, UK, as well as Aotearoa New Zealand. An Emeritus Professor at the Human Rights Centre, Essex University (UK), and Adjunct Professor at the University of Waikato (NZ), he has published extensively on human rights, especially economic, social and cultural rights.

Paul has been awarded two Honorary Doctorates in recognition of his scholarship.