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Category: Human Rights

  • French envoy hits back at Vanuatu’s Kanak solidarity march petition

    By Nicholas Mwai in Port Vila

    French Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer to Vanuatu has hit back at criticism about French policy over Kanaky New Caledonia with an op-ed article published in the Vanuatu Daily Post.

    His article addresses key concerns regarding New Caledonia’s indigenous recognition, the decolonisation process, discrimination, military operations, and calls for independence in response to a protest petition delivered by the president of the Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs (MCC), Chief Paul Robert Ravun, earlier this month.

    At least nine people, including two gendarmes, have died in the unrest and rioting that followed protests against French constitutional changes starting on May 13 that critics say will further marginalise the indigenous people of the territory.

    Damage from the rioting and arson is estimated to be 1 billion euros (about NZ$1.8 billion).

    Eight arrested pro-independence leaders and charged over the riots were transferred to prisons in mainland France last weekend to await trial in a move heavily criticised across the Pacific.

    Key points made by Ambassador Vilmer in his article in the Vanuatu Daily Post today were:

    Recognition of indigenous people
    Ambassador Vilmer reaffirmed France’s commitment to recognising the Kanak people as indigenous, emphasising their unique identity and cultural heritage, “the French government formally acknowledges the Kanaky people as indigenous, recognising their unique identity and cultural heritage”.

    Highlighting the 1998 Nouméa Accord, Vilmer noted its acknowledgment of the dual legitimacy of both the Kanak people and other communities that have contributed to New Caledonia’s development, initiatives such as the inclusion of Kanak languages in the education system and the establishment of the Tjibaou Cultural Centre that underscores French support for promoting and defending Kanak culture.

    Denouncing discrimination
    Vilmer stressed France’s rejection of discrimination, saying “the French government denounces all forms of discrimination and is committed to promoting peace, justice, democracy, and respect for human rights”.

    Measures aimed at improving access to employment, education, and public services for the Kanak population had been implemented, although Vilmer acknowledged that challenges remained and more work was needed to reduce inequalities and foster harmonious relations among all communities in New Caledonia.

    Decolonisation of Kanaky
    Regarding the decolonisation process, Vilmer highlighted France’s support for New Caledonia’s path towards self-determination, which began in 1988, “the process of decolonisation in New Caledonia has been ongoing since 1988, with the French government supporting a path towards self-determination”.

    The Nouméa Accord of 1998, providing for substantial autonomy and the gradual transfer of powers to local authorities, had been praised by the United Nations Decolonisation Committee, despite three referendums in which a majority chose to remain part of France.

    Vilmer underscored France’s commitment to ongoing dialogue and cooperation with regional partners to build a shared future.

    Immediate cessation of military operations
    Vilmer addressed concerns about military operations, clarifying that none were currently underway in New Caledonia, “there are no military operations currently taking place in New Caledonia”.

    Law enforcement activities were being conducted by police and the gendarmerie to maintain public order and protect residents and infrastructure, adhering to the principle of proportionate use of force. The French government remained committed to ensuring safety and security while addressing unrest through dialogue and peaceful means.

    Independent international investigations
    On the issue of independent international investigations, Vilmer said there was “no necessity” for such measures as law enforcement actions were being supervised by independent courts following due legal process, “there is no need for independent international investigations”.

    Reinforcements deployed by the French state were deemed necessary to prevent further violence and socioeconomic damage. Vilmer emphasised the government’s “transparency and openness” to dialogue concerning law enforcement operations.

    Support for Kanaky independence
    In response to calls for Kanak independence, Vilmer highlighted France’s engagement with regional partners and the structured process of self-determination provided by the Nouméa Accord, “the French government continues to engage with regional partners to support dialogue and cooperation”.

    The Accord had facilitated multiple opportunities for the Kanak people and all New Caledonians to express their will.

    Ambassador Vilmer reiterated France’s dedication to advancing an “inclusive and peaceful future” for New Caledonia through continued dialogue and partnership with regional partners.

    Nicholas Mwai is a Vanuatu Daily Post reporter. This article is republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Labour: a transphobic hell-hole, as it offers to talk with billionaire JK Rowling

    The Labour Party is once again capitulating to bigots. Naturally, it’s another billionaire – this time one with a zeal for transphobia. Specifically, Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has offered to meet with vehement transphobe JK Rowling to “discuss her concerns” about the party’s policies on trans rights.

    In other words, the party is gearing up to throw trans people under the bus some more, for a billionaire who once donated to the party.

    Labour JK Rowling meeting?

    On Monday 24, Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves held out a fig leaf to transphobic author JK Rowling. According to the Independent:

    Labour’s Rachel Reeves said the party would meet Harry Potter author JK Rowling to provide her with “assurances” over the protection of women-only spaces.

    The shadow chancellor made the offer after Rowling said at the weekend that Labour had “abandoned” her and others campaigning for women’s rights.

    Specifically, Reeves made the offer in response to an article Rowling had penned for the Times. In this, she accused Labour of “abandoning” women.

    By this, she didn’t mean the party’s refusal to budge on the appalling two child benefit cap which disproportionately impacts women. Nor was Rowling referring to Labour welcoming hard right Tory Elphicke. You know, the Tory that the party admitted in the knowledge that she had gone after the victims of her rapist ex-husband.

    Nope. Trans exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) – though ‘radical’ and ‘feminist’ are a stretch – JK Rowling objects to trans people’s rights. In particular, she has harped on about trans women’s rights – because in her bigoted worldview, these pose a threat to cisgender women’s rights.

    Specifically, Rowling, like the UK’s TERF brigade en masse largely fixate on trans women in single-sex spaces. The common argument goes that trans people’s rights – such as expanding gender recognition – will enable violent men to access these spaces more easily.

    This is of course, palpable bullsh*t. The Canary’s Rachel Charlton-Dailey recently pulled this argument apart:

    The big argument around excluding trans women from hospital wards, toilets, changing rooms, and general life is that any man could ‘dress up as a woman’ and walk in to abuse women and kids. The problem with this though is men don’t need to do that to abuse women and kids, they just abuse them in broad daylight and people still don’t believe victims.

    What’s more, it’s routinely evident that right-wing hate groups have weaponised this argument to stoke fear and division. Ultimately however, the mask regularly slips with the vile rhetoric conflating trans folks with paedophilia. It shouldn’t have to be said, but a trans person is no more likely a sexual predator than a cis person. In short, it’s barefaced bigotry masquerading as concern for women’s rights.

    Rowling has racked up a torrid history of this type of transphobia in recent years. She has opined in numerous op-eds to the corporate media and spewed her anti-trans hate tirade across X to her millions of followers.

    Given all this then, why exactly is Labour appealing to Rowling for her views on women’s rights?

    Rolling over for Rowling and the billionaire class

    People on X were wondering this exact question:

    Rowling is of course a cisgender woman, so should have no business dictating policies that affect trans people:

    Others wondered whether a few billion quid might be the reason Labour was loaning a listening ear:

    Ultimately, it’s more proof that Starmer’s Labour is batting for the billionaires:

    All the while, it ignores trans voices on this:


    As some people pointed out, screwing over marginalised groups is very Starmer’s “changed” Labour. Like how it has sidelined its Black and minority MPs:

    Reeves also wasn’t the only insipid Starmerite crowing to get Rowling on side. Wes Streeting couldn’t help but weigh in with his worse than worthless opinions too. But as one person on X highlighted, both did this after Rowling had attacked a trans Labour councillor on X:

    Rowling supporting… the Communist Party of Britain

    Of course, Labour is flirting with a hateful billionaire who isn’t even going to vote for them. Instead, Rowling has actually encouraged people to vote for the Communist Party of Britain. Predictably, this was due to the party’s bigoted positions on – you guessed it – trans rights:

    The party openly opposed Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform bill, which the Tory government bulldozered in January. As Socialist Alternative explained, the Communist Party of Britain:

    Under the guise of “safeguarding women and children from predatory and abusive men”, the CPB prefer the existing 2004 Gender Recognition Act, claiming it “focuses on allowing people with gender dysphoria to change their legal sex”. The GRR, by contrast, “allows anyone over the age of 16 access to a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) with no medical requirement”.

    In the CPB leaderships’ mind, this is supposed to be a bad thing. What is ignored however, is the way in which the existing legislation has placed trans people in waiting lists for as long as five years while they seek medical attention.

    They call for “sex” as a protected characteristic under the 2010 Equality Act to be redefined as “biological sex”. This tears a page straight out the book of what is said currently by Tory ministers, who wish to remove existing rights and protections for trans people – even those with a 2004 certificate! Their claim to support the “right of trans people to live free from discrimination and prejudice” rings hollow.

    And while Rowling might once have been a Labour Party donor, she’s more busy these days pouring her billions into her crusade against trans people.

    Ironically, Labour’s attempt to attract Rowling’s support hasn’t gone very well either. First, she called on Labour to meet with a Who’s Who of transphobic lobby groups:

    Although, as people on X already pointed out, Labour has already done this:

    We’re old enough to remember when Labour’s shadow equalities minister Annelise Dodd’s met with the LGB Alliance. That’s because it was just last month. Somehow, this fact seems to have eluded Rowling.

    Then, Rowling quoted from fellow transphobe Julie Bindel, who declared sticking with Labour as an “act of self-destruction”:

    Labour Party’s transphobia

    And as Labour tried to cosy up to a transphobic bigot, it has been doubling down with vile rightwing culture wars over trans people’s rights.

    Here’s Starmer on Monday essentially telling the media that trans people are a “gender ideology”:


    As folks on X underscored, his proposed ‘ban’ on schools teaching children about transgender identities is effectively imposing the equivalent of Section 28:

    As one poster eloquently expressed, Labour is more concerned by this bogus harm to children, than the actual harm its policies will inflict:

    Far from being the bastion of trans rights Rowling rails against then, in reality, the party continues to fall short. One person on X explained how Labour needs to back self-ID, because tinkering around at the edges of gender reform is a sham:

    Again and again, Starmer’s spineless Labour has repeatedly shown its  contempt for marginalised communities. If you’re disabled, working class, Black, brown, Muslim, a migrant, or frankly, any oppressed minority under the sun in the UK, Labour will readily use you as a political football. Now, if it wasn’t already, it’s blatantly clear that the Labour Party will be no champion for trans people either.

    Because, it’s prepared to kick aside trans people’s rights for a billionaire, with a bloated platform for her bigoted bile. JK Rowling has made trans people the singular focus of her hatred to the exclusion of all else. Similarly, Labour has made the billionaire class the singular focus of the party, and doesn’t give a toss about the rest of us. She’d be right at home, but somehow, Labour isn’t quite hateful enough for Rowling – not just yet anyway.

    By Hannah Sharland

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Benny Wenda’s plea to back new West Papuan ‘liberation front’ for freedom

    The president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has welcomed the launch of a new political front, urging support for this new initiative on the “roadmap to liberation”.

    Benny Wenda said the launch of the West Papua People’s Liberation Front (GR-PWP) was a  new popular movement formed to execute the national agenda of the ULMWP.

    He reaffirmed the three-fold strategy as:

    READ MORE: Other West Papua reports

    • A visit to West Papua by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights;
    • ULMWP Full membership for ULMWP of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG); and
    • An internationally-supervised self-determination referendum.

    “Our roadmap is clear — we will not stray in this or that direction, but remain totally focused on our end goal of independence,” Wenda said in a statement.

    “By pursuing this threefold agenda, we are rebuilding the sovereignty that was stolen from us in 1962. The ULMWP roadmap is West Papua’s path to liberation.”

    Wenda said that all West Papuan organisations or affiliated groups were welcome to participate in the GR-PWP, including political activists, student groups, religious organisations, Indonesian solidarity groups, the Alliance of Papuan Students, and KNPB.

    ‘National agenda for self-determination’
    “The Liberation Front is not factional but will carry out the national agenda for self-determination. It will deepen the ULMWP’s presence on the ground, supporting the cabinet, constitution, governing structure and Green State Vision we have already put in place,” Wenda said.

    “The GR-PWP has been endorsed by the Congress, the highest body of the ULMWP according to our constitution.”

    Wenda said GR-PWP would have a decentralised structure, being spread across all seven customary regions of West Papua.

    The capital of Jayapura would not dictate decisions to the coasts or islands — all regions would have an equal voice in the movement.

    “Unity is essential to our success. Our liberation movement will only succeed when West Papuans from all regions, from all tribal groups and political factions,” Wenda said.

    “The agenda belongs to all West Papuans.”

    A massive crowd at the launch of the new West Papuan "liberation front"
    A massive crowd at the launch of the new West Papuan “liberation front”. Image: ULMWP

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Plea deal ends personal ordeal for Julian Assange, but still media freedom concerns, says MEAA

    Pacific Media Watch

    The reported plea bargain between WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the United States government brings to a close one of the darkest periods in the history of media freedom, says the union for Australian journalists.

    While the details of the deal are still to be confirmed, MEAA welcomed the release of Assange, a Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance member, after five years of relentless campaigning by journalists, unions, and press freedom advocates around the world.

    MEAA remains concerned what the deal will mean for media freedom around the world.

    The work of WikiLeaks at the centre of this case — which exposed war crimes and other wrongdoing by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan — was strong, public interest journalism.

    MEAA fears the deal will embolden the US and other governments around the world to continue to pursue and prosecute journalists who disclose to the public information they would rather keep suppressed.

    MEAA media federal president Karen Percy welcomed the news that Julian Assange has already been released from Belmarsh Prison, where he has been held as his case has wound its way through UK courts.

    “We wish Julian all the best as he is reunited with his wife, young sons and other relatives who have fought tirelessly for his freedom,” she said.

    ‘Relentless battle against this injustice’
    “We commend Julian for his courage over this long period, and his legal team and supporters for their relentless battle against this injustice.

    “We’ve been extremely concerned about the impact on his physical and mental wellbeing during Julian’s long period of imprisonment and respect the decision to bring an end to the ordeal for all involved.

    “The deal reported today does not in any way mean that the struggle for media freedom has been futile; quite the opposite, it places governments on notice that a global movement will be mobilised whenever they blatantly threaten journalism in a similar way.

    Percy said the espionage charges laid against Assange were a “grotesque overreach by the US government” and an attack on journalism and media freedom.

    “The pursuit of Julian Assange has set a dangerous precedent that will have a potential chilling effect on investigative journalism,” she said.

    “The stories published by WikiLeaks and other outlets more than a decade ago were clearly in the public interest. The charges by the US sought to curtail free speech, criminalise journalism and send a clear message to future whistleblowers and publishers that they too will be punished.”

    Percy said was clearly in the public interest and it had “always been an outrage” that the US government sought to prosecute him for espionage for reporting that was published in collaboration with some of the world’s leading media organisations.

    Julian Assange has been an MEAA member since 2007 and in 2011 WikiLeaks won the Outstanding Contribution to Journalism Walkley award, one of Australia’s most coveted journalism awards.

    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange boarding his flight
    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange boarding his flight at Stansted airport on the first stage of his journey to Guam. Image: WikiLeaks

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • InsidePNG’s Sincha Dimara wins East-West ‘courage award’ for free press

    Pacific Media Watch

    Papua New Guinean journalist Sincha Dimara, news editor at the online publication InsidePNG, is one of seven recipients of this year’s East-West Center Journalists of Courage Impact Award.

    Pakistani journalist Kamal Siddiqi, former news director at Aaj TV, also received the award last night at the EWC’s International Media Conference in Manila, the organisation announced.

    He was also the first Pakistani to win the biennial award, which honours journalists who have “displayed exceptional commitment to quality reporting and freedom of the press, often under harrowing circumstances”.

    The five other recipients are Tom Grundym, editor-in-chief and founder of Hong Kong Free Press, Alan Miller, founder of the News Literacy Project in Washington DC, Soe Myint, editor-in-chief and managing director at Mizzima Media Group in Yangon, Myanmar, John Nery, columnist and editorial consultant at Rappler in Manila and Ana Marie Pamintuan, editor-in-chief of The Philippine Star.

    Six InsidePNG staff are in Manila at the conference. They were invited to engage in discussions on several different panels relating to the work of InsidePNG in investigative journalism.

    InsidePNG is part of the Pacific Island contingent, supported by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

    Global media event
    The global event brings media professionals from around the world to discuss current trends and challenges faced by the media industry.

    “We are excited to represent InsidePNG at this prestigious international media conference in Manila,” said Charmaine Yanam, chief editor and co-founder of InsidePNG.

    “We are grateful to OCCRP for recognising the importance of an independent newsroom that transmits through it’s continued support in pursuing investigative reporting.”

    This is the second time for InsidePNG to attend this event, the first was in 2022 where only two representatives attended.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Fresh violence flares up in New Caledonia – 38 arrested

    By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk

    Fresh violence has erupted in several parts of New Caledonia over the past three days, with more burning and destruction and at least one death connected to unrest.

    The renewed unrest comes after seven pro-independence figures from the CCAT (Field Action Coordination Cell, close to the hard-line fringe of the pro-independence platform FLNKS) were indicted on Saturday and transferred by a special plane to several jails in mainland France.

    They are facing charges related to the organisation of the protests that led to grave civil unrest that broke out in the French Pacific territory since May 13 in protest against a French Constitutional amendment.

    The amendment, which is now suspended, purported to change voter eligibility in New Caledonia’s local elections by opening the vote to French citizens having resided there for an uninterrupted ten years.

    French security forces vehicle burnt down in the South of Dumbéa, New Caledonia on 24 June 2024 – Photo NC la 1ère
    French security forces vehicle burnt down in the south of Dumbéa, New Caledonia, yesterday. Image: NC la 1ère/RNZ

    The pro-independence movement strongly opposed this change, saying it would marginalise the indigenous Kanak vote.

    Because of the dissolution of the French National Assembly (Lower House) in view of a snap general election (due to be held on June 30 and 7 July 7), the Constitutional Bill however did not conclude its legislative path due to the inability of the French Congress (a joint sitting of both Upper and Lower Houses) to convene for a final vote on the controversial text.

    At the weekend, of the 11 CCAT officials who were heard by investigating judges after their arrest on June 19, seven — including CCAT leader Christian Téin– were indicted and later transferred to several prisons to serve their pre-trial period in mainland France.

    Since then, roadblocks and clashes with security forces have regained intensity in the capital Nouméa and its surroundings, as well as New Caledonia’s outer islands of Îles des Pins, Lifou and Maré, forcing domestic flights to be severely disrupted.

    In Maré, a group of rioters attempted to storm the building housing the local gendarmerie.

    In Dumbéa, a small town north of Nouméa, the municipal police headquarters and a primary school were burnt down.

    Other clashes between French security forces and pro-independence rioters took place in Bourail, on the west coast of the main island.

    Several other fires have been extinguished by local firefighters, especially in the Nouméa neighbourhoods of Magenta and the industrial zone of Ducos, French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told the media on Monday.

    Fire-fighters and their vehicles were targeted by rioters on Monday – Photo Facebook Union des Pompiers Calédoniens
    Fire-fighters and their vehicles were targeted by rioters yesterday. Image: Union des Pompiers Calédoniens/FB/RNZ

    But on many occasions firefighters and their vehicles were targeted by rioters.

    Many schools that were preparing to reopen on Monday after six weeks of unrest have also remained closed.

    More roadblocks were erected by rioters on the main highway linking Nouméa to its international airport of La Tontouta, hampering international air traffic and forcing the reactivation of air transfers from domestic Nouméa-Magenta airport.

    In the face of the upsurge in violence, a dusk-to-dawn curfew has been maintained and the possession, sale and transportation of firearms, ammunition and alcohol, remain banned until further notice.

    The fresh unrest has also caused at least one death in the past two days: a 23-year-old man died of “respiratory distress” in Nouméa’s Kaméré neighbourhood because emergency services arrived too late, due to roadblocks.

    Another fatality was reported on Monday in Dumbéa, where a motorist died after attempting to use the express road on the wrong side and hit an oncoming vehicle coming from the opposite direction.

    Le Franc said just for yesterday, June 24, a total of 38 people had been arrested by police and gendarmes.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • UN Expert Calls for an End to the Failed US-Led Global “War on Drugs”

    The global “war on drugs” led by the United States has been a costly and destructive failure that must be terminated and replaced by an approach focused on harm-reduction, an independent United Nations expert said Monday. Tlaleng Mofokeng, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on the right to health, wrote in a report delivered to the Human Rights Council that since the 1970s, the global drug war has…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Gaza Journalist Has Courage Award Rescinded After Smear Campaign

    We go to Gaza to speak with Palestinian journalist Maha Hussaini after the International Women’s Media Foundation came under fire for rescinding its Courage in Journalism Award to her following a smear campaign. Hussaini is an award-winning journalist and human rights advocate who has extensively documented Israel’s war on Gaza since October, including reporting on the mass displacement of…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • People of the Indian diaspora in Pacific – another view through creative media

    Asia Pacific Report

    An exhibition from Tara Arts International has been brought to The University of the South Pacific as part of the Pacific International Media Conference next week.

    In the first exhibition of its kind, Connecting Diaspora: Pacific Prana provides an alternative narrative to the dominant story of the Indian diaspora to the Pacific.

    The epic altar “Pacific Prana” has been assembled in the gallery of USP’s Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies by installation artist Tiffany Singh in collaboration with journalistic film artist Mandrika Rupa and dancer and film artist Mandi Rupa Reid.

    PACIFIC MEDIA CONFERENCE 4-6 JULY 2024
    PACIFIC MEDIA CONFERENCE 4-6 JULY 2024

    A colourful exhibit of Indian classical dance costumes are on display in a deconstructed arrangement, to illustrate the evolution of Bharatanatyam for connecting the diaspora.

    Presented as a gift to the global diaspora, this is a collaborative, artistic, immersive, installation experience, of altar, flora, ritual, mineral, scent and sound.

    It combines documentary film journalism providing political and social commentary, also expressed through ancient dance mudra performance.

    The 120-year history of the people of the diaspora is explored, beginning in India and crossing the waters to the South Pacific by way of Fiji, then on to Aotearoa New Zealand and other islands of the Pacific.

    This is also the history of the ancestors of the three artists of Tara International who immigrated from India to the Pacific, and identifies their links to Fiji.

    expressed through ancient dance mudra performance.

    The 120-year history of the people of the diaspora is explored, beginning in India and crossing the waters to the South Pacific by way of Fiji, then on to Aotearoa New Zealand and other islands of the Pacific.

    Tiffany Singh (from left), Mandrika Rupa and Mandi Rupa-Reid
    Tiffany Singh (from left), Mandrika Rupa and Mandi Rupa-Reid . . . offering their collective voice and novel perspective of the diasporic journey of their ancestors through the epic installation and films. Image: Tara Arts International

    Support partners are Asia Pacific Media Network and The University of the South Pacific.

    The exhibition poster
    The exhibition poster . . . opening at USP’s Arts Centre on July 2. Image: Tara Arts International

    A journal article on documentary making in the Indian diaspora by Mandrika Rupa is also being published in the 30th anniversary edition of Pacific Journalism Review to be launched at the Pacific Media Conference dinner on July 4.

    Exhibition space for Tara Arts International has been provided at the Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies at USP.

    The exhibition opening is next Tuesday, and will open to the public the next day and remain open until Wednesday, August 28.

    The gallery will be open from 10am to 4pm and is free.

    Published in collaboration with the USP Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Former MP slams National’s stance on Samoa citizenship bill

    By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist

    A former National Party Member of Parliament says his late party looked “like dickheads” not supporting the first reading of a bill that would restore New Zealand citizenship to a group of Samoans and is hoping they will change tune.

    Anae Arthur Anae told RNZ Pacific it “was outright racism” that National did not back Green Party Member of Parliament Teanau Tuiono’s Restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill.

    National was the only party to not support it, citing “legal complexity” as the issue.

    Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti declined an interview with RNZ Pacific.

    In 1982, the Privy Council ruled that because those born in Western Samoa were treated by New Zealand law as “natural-born British subjects”, they were entitled to New Zealand citizenship when it was first created in 1948.

    Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono speaks during the First Reading of his Member's Bill, the Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill, 10 April 2024.
    Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono speaks during the First Reading of his Member’s Bill, the Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill. Image: Johnny Blades/RNZ

    However, the National Party-led government under Robert Muldoon took that away with the Western Samoa Citizenship Act 1982, effectively overturning the Privy Council ruling.

    Tuiono’s bill aims to restore the right of citizenship to those who had it removed.

    25,000 submissions
    Public submissions have closed and the Governance and Administration Committee received almost 25,000 submissions.

    NZ First leader Winston Peters has told Pacific Media Network he intended to continue to back it, if he does, it will likely become law.

    Anae said if National continued to “slag it” during the process they would keep making themselves look stupid.

    “Not only in New Zealand but internationally and on the human rights issues. They have put themselves in a serious situation here and they really have to get this right.

    “I’m hoping and praying that they will see the light and say, ‘look, enough is enough, we’ve got to sort this thing out now’.”

    Anae said the world had grown out of the racism he knew as a child and it was time for New Zealand to follow suit.

    “Who would have ever imagined the day when the key positions in the UK of Prime Minister, Mayor of London, all senior positions across the Great Britain, would be held by the children of migrants.

    “Time has changed, we’ve got to wake up to it.”

    Hearings to begin
    Hearings will be held in-person and on Zoom in Wellington on Monday, Wednesday and  July 9.

    There will also be hearings held in South Auckland on July 1.

    Anae said about 10,000 of the submissions came from Samoa and there was a request for a hearing to be held there also.

    “Everybody in Parliament right now is under huge pressure with the budget discussions that have been going on, so I do have my sympathies understanding the situation.

    “But at the same time this thing is one of the most important thing in the lives of Samoan people and we want it to be treated that way.”

    He said almost all the public submissions would be in support of the bill. He said in Samoa, where he was three weeks ago, the support was unanimous.

    But he said Samoa’s government was being diplomatic.

    ‘Sitting on fence’
    “They do not want to upset New Zealand in any way by seeing to be siding with this and they’re sitting on the fence.”

    Tuiono said it was great to see the commitment from NZ First but because it was politics, he was reluctant to feel too confident his bill would be eventually turned into law.

    “There’s always things that will need to be ironed out so the role for us as members participating in the select committee is to find all of those bits and pieces and work across the Parliament with different political parties.”

    Tuiono said most of the discussion on the bill was around whether citizenship was extended to the descendants of the group and how many people would be entitled to it.

    “That seems to be where most of the questions seem to be coming from but this is what we should be doing as part of the select committee process, get some certainty on that from the officials.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Advanced arms and technology for a monarchy with an appalling human rights record: the US-Saudi Arabia Security Pact

    A security guarantee, assistance in developing a nuclear program, and more unrestricted arms sales in exchange for the normalization of Israeli-Saudi relations is what the Biden administration proposes to Saudi Arabia in a bilateral agreement that is close to being finalized between the two countries. Long gone are Biden’s words in the 2019 Democratic primary elections declaring Saudi Arabia’s state as a “pariah” after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi intelligence officials in Turkey. According to the new Biden posture, the kingdom is now worthy of a security guarantee.

    The supporters of the agreement assert that it would enhance regional security in the Middle East by reinforcing the U.S.-led alliance against Iran, containing the rising influence of China in the Arab world, and pushing for the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Nonetheless, as Foreign Policy noted, the potential harms of this deal seem to outweigh the overstated benefits it would bring for the Biden Administration and the international security order as a whole.

    Concerning the alliance against Iran, the reality is that Saudi Arabia has, for quite a while now, benefited from both U.S. arms sales and military and diplomatic assistance. Thanks to that, the U.S. has already been placing relevant constraints on the Islamic Republic’s actions, and there is no pressing need to add more elements to this deterrence strategy. If anything, by strengthening security ties with the kingdom, Saudi Arabia might feel freer than before to make aggressive moves in regional policy, possibly drawing the U.S. into the subsequent region’s violence. Moreover, assisting Saudi Arabia in developing civilian nuclear power could initiate a nuclear arms race in the Persian Gulf by increasing Iran’s threat perception and supplying Saudi Arabia with essential components for nuclear weapons construction.

    In regard to keeping China’s influence in the Middle East under control, it should be noted that the already existing Saudi-Chinese relations are rooted in both strong economic interests and interests of other nature. For example, China has been, for years, the largest export and import partner of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it does not seem that this agreement will prevent both partners from actively engaging with one another in the future. In any case, when dealing with China in the pursuit of its national interests, the Saudis will continue to be attracted by the Asian country’s disregard for human rights deficiencies in partner countries.

    As for the third objective of the agreement, truth be told, although the U.S. will try to take advantage of the Israeli desire to pursue the normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia to force the country to moderate its calamitous offensive in Gaza or move toward a two-state solution, Israel’s opposition to both of these aims will render any Israeli-Saudi normalization remote. Even more so knowing that Riyadh has defended the need for Israel’s support of a Palestinian state as a key component of any Saudi recognition of Israel. As the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft asserts, if the Biden administration wants to really exert pressure on Israel, “the voluminous U.S. aid and diplomatic cover that the United States gives to Israel represent much larger and more direct sources of leverage than any indirect maneuver involving Saudi Arabia”. Biden would do well to keep this in mind, as the current U.S.’s stance in the war in Gaza risks losing his re-election.

    However, the U.S.-Saudi Pact not only does not suit US strategic interests but also jeopardizes the numerous efforts to end human rights abuses in the country. It should not be forgotten that  Saudi citizens do not enjoy political rights and their civil liberties are severely restricted and continuously repressed. Also, abroad, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has assassinated and forced the disappearance of ideological opponents. In view of these facts, finalizing an agreement of any nature that contemplates no provisions whatsoever about the promotion and protection of human rights with such kind of a regime, is beyond reprehensible for the U.S. part. Not only that, but the double standards of U.S. foreign policy, with its uneven support for self-determination and human rights in the Middle East, but its full support for Ukraine, explain why so many people, in particular in the global south, “are reticent to join the U.S. in just causes such as aiding Ukraine”.

    Additionally, this pact’s desirability is more difficult to understand if taking into account the fact that backing Riyadh is a losing topic in U.S. politics. In this respect, according to Foreign Policy, a majority of Americans have held an unfavorable view of Saudi Arabia for more than two decades. Biden’s support of a U.S.-Saudi deal could thus raise significant opposition from Americans hostile toward Saudi Arabia for different reasons: the Yemen War, oil prices, human rights, and allegations surrounding the 9/11 terror attacks. Furthermore, Biden could lose the support of Arab, Muslim, left-leaning, and young American voters, who constitute an important part of Democrat voters, if the deal passes and it appears to benefit Israel at the expense of Palestinians. This assertion is not to be taken lightly, as in 2020, Biden won nearly 60 percent of the Arab American vote in the US presidential election against Trump.

    The only clear winner of this pact is the authoritarian regime of Saudi Arabia. As the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft argues, the value the country places in this pact lies in the anomaly of having “an absolute hereditary monarchy ruling over a supposedly modernizing state in the twenty-first century” and realizing the inherent instability of such a combination. As a consequence, the U.S.-Saudi agreement, representing a diplomatic hug from a superpower, can be understood as a way to help Saudi Arabia extend this anomaly, along with the negative repercussions this may have on the struggle for human rights.

    Rewarding the Saudi monarchy’s authoritarianism and militarism is not the right path to follow.  As several US congressional representatives stated in a 2022 letter to President Biden, even though the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has long been an important U.S. partner, it cannot be ignored that its leadership has repeatedly acted in ways at odds with U.S. policy and values.

    The post Advanced arms and technology for a monarchy with an appalling human rights record: the US-Saudi Arabia Security Pact appeared first on Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain.

    This post was originally published on Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain.

  • Is owning your own home a human right? How about owning a jetski? | First Dog on the Moon

    Do we need a human rights act in Australia? Sure why not. Something else for governments to ignore

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Athletes Could Collapse or Even Die Due to Extreme Heat at Paris Olympics: Report

    paris olympics heat
    6 Mins Read

    A group of athletes and climate scientists have warned that intense heat at the Paris Olympics – set to be the hottest games on record – could lead to competitors collapsing, or in worst-case scenarios, even dying.

    In 2021, with temperatures above 34°C and humidity approaching 70%, the Olympic Games in Tokyo were described as the hottest in history. But that was just a glimpse into an “alarming, escalating” norm for the Summer Olympics, according to a new report by leading athletes and climate scientists.

    “Competitors vomited and fainted at finish lines, wheelchairs were deployed to carry athletes away from sun-scorched arenas and the fear of dying on court was even raised mid-match by the Tokyo Games’ number two seeded tennis player Daniel Medvedev,” the report reads.

    This summer’s games in Paris can potentially surpass these effects, with inaction on climate change and continued burning of fossil fuels contributing to record heat streaks in the past few months.

    The Rings of Fire report is the result of a collaboration between 11 Olympians and climate scientists from the University of Portsmouth, who warn that the extreme heat forecasts in the French capital could lead to competitors collapsing and – in worst-case scenarios – even dying.

    “A warming planet will present an additional challenge to athletes, which can adversely impact on their performance and diminish the sporting spectacle of the Olympic Games,” said Jo Corbett, associate professor associate of environmental physiology at the university’s School of Sport, Health and Exercise Science. “Hotter conditions also increase the potential for heat illness amongst all individuals exposed to high thermal stress, including officials and spectators, as well as athletes.”

    Jamie Farndale, a rugby sevens player for Great Britain, added: “It is not in an athlete’s DNA to stop and if the conditions are too dangerous I do think there is a risk of fatalities.”

    Worrying heat records threaten athletes at Paris Olympics

    olympics climate change
    Courtesy: Koyo/Getty Images/Green Queen

    2023 was the hottest year on record, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. And that trend has continued in 2024, with the last 12 months being the warmest for the respective month since records began in 1940. Scientists predict there’s a 66% chance 2024 will be the hottest year on record.

    Within Paris, meanwhile, annual temperatures have warmed by 1.8°C since 1924, the last time it hosted the Olympics. On average, there are 23 more ‘hot’ days of 25°C+, and nine more ‘scorching’ days of 30°C and above per year.

    Between 1947 and 2023, the Paris area has seen 50 heatwaves, whose frequency and intensity have escalated as a result of climate change. In 2003, a deadly heatwave killed more than 14,000 people in France, and human-caused climate change has doubled the likelihood of that heatwave and increased the risk of heat-related deaths in central Paris by 70%.

    At the time, the maximum recorded temperature in Paris was 39.5°C, but the capital has since registered 42.6°C – this was in 2019, when two heatwaves killed 1,435 people across France. And last summer, 5,000 people died due to the extreme heat in France. Research suggests that extremely hot summers like the one in 2023 are now 10 times more likely to occur because of climate change.

    This year’s Olympics will be held around the same period (July 26 to August 11) of the year that saw the 2023 heatwave. Summer heat is further intensified in Paris due to the Urban Heat Island effect, whereby urban areas become warmer than surrounding rural regions.

    The adverse heat has adverse effects on athletes’ abilities. Hot temperatures make it harder to regulate core body temperatures, which impairs performance, especially in endurance sports. Harmful impacts like sunburn, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and collapse from heat stroke are also causes for concern – the latter is a “serious medical condition that may have long-term, multi-organ consequences and may even be fatal”, the report states.

    Sleep disruption is another major worry for athletes at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, especially given the lack of air conditioning in the Olympic Village. “From smaller performance-impacting issues like sleep disruption and last-minute changes to event timings, to exacerbated health impacts and heat-related stress and injury, the consequences can be varied and wide-ranging,” explained Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics.

    “I had symptoms similar to overtraining, but it was basically the heat exposure that ‘fried’ my nervous system,” said Swiss sprinter Ajia Del Ponte, recalling her fatigue from heat exposure at an event in Napoli in 2019. “I felt tired, exhausted mainly. Completely empty of energy to only lift my leg in skipping. I was devastated because I didn’t understand what was happening to my body. It feels like you have chains around your ankles and wrists that slow down every movement you do.”

    Athletes afraid of speaking up

    The International Olympic Committee has produced a consensus statement outlining a range of mitigation measures to protect the health of athletes, but it acknowledged extreme heat as a growing issue for sport globally.

    “Challenges are mounting for athletes regarding air pollution, food and water insecurity and lack of shade. And, as this report makes especially clear, the challenges of climate-change-induced extreme heat for athletes are extensive and pose risks of devastating outcomes,” said Jackson Tuwei, president of Athletics Kenya.

    The report urges the sporting community to address these concerns and listen to athlete voices about their safety and wellbeing over the effects of climate change. “I feel like we have brushed up against the true limit of what could be expected of athletes’ resilience a number of times, and I don’t believe there should have to be a series of heat-related deaths for us to put reasonable limitations in place,” said Marcus Daniell, a New Zealand tennis player who won bronze in the men’s doubles in Tokyo.

    “The current environment is one of fear. Athletes don’t speak up or take action due to calls of hypocrisy – [the worry that they will be told] ‘shut up and play’,” said New Zealand hockey player Hugo Inglis, who will be competing at his fourth Olympics this summer. “My pipe dream is that sporting authorities/bodies would work with athletes to reshape the mainstream media narrative around sports and negative environmental externalities.”

    The Rings of Fire report makes some key recommendations for sporting authorities, with inputs from Olympians. Organisers must take heat into account when scheduling events, avoiding the hottest parts of the day for exposed sports. They also must invest further in protecting competitors, support staff, fans, and workers – limiting heat exposure and implementing water breaks are no longer enough.

    As Inglis suggested, many competitors are apprehensive about speaking up, but the report suggests that sporting authorities must empower them to talk about their experiences and the future impacts of climate change. By collaborating and speaking as one, sporting bodies and athletes can alter the narrative towards climate action and educate fanbases to follow suit.

    Finally, sport needs to reexamine its relationship with the fossil fuel industry, the world’s top polluter. Sponsorships from companies in this sector may bring in much-needed finance, but the long-term costs of these partnerships must be reassessed.

    The Paris Olympics has already addressed the second-most polluting industry, agriculture, by pledging to make 60% of all meals served at the games meatless. In fact, a third of the 13 million meals will be plant-based – twice more than last time.

    The post Athletes Could Collapse or Even Die Due to Extreme Heat at Paris Olympics: Report appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Two poems, four years in detention: the Chinese dissident who smuggled his writing out of prison – podcast

    My poems were written in anger after Tiananmen Square. But what motivates most prison writing is a fear of forgetting. Today I am free, but the regime has never stopped its war on words. By Liao Yiwu

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Four in 10 Environmental Journalists Have Received Threats for Reporting on Climate Change: Survey

    6 Mins Read

    As the climate crisis worsens, so does the security of those who report on it, leading many journalists to censor themselves or use sceptics for ‘balance’, a new survey finds.

    Nearly four in 10 journalists (39%) reporting on climate change and environmental issues have been threatened because of their work, with 11% facing physical violence and 8% subjected to property damage, reveals a damning new report.

    The survey of over 744 journalists in 102 countries – carried out by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) and Deakin University – revealed that while over half (52%) of these threats were verbal, 29% of them were legal threats or lawsuits. The majority of these came from people involved in illegal activities (43%) and via online harassment (also 43%). Meanwhile, 29% of threats to climate journalists came from governments.

    journalists threats
    Courtesy: Internews

    Women have a higher chance of facing threats (64%) than men (59%). And this has led to 39% of climate reports censoring themselves, a trend that has increased for nearly half of respondents in the last decade. The two major causes that made them self-censor were people engaged in illegal activities (42%) and governments (41%). Public response has deterred 26%, and retribution from the owners of their media outlet has made 22% choose not to report on issues or change their approach to a story.

    “The work of ‘covering the planet’ poses diverse challenges for journalists all around the world – but this work is urgent and vital,” said lead researcher Gabi Mocatta, from Deakin University. “Such insights are crucial in order to support and amplify the work of journalists who tell the most important stories of our times.”

    The study comes at a time when climate journalism and press freedom face ever-increasing threats – at least 30 environmental reporters have been killed for their work since 2009. During a year when half the world is voting with climate change on the ballot, protecting them is more important than ever before.

    Climate journalists grapple with objectivity

    environmental journalism
    Courtesy: Internews

    The majority of journalists (77%) said climate stories have become more prominent in the last decade, the main reason being the rise in environment-related issues (cited by 60%). Only 18% ascribed this to an increase in public interest, and even fewer (6%) said it was because of more frequent government briefings.

    A similar number of respondents (82%) said reporting on climate change is treated as more important than other verticals from a decade ago. That said, many felt the volume of coverage is still not commensurate with the gravity of the climate crisis.

    The concept of objectivity is divisive. Of the surveyed reporters, 62% said they include statements from climate sceptics – those who deny human-caused climate change – in the name of ‘balance’. But as part of detailed interviews with 74 journalists, the survey revealed that they depicted nuanced conceptions of objectivity versus advocacy.

    Concepts of balance and objectivity remain challenging and divisive: 62% of respondents said they include statements from sources that deny human-caused climate change in the name of “balance.” Yet, in interviews, journalists demonstrated nuanced conceptions of what constitutes “objectivity” compared to “advocacy.”

    This problem is most prevalent in Zambia and Rwanda (where 100% of respondents include climate-sceptic sources), followed by Pakistan (93%). On the other hand, none of the journalists from the UK and Germany said they add statements from such sources, a figure also low in Australia (8%) and the US (11%).

    Misinformation and lack of funding holding back environmental reporting

    climate change journalism
    Courtesy: Internews

    A lack of funding and resources is overwhelmingly the most limiting factor for climate journalists, with 76% citing it. Over a third of respondents also pinpointed a lack of public interest, while just under a quarter pointed to the danger of covering such issues. For a further 15%, the direction of their companies’ owners was a deterrent, while 12% felt advertiser preferences also limited their reporting of environmental stories.

    In line with this, 79% of climate journalists believe their countries need to provide more funding for in-depth coverage of these issues, emerging as their biggest demand. Fellowships to attend conferences were also a highly popular need (72%), as was access to data (72%). Notably, 42% of respondents said they want better government policy.

    Meanwhile, a third spoke to a lack of expertise in the area as a reason they can’t report on climate change as much as they’d like. It makes sense, then, that three-quarters of journalists want more in-person training on climate issues.

    When asked what themes such training should cover, half said environment and health, and decarbonisation and renewable energy, highlighting the gap between the impact of health and fossil fuel on climate change, and awareness about the same.

    environmental reporting threats
    Courtesy: Internews

    Interestingly, only 27% of reporters said they’d like more training on animal agriculture, which is responsible for up to 20% of all emissions, and a major driver of biodiversity loss and deforestation. But separate research has shown that 93% of climate stories don’t mention animal agriculture. “There are themes central to environmental and climate problems that journalists may still not cover frequently, and consequently, they may not feel the need to build expertise in these areas,” the EJN-Deakin report says.

    Journalists also said misinformation is on the rise, with 58% suggesting it had increased in the last decade. And nearly half (46%) felt misinformation is “very much” or “extremely” undermining their work – only 11% said it didn’t affect their reporting at all. Social media posts were identified as the largest source (with 93% agreeing), followed by industry or private companies (42%) and government media (32%).

    How we can help climate journalism

    climate change reporting
    Courtesy: Internews

    The survey asked reporters if they had witnessed any changes as a result of their work on climate change. Encouragingly, only 7% said it hasn’t had an impact. The biggest changes have been in public awareness of climate change and environmental issues (over 60%) – although this hasn’t translated to actual behavioural change on their part, something only 33% of journalists believed they have seen.

    Meanwhile, 29% have seen changes in government policy and 17% in industry practices. “The journalists surveyed are steadfast in their dedication to reporting on how climate change and environmental crimes are negatively impacting both people and the planet – but they desperately need more support,” said James Fahn, executive director of the EJN.

    So how can we do that? If you’re a funding organisation, the authors recommend you prioritise support for locally relevant stories and training opportunities, work with newsrooms on the longevity of funding, develop a nuanced approach to objectivity and advocacy, and avoid donor influence on climate coverage.

    If you’re a newsroom, encourage reporters to specialise in climate change, broadcast more environmental stories, encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing, help journalists understand misinformation and how to avoid it, and protect their employees’ physical, legal and digital safety.

    Finally, if you’re a journalist yourself, make global environmental stories locally relevant, cover both problems and solutions, and highlight climate justice in your reporting. Journalists should also consider their own position on the objectivity-advocacy spectrum, and they shouldn’t platform climate deniers. They must also build their knowledge on attribution science (linking extreme weather events to the climate crisis), and make clear humans’ dependence on the natural world.

    After all, as the authors write, “all stories are climate stories”.

    The post Four in 10 Environmental Journalists Have Received Threats for Reporting on Climate Change: Survey appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Should Australia recognise housing as a human right? Two crossbenchers are taking up the cause

    Australian Human Rights Commission already thinks so, including it in a list of rights that should receive legislative protection

    Should adequate housing be considered a human right?

    The Australian Human Rights Commission thinks so, including it in a list of rights that should receive legislative protection.

    Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Aotearoa Caravan for Free Palestine reaches Auckland, joins downtown rally

    Asia Pacific Report

    The Aotearoa Caravan For a Free Palestine arrived in Auckland at the weekend and was greeted and supported by a large rally and march downtown before heading for Hamilton on the next stage.

    “260 days of wives becoming widows.  260 days of mothers becoming children-less.  260 days of schools being bombed, of mosques being bombed, of churches being bombed,  260 days of hunger, of starvation, of deprivation of necessities,” said a speaker at the rally describing the human cost of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

    Green Party MP Steve Abel condemned the weak role of both politicians and news media in New Zealand over the war, saying a major problem was a “lack of political analysis and lack of media analysis”.

    He called on the Fourth Estate to do better in informing the public about the “truth of the war – it’s not a war, it’s genocide”.

    The Aotearoa Caravan for Palestine arrives at Whānau Maria in the central Auckland suburb of Ponsonby last night
    The Aotearoa Caravan for Free Palestine arrives at Whānau Maria in the central Auckland suburb of Ponsonby last night. Image: David Robie/APR

    A solidarity organiser, Reverend Chris Sullivan, said the caravan of protesters were travelling from Cape Reinga to Parliament to urge the New Zealand government to take stronger action to end the war and unfolding genocide in Gaza.

    The caravan participants also hope to help build a lasting peace based on a just solution to the suffering of the Palestinian people.

    Last night they were welcomed to Auckland by local solidarity acitivists with shared kai at the Whānau Maria in Ponsonby.

    The caravan called on the government to:

    • Issue a clear public statement condemning Israel’s war crimes and affirming the ICJ ruling on the plausibility of genocide. Demand that Israel adhere to international law, including the Genocide Convention which recognises Palestinians’ right to protection from genocide; and demand an end to the illegal occupation and apartheid.
    A message for the New Zealand government from members of the Cape-Reinga-to-Wellington
    A message for the New Zealand government from members of the Cape-Reinga-to-Wellington caravan for Palestine at today’s Palestine solidarity rally. Image: David Robie/APR
    • Sanction Israel until it complies with international law and respects Palestinian rights. Following the precedent set by the Russia Sanctions Act 2022, New Zealand should act with similar resolve against Israel and any entity aiding its war crimes and genocide.
    • Recognise Palestinian Statehood: This is a vital step towards ensuring justice for Palestinians and is the foundation for full equitable participation in international relations. While New Zealand endorses its support for a two-state solution, it does not recognise Palestine as a state, only Israel. This lack of recognition leaves Palestinians who are living under illegal occupation, vulnerable to ongoing settler violence.
    • Grant visas to Palestinian New Zealanders’ families: Allow the families of Palestinian New Zealanders in Gaza to reunite in safety. Similar visas were granted to Ukrainians within a month of Russia’s invasion. Palestinians deserve the same consideration.
    • Increase UNRWA funding: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides critical humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and surrounding regions and the New Zealand government should meet its legal and humanitarian responsibilities by increasing aid funding to a level that reflects the severity of the humanitarian crisis. 
    Green Party list MP Steve Abel speaking at today's Palestine solidarity rally in Auckland
    Green Party list MP Steve Abel speaking at today’s Palestine solidarity rally in Auckland supported by fellow MP Ricardo Menéndez March . . . critical of media failure to report the full “truth” of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. Image: David Robie/APR

    Reverend Sullivan drew attention to a statement on June 20 by the Irish Catholic Bishops that called for “courageous world leadership” to stop the war in the Holy Land:

    “This war is an attack on all of humanity.  When people are deprived of basic human dignity and of necessary humanitarian aid, we are all made poorer,” the statement said.

    “Efforts by the United Nations to address the humanitarian crisis are welcome.  But, the people of the Holy Land — and around the globe — need clear and courageous leadership from world leaders.

    A Kanaky flag at today's Auckland solidarity rally for Palestine
    A Kanaky flag of independence at today’s Auckland solidarity rally for Palestine. Image: David Robie/APR

    “Who is prepared to put the plight of people and the dignity of every human person as the overriding priority in bringing this outrage to an end?

    “In the words of Pope Francis during his Angelus address on June 2, ‘it takes courage to make peace, far more courage than to wage war.’  Let us pray that leaders will show courage now at this vital moment.”

    Catholics, and all people of good will, were invited to pray and to lobby members of Parliament for the New Zealand government to provide that “clear and courageous leadership” for peace and justice in the Holy Land.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • In Canada, a pattern of police intimidation of freelance journalists is emerging

    COMMENTARY: By Savanna Craig

    On the morning of April 15, I headed to a branch of Scotiabank in downtown Montreal to cover a pro-Palestine protest. Activists had chosen the venue due to the Canadian bank’s investments in Israeli defence company Elbit Systems.

    I watched as protesters blocked the bank’s ATMs and teller booths and the police were called in.

    Police officers showed up in riot gear. When it was announced the activists were going to be arrested, I didn’t expect that I would be included with them.

    Despite identifying myself as a journalist numerous times and showing officers my press pass, I was apprehended alongside the 44 activists I was covering. It was inside the bank that I was processed and eventually released after hours of being detained.

    I now potentially face criminal charges for doing my job. The mischief charges I face carry a maximum jail sentence of two years and a fine of up to C$5000 (NZ$6000). I could also be restricted from leaving the country.

    Canadian police can only suggest charges, so the prosecution has to decide whether or not to charge me. This process alone can take anywhere from a few months to a year.

    I am the second journalist to be arrested in Canada while on assignment since the beginning of 2024.

    Arrested over homeless raid
    In January, journalist Brandi Morin was arrested and charged with obstruction in the province of Alberta while covering a police raid on a homeless encampment where many of the campers were Indigenous. It took two months of pressure for the police to drop the charges against her.

    Over the past few years, a pattern of arrests has emerged, with police specifically targeting journalists working freelance or with smaller outlets. Many of these journalists have been covering Indigenous-led protests or blockades.

    Often they claim that the media workers they have come after “do not look like journalists”.

    The Canadian police continue to use detention to silence and intimidate us despite our right to free speech under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. To specify, under section two of the charter, Canadians’ rights to freedom of thought, belief and expression are protected.

    The charter identifies the media as a vital medium for transmitting thoughts and ideas, protecting the right for journalists and the media to speak out.

    Furthermore, a 2019 ruling by a Canadian court reasserted the protection of journalists from being included in injunctions in situations where they are fulfilling their professional duties.

    The court decision was made in the case of journalist Justin Brake, who was arrested in 2016 while documenting protests led by Indigenous land defenders at the Muskrat Falls hydro project site in Newfoundland and Labrador. Brake faced criminal charges of mischief and disobeying a court order for following protesters onto the site, as well as civil contempt proceedings.

    Victory for free press
    Despite Brake’s victory in the court case, journalists have still been included in injunctions.

    In 2021, another high-profile arrest of two Canadian journalists occurred in western Canada. Amber Bracken and Michael Toledano were documenting Indigenous land defenders protecting Wet’suwet’en territory near Houston, British Columbia, from the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline when they were arrested.

    They were held in detention by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for three days until they were released.

    In an interview, Toledano said he and Bracken were put in holding cells with the lights on 24 hours a day, minimally fed and denied access to both toothbrushes and soap.

    “We were given punitive jail treatment,” Toledano explained. They faced charges of civil contempt which were dropped a month later.

    Even though I knew about these cases, had analysed numerous press freedom violations in Canada over the last few years, and had researched the different ways in which journalists can experience harassment or intimidation, nothing prepared me for the experience.

    Since I was arrested, I have not had the same sense of security I used to have. The stress, feeling like I have eyes on me at all times and waiting to see whether charges will be laid, has taken a mental toll on me.

    Exhausting distraction
    This is not only exhausting but it distracts me from the very important and essential work I do as a journalist.

    I have also, however, received a lot of support. It has been genuinely heartwarming that Canadian and international journalists rallied behind me following my arrest.

    Journalists’ solidarity in such cases is crucial. If just one journalist is arrested, it means that none of us are safe, and the freedom of the press isn’t secure.

    I know that I did nothing wrong and the charges against me are unjust. Being arrested won’t deter me from covering blockades, Indigenous-led protests or other demonstrations. However, I am concerned about how my arrest may discourage other journalists from reporting on these topics or working for independent outlets.

    I have been covering pro-Palestine activism in Montreal for eight years, and more intensely over the last eight months due to the war in Gaza. For years I have been one the few journalists at these protests, and often, the only one covering these actions.

    The public must see what’s happening at these actions, whether they are pro-Palestine demonstrations opposing Canada’s role in Palestine or Indigenous land defenders opposing construction on their territory.

    Regardless of its judgment on the matter, the Canadian public has the right to know what fellow citizens are protesting for and if they face police abuses.

    Held to account
    The presence of a journalist can sometimes be the only guarantee that police and institutions are held to account if there are excesses.

    However, there is a clear lack of political will among officials to protect journalists and make sure they can do their work undisturbed.

    Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante did not denounce my arrest or urge police to drop my charges. Instead, when asked for a comment on my arrest, her office stated that press freedoms are important and that they will allow police to carry out their investigation.

    Just one city councillor wrote to the mayor’s office urging for my arrest to be denounced. Local politicians have also been largely mute on detentions of other journalists, too, with few exceptions.

    The comment from the mayor’s office reflects the attitude of most politicians in Canada, who otherwise readily declare their respect for freedom of expression.

    On May 3, World Press Freedom Day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put out a statement saying that “journalists are the bedrock of our democracy”.

    Yet he never took a stance to defend Morin, Brake, Bracken, Toledano and many others who were arrested while on assignment. He, like many other politicians, falls short on words and action.

    Until concrete steps are taken to prevent law enforcement officers from intimidating or silencing journalists through arrest, press freedom will continue to be in danger in Canada.

    Journalists should be protected and their chartered rights should not be disregarded when certain subjects are covered. If journalists continue to be bullied out of doing their work, then the public is at risk of being kept in the dark about important events and developments.

    Savanna Craig is a reporter, writer and video journalist covering social movements, policing and Western imperialism in the Middle East. Republished from Al Jazeera under Creative Commons.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • In Canada, a pattern of police intimidation of freelance journalists is emerging

    COMMENTARY: By Savanna Craig

    On the morning of April 15, I headed to a branch of Scotiabank in downtown Montreal to cover a pro-Palestine protest. Activists had chosen the venue due to the Canadian bank’s investments in Israeli defence company Elbit Systems.

    I watched as protesters blocked the bank’s ATMs and teller booths and the police were called in.

    Police officers showed up in riot gear. When it was announced the activists were going to be arrested, I didn’t expect that I would be included with them.

    Despite identifying myself as a journalist numerous times and showing officers my press pass, I was apprehended alongside the 44 activists I was covering. It was inside the bank that I was processed and eventually released after hours of being detained.

    I now potentially face criminal charges for doing my job. The mischief charges I face carry a maximum jail sentence of two years and a fine of up to C$5000 (NZ$6000). I could also be restricted from leaving the country.

    Canadian police can only suggest charges, so the prosecution has to decide whether or not to charge me. This process alone can take anywhere from a few months to a year.

    I am the second journalist to be arrested in Canada while on assignment since the beginning of 2024.

    Arrested over homeless raid
    In January, journalist Brandi Morin was arrested and charged with obstruction in the province of Alberta while covering a police raid on a homeless encampment where many of the campers were Indigenous. It took two months of pressure for the police to drop the charges against her.

    Over the past few years, a pattern of arrests has emerged, with police specifically targeting journalists working freelance or with smaller outlets. Many of these journalists have been covering Indigenous-led protests or blockades.

    Often they claim that the media workers they have come after “do not look like journalists”.

    The Canadian police continue to use detention to silence and intimidate us despite our right to free speech under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. To specify, under section two of the charter, Canadians’ rights to freedom of thought, belief and expression are protected.

    The charter identifies the media as a vital medium for transmitting thoughts and ideas, protecting the right for journalists and the media to speak out.

    Furthermore, a 2019 ruling by a Canadian court reasserted the protection of journalists from being included in injunctions in situations where they are fulfilling their professional duties.

    The court decision was made in the case of journalist Justin Brake, who was arrested in 2016 while documenting protests led by Indigenous land defenders at the Muskrat Falls hydro project site in Newfoundland and Labrador. Brake faced criminal charges of mischief and disobeying a court order for following protesters onto the site, as well as civil contempt proceedings.

    Victory for free press
    Despite Brake’s victory in the court case, journalists have still been included in injunctions.

    In 2021, another high-profile arrest of two Canadian journalists occurred in western Canada. Amber Bracken and Michael Toledano were documenting Indigenous land defenders protecting Wet’suwet’en territory near Houston, British Columbia, from the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline when they were arrested.

    They were held in detention by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for three days until they were released.

    In an interview, Toledano said he and Bracken were put in holding cells with the lights on 24 hours a day, minimally fed and denied access to both toothbrushes and soap.

    “We were given punitive jail treatment,” Toledano explained. They faced charges of civil contempt which were dropped a month later.

    Even though I knew about these cases, had analysed numerous press freedom violations in Canada over the last few years, and had researched the different ways in which journalists can experience harassment or intimidation, nothing prepared me for the experience.

    Since I was arrested, I have not had the same sense of security I used to have. The stress, feeling like I have eyes on me at all times and waiting to see whether charges will be laid, has taken a mental toll on me.

    Exhausting distraction
    This is not only exhausting but it distracts me from the very important and essential work I do as a journalist.

    I have also, however, received a lot of support. It has been genuinely heartwarming that Canadian and international journalists rallied behind me following my arrest.

    Journalists’ solidarity in such cases is crucial. If just one journalist is arrested, it means that none of us are safe, and the freedom of the press isn’t secure.

    I know that I did nothing wrong and the charges against me are unjust. Being arrested won’t deter me from covering blockades, Indigenous-led protests or other demonstrations. However, I am concerned about how my arrest may discourage other journalists from reporting on these topics or working for independent outlets.

    I have been covering pro-Palestine activism in Montreal for eight years, and more intensely over the last eight months due to the war in Gaza. For years I have been one the few journalists at these protests, and often, the only one covering these actions.

    The public must see what’s happening at these actions, whether they are pro-Palestine demonstrations opposing Canada’s role in Palestine or Indigenous land defenders opposing construction on their territory.

    Regardless of its judgment on the matter, the Canadian public has the right to know what fellow citizens are protesting for and if they face police abuses.

    Held to account
    The presence of a journalist can sometimes be the only guarantee that police and institutions are held to account if there are excesses.

    However, there is a clear lack of political will among officials to protect journalists and make sure they can do their work undisturbed.

    Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante did not denounce my arrest or urge police to drop my charges. Instead, when asked for a comment on my arrest, her office stated that press freedoms are important and that they will allow police to carry out their investigation.

    Just one city councillor wrote to the mayor’s office urging for my arrest to be denounced. Local politicians have also been largely mute on detentions of other journalists, too, with few exceptions.

    The comment from the mayor’s office reflects the attitude of most politicians in Canada, who otherwise readily declare their respect for freedom of expression.

    On May 3, World Press Freedom Day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put out a statement saying that “journalists are the bedrock of our democracy”.

    Yet he never took a stance to defend Morin, Brake, Bracken, Toledano and many others who were arrested while on assignment. He, like many other politicians, falls short on words and action.

    Until concrete steps are taken to prevent law enforcement officers from intimidating or silencing journalists through arrest, press freedom will continue to be in danger in Canada.

    Journalists should be protected and their chartered rights should not be disregarded when certain subjects are covered. If journalists continue to be bullied out of doing their work, then the public is at risk of being kept in the dark about important events and developments.

    Savanna Craig is a reporter, writer and video journalist covering social movements, policing and Western imperialism in the Middle East. Republished from Al Jazeera under Creative Commons.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Pacific Media Conference to celebrate 30th birthday of Pacific Journalism Review

    By Mark Pearson

    Journalists, publishers, academics, diplomats and NGO representatives from throughout the Asia-Pacific region will gather for the 2024 Pacific International Media Conference hosted by The University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji, next month.

    A notable part of the conference on July 4-6 will be the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the journal Pacific Journalism Review — founded by the energetic pioneer of journalism studies in the Pacific, Professor David Robie, who was recently honoured in the NZ King’s Birthday Honours list as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

    I have been on the editorial board of PJR for two of its three decades.

    PACIFIC MEDIA CONFERENCE 4-6 JULY 2024
    PACIFIC MEDIA CONFERENCE 4-6 JULY 2024

    As well as delivering a keynote address titled “Frontline Media Faultlines: How Critical Journalism can Survive Against the Odds”, Dr Robie will join me and the current editor of PJR, Dr Philip Cass, on a panel examining the challenges faced by journalism journals in the Global South/Asia Pacific.

    We will be moderated by Professor Vijay Naidu, former professor and director of development studies and now an adjunct in the School of Law and Social Sciences at the university. He is also speaking at the PJR birthday event.

    In addition, I will be delivering a conference paper titled “Intersections between media law and ethics — a new pedagogy and curriculum”.

    Media law and ethics have often been taught as separate courses in the journalism and communication curriculum or have been structured as two distinct halves of a hybrid course.

    Integrated ethics and law approach
    My paper explains an integrated approach expounded in my new textbook, The Communicator’s Guide to Media Law and Ethics, where each key media law topic is introduced via a thorough exploration of its moral, ethical, religious, philosophical and human rights underpinnings.

    The argument is exemplified via an approach to the ethical and legal topic of confidentiality, central to the relationship between journalists and their sources.

    Mark Pearson's new book
    Mark Pearson’s The Communicator’s Guide to Media Law and Ethics cover. Image: Routledge

    After defining the term and distinguishing it from the related topic of privacy, the paper explains the approach in the textbook and curriculum which traces the religious and philosophical origins of confidentiality sourced to Hippocrates (460-370BC), via confidentiality in the priesthood (from Saint Aphrahat to the modern Catholic Code of Canon Law), and through the writings of Kant, Bentham, Stuart Mill, Sidgwick and Rawls until we reach the modern philosopher Sissela Bok’s examination of investigative journalism and claims of a public’s “right to know”.

    This leads naturally into an examination of the handling of confidentiality in both public relations and journalism ethical codes internationally and their distinctive approaches, opening the way to the examination of law, cases and examples internationally in confidentiality and disclosure and, ultimately, to a closer examination in the author’s own jurisdiction of Australia.

    Specific laws covered include breach of confidence, disobedience contempt, shield laws, whistleblower laws and freedom of information laws — with the latter having a strong foundation in international human rights instruments.

    The approach gives ethical studies a practical legal dimension, while enriching students’ legal knowledge with a backbone of its philosophical, religious and human rights origins.

    Details about the conference can be found on its USP website.

    Professor Mark Pearson (Griffith University) is a journalist, author, academic researcher and teacher with more than 45 years’ experience in journalism and journalism education. He is a former editor of Australian Journalism Review, a columnist for 15 years on research journal findings for the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers’ Association Bulletin, and author of 13 books, including The Communicator’s Guide to Media Law and Ethics — A Handbook for Australian Professionals (Routledge, 2024). He blogs at JournLaw.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Does Israel really want to open a two-front war by attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon?

    ANALYSIS: By Ian Parmeter, Australian National University

    Among the many sayings attributed to Winston Churchill is, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

    This sentiment seems appropriate as Israel potentially appears ready to embark on a war against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

    Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said this week a decision on an all-out war against Hezbollah was “coming soon” and that senior commanders of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had signed off on a plan for the operation.

    This threat comes despite the fact Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza is far from over. Israel has still not achieved the two primary objectives Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put forth at the start of the conflict:

    • the destruction of Hamas as a military and governing entity in Gaza
    • the freeing of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas (about 80 believed to still be alive, along with the remains of about 40 believed to be dead).

    Why Hezbollah is attacking Israel now
    Israel has cogent reasons for wanting to eliminate the threat from Hezbollah. Hezbollah has been launching Iranian-supplied missiles, rockets and drones across the border into northern Israel since the Gaza war began on October 8.

    Its stated purpose is to support Hamas by distracting the IDF from its Gaza operation.

    Hezbollah’s attacks have been relatively circumscribed – confined so far to northern Israel. But they have led to the displacement of some 60,000 residents from the border area. These people are understandably fed up and demanding Netanyahu’s government takes action to force Hezbollah to withdraw from the border.

    This anger has been augmented this week by Hezbollah publicising video footage of military and civilian sites in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, which had been taken by a low-flying surveillance drone.

    The implication: Hezbollah was scoping the region for new targets. Haifa, a city of nearly 300,000, has not yet been subject to Hezbollah attacks.

    The most far-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, have openly called for Israel to invade southern Lebanon. Even without this pressure, Netanyahu has ample reason to want to neutralise the Hezbollah threat because residents of northern Israel are strong supporters of his Likud party.

    US and Iranian interests in a broader conflict
    The United States is obviously concerned about the risk Israel will open a second front in its conflicts. As such, President Joe Biden has sent an envoy, Amos Hochstein, to Israel and Lebanon to try to reduce tensions on both sides.

    In Lebanon, he cannot publicly deal directly with the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, because the group is on the US list of global terrorist organisations. Instead, he met the long-serving speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, who as a fellow Shia is able to talk with Nasrallah.

    But Hezbollah answers to Iran — its main backer in the region. And it’s doubtful if any Lebanese leader can persuade it to desist from action approved by Iran.

    Iran’s interests in the potential for an Israel-Hezbollah war at this time are mixed. It would obviously be glad to see Israel under military pressure on two fronts. But Iranian leaders see Hezbollah as insurance against an Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities.

    Hezbollah has an estimated 150,000 missiles and rockets, including some that could reach deep into Israel. So far, Iran seems to want Hezbollah to hold back from a major escalation with Israel, which could deplete most of that arsenal.

    That said, although Israel’s Iron Dome defensive shield has been remarkably successful in neutralising the rocket threat from Gaza, it might not be as effective against a large-scale barrage of more sophisticated missiles.

    Israel needed help from the US, Britain, France and Jordan in countering a direct attack from Iran in April that involved some 150 missiles and 170 drones.


    Israel and Hezbollah conflict: escalating cross-border tensions. Video: ABC News

    Lessons from previous Israeli interventions in Lebanon
    The other factor – especially for wiser heads mindful of history – is the country’s previous interventions in Lebanon have been far from cost-free.

    Israel’s problems with Lebanon started when the late King Hussein of Jordan forced the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), then led by Yasser Arafat, to relocate to Lebanon in 1970. He did that because the PLO had been using Jordan as a base for operations against Israel after the 1967 war, provoking Israeli retaliation.

    From the early 1970s, the PLO formed a state within a state in Lebanon. It largely acted independently from the perennially weak Lebanese government, which was divided on sectarian grounds, and in 1975, collapsed into a prolonged civil war.

    The PLO used southern Lebanon to launch attacks against Israel, leading Israel to launch a limited invasion of its northern neighbour in 1978, driving Palestinian militia groups north of the Litani River.

    That invasion was only partially successful. Militants soon moved back towards the border and renewed their attacks on northern Israel. In 1982, then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin decided to remove the PLO entirely from Lebanon, launching a major invasion of Lebanon all the way to Beirut. This eventually forced the PLO leadership and the bulk of its fighters to relocate to Tunisia.

    Despite this success, the two Israeli invasions had the unintended consequence of radicalising the until-then quiescent Shia population of southern Lebanon.

    That enabled Iran, in its early post-revolutionary phase under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to work with Shia clerics in Lebanon to establish Hezbollah (Party of God in Arabic), which became a greater threat to Israel than the PLO had ever been.

    Bolstered by Iranian support, Hezbollah has become stronger over the years, becoming a force in Lebanese politics and regularly firing missiles into Israel.

    In 2006, Hezbollah was able to block an IDF advance into southern Lebanon aimed at rescuing two Israeli soldiers Hezbollah had captured. The outcome was essentially a draw, and the two soldiers remained in captivity until their bodies were exchanged for Lebanese prisoners in 2008.

    Many Arab observers at the time judged that by surviving an asymmetrical conflict, Hezbollah had emerged with a political and military victory.

    For a while during and after that conflict, Nasrallah was one of the most popular regional leaders, despite the fact he was loathed by rulers of conservative Sunni Arab states such as Saudi Arabia.

    Will history repeat itself?
    This is the background to discussions in Israel about launching a war against Hezbollah. And it demonstrates how the quote from Churchill is relevant.

    Most military experts would caution against choosing to fight a war on two fronts. Former US President George W. Bush decided to invade Iraq in 2003 when the war in Afghanistan had not concluded. The outcome was hugely costly for the US military and disastrous for both countries.

    The 19th century American writer Mark Twain is reported to have said that history does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Will Israel’s leaders listen to the echoes of the past?The Conversation

    Dr Ian Parmeter, research scholar, Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian National University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘Stop the violence, killing against Kanaks’ plea by Vanuatu MPs

    Vanuatu Daily Post

    All eight Members of Parliament from Vanuatu’s Tafea Province have made a bold and powerful call to French President Emmanuel Macron to “stop the violence and killing” being committed against the Kanak people of New Caledonia.

    The MPs include Trade Minister Bob Loughman, a former prime minister; Internal Affairs Minister Johnny Koanapo; Youth and Sports Minister Tomker Netvunei; Agriculture Minister Nako Natuman; Jotham Napat; Andrew Napuat; Xavier Harry; and Simil Johnson.

    “We, the MPs of Tafea Province, in this 13th Legislature of the Parliament of the Republic of Vanuatu, make the following statement based on the undeniable historical cultural links, which has existed from time immemorial between our people of Tafea and the Kanaky people of New Caledonia . . .,” their signed statement said.

    Nine people have been killed during the unrest that began on May 13, five of them Kanaks and two were gendarmes.

    “As Melanesians to call for greater solidarity and bring to the spotlight the despicable acts of France as a colonial power that still colonises the island nations and maritime boundaries of our nations,” the statement said.

    “The recent events in New Caledonia is provoked by various ingredients which France has been cunningly cooking on their agenda over the years including the amendment of the electoral list which they understand very well that the Melanesians living in their own Kanaky mother land in New Caledonia are strongly opposed to it.

    “Because they know that France is deliberately using ways to alienate their voices in their own motherland.”

    ‘Honour Nouméa Accord’ call to France
    The MPs called on France to honour its commitment under the Nouméa Accord and engage in political dialogue, as was the custom in Melanesia and the Pacific.

    The MPs said it was “unfair to the helpless people of New Caledonia to be confronted by a world military power such as France and shoot, imprison, and expose them to fear in such a manner that we have recently witnessed”.

    They said France could not and must not act like this in the Pacific.

    “France simply needs to dialogue with the Kanak leaders, listen and respect them as equals,” their statement said.

    “The Kanaky [sic] are not their subjects of unequals. They are asking for their political autonomy. That’s all.

    “Why is France still colonising countries when the world has gone past the colonisation decade? Why can’t they choose to colonise another country in Europe?

    “France as an old democracy must end colonising people in this day and age. If the colonised people are yearning for freedom and they cannot fight with weapons to get their right to freedom, France must not act like a dictator to silence the dissenting voices who are yearning for freedom.

    ‘Listen . . . not silence them’
    “We call on France to listen, learn [from] the voices of the people, and not silence them with the barrel of a gun and other military weapons.

    “We want to see France as a civilised state to take responsibility and not shoot Melanesians from land and air as if they are in a war. Stop killing Melanesians.”

    The leaders from TAFEA also call on Kanaky leaders, both Independentists and non-independentists, to come together and discuss a common solution.

    “We see dialogue as a fundamental part of our Melanesian culture, and the state and all political parties must recognise the value of political dialogue,” they said.

    “. . . [We] ask all the people of the Republic of Vanuatu, including the government, chiefs, and churches, to stand in solidarity with our Melanesian families in New Caledonia.

    “We ask all praying Christians to pray for God’s intervention in the situation in New Caledonia, to restore peace, and to bring calm to the people of New Caledonia. God bless the people of New Caledonia.”

    Republished from the Vanuatu Daily Post with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Former Green MP and ‘conscience of the year’ Keith Locke dies, aged 80

    RNZ News

    Former Green MP Keith Locke, a passionate activist and anti-war critic once described as “conscience of the year”, has died in hospital, aged 80.

    Locke was in Parliament from 1999 to 2011, and was known as a human rights and nuclear-free advocate.

    His family said he had died peacefully in the early hours this morning after a long illness.

    “He will be greatly missed by his partner Michele, his family, friends and colleagues. He kept up his interest and support for the causes he was passionate about to the last.

    “He was a man of integrity, courage and kindness who lived his values in every part of his life. He touched many lives in the course of his work in politics and activism.”

    The son of activists Elsie and Jack Locke of Christchurch, Keith was politically aware from an early age, and was involved in the first anti-nuclear and anti-apartheid marches of the 1960s.

    After a Masters degree at the University of Alberta in Canada, he returned to New Zealand and left academia to edit a fortnightly newspaper for the Socialist Action League, a union he had joined as a meatworker then railway workshop employee.

    He joined NewLabour in 1989, which later became part of the Alliance party, and split off into the Greens when they broke apart from the Alliance in 1997, entering Parliament as their foreign affairs spokesperson in the subsequent election two years later.

    Notable critic of NZ in Afghanistan
    While in Parliament, he was a notable critic of New Zealand’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan and the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002, and advocated for refugee rights including in the case of Ahmed Zaoui.

    He also long advocated for New Zealand to become a republic, putting forward a member’s bill which would have led to a referendum on the matter.

    Commentators dubbed him variously the ‘Backbencher of the Year’ in 2002 — an award he reprised from a different outlet in 2010 — as well as the ‘Politician of the Year’ in 2003, and ‘Conscience of the Year’ in 2004.

    He was appointed a Member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to human rights advocacy in 2021, received NZ Amnesty International’s Human Rights Defender award in 2012, and the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand’s Harmony Award in 2013.

    In a statement today, Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick said Locke was a dear friend and leading figure in the party’s history, who never wavered in holding government and those in positions of authority to account.

    “As a colleague and friend, Keith will be keenly missed by the Greens. He has been a shining light for the rights of people and planet. Keith Locke leaves a legacy that his family and all who knew him can be proud of. Moe mai ra e te rangatira,” they said.

    “From 1999 to 2011, he served our party with distinction and worked extremely hard to advance causes central to our kaupapa,” they said.

    Highlighting ‘human rights crises’
    “Not only did Keith work to defend civil liberties at home, but he was vigilant in highlighting human rights crises in other countries, including the Philippines, East Timor, West Papua and in Latin America.

    “We particularly acknowledge his strong and clear opposition to the Iraq War, and his commitment to an independent and principled foreign policy for Aotearoa.”

    They said his mahi as a fearless defender of civil liberties was exemplified in his efforts to challenge government overreach into citizens’ privacy.

    “Keith worked very hard to introduce reforms of our country’s security intelligence services. While there is much more to be done, the improvements in transparency that have occurred over the past two decades are in large part due to his advocacy and work. We will honour him by ensuring we carry on such work.”

    Former minister Peter Dunne said on social media he was “very saddened” to learn of Locke’s death.

    “Although we were on different ideological planets, we always got on and worked well together on a number of issues. Keith had my enduring respect for his integrity and honesty. Rest in peace, friend.”

    ‘Profoundly saddened’
    Auckland councillor Christine Fletcher said she was also sad to hear of the death of her “Mt Eden neighbour”.

    “We worked together on several political campaigns in the 1990s. Keith was a thoughtful, sincere and truly decent person. My condolences to Keith’s partner Michele, sister Maire Leadbeater and partner Graeme East.”

    Peace Action Wellington said Locke was a tireless activist for peace and justice — and the organisation was “profoundly saddened” by his death.

    “His voice and presence will be missed,” the organisation wrote on social media.

    “He was fearless. He spoke with the passion of someone who knows all too well the vast and dangerous reach of the state into people’s lives as someone who was under state surveillance from the time he was a child.

    “We acknowledge Keith’s amazing whānau who have a long whakapapa of peace and justice activism. He was a good soul who will be missed.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • NZ Samoa citizenship bill: Committee receives 24,000 plus public submissions

    Public submissions have closed on a bill which would offer a pathway to New Zealand citizenship to a group of Samoans born between 1924 and 1949.

    Public hearings on the Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship Act Bill start on Monday.

    In 1982, the Privy Council ruled that because those born in Western Samoa were treated by New Zealand law as “natural-born British subjects”, they were entitled to New Zealand citizenship when it was first created in 1948 — but the government at the time overturned this ruling.

    Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono’s bill aims to restore the right of citzenship to those impacted.

    Last month, Tuiono said the “community want to have the issue resolved”.

    Samoan Christian Fellowship secretary Reverend Aneterea Sa’u said the bill is about “trust and fairness” and encouraged the Samoan community to reach out to their local MPs to back the bill as it moves through the process.

    NZ First leader Winston Peters has said his party would support the bill all the way.

    The Governance and Administration Committee received about 24,500 submissions on the bill.

    Hearings will be held in-person and on Zoom in Wellington on June 24 and 26, and on July 9, and there will also be hearings held in South Auckland on July 1.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Kanaky New Caledonia unrest: ‘Everything is negotiable, except independence’

    By Mong Palatino of Global Voices

    The situation has remained tense in the French Pacific territory of Kanaky New Caledonia more than a month after protests and riots erupted in response to the passage of a bill in France’s National Assembly that would have diluted the voting power of the Indigenous Kanak population.

    Nine people have already died, with 212 police and gendarmes wounded, more than 1000 people arrested or charged, and 2700 tourists and visitors have been repatriated.

    Riots led to looting and burning of shops which has caused an estimated 1 billion euros (NZ$1.8 billion) in economic damage so far. An estimated 7000 jobs were lost.

    Eight pro-independence leaders have been arrested this week for charges over the rioting but no pro-French protesters have been arrested for their part in the unrest.

    French President Emmanuel Macron arrived on May 23 in an attempt to defuse tension in the Pacific territory but his visit failed to quell the unrest as he merely suspended the enforcement of the bill instead of addressing the demand for a dialogue on how to proceed with the decolonisation process.

    He also deployed an additional 3000 security forces to restore peace and order which only further enraged the local population.

    Pacific groups condemned France’s decision to send in additional security forces in New Caledonia:

    These measures can only perpetuate the cycle of repression that continues to impede the territory’s decolonisation process and are to be condemned in the strongest terms!

    The pace and pathway for an amicable resolution of Kanaky-New Caledonia’s decolonisation challenges cannot, and must not continue to be dictated in Paris.


    Asia Pacific Report editor David Robie on the Kanaky New Caledonia unrest. Video: Green Left

    They also called out French officials and loyalists for pinning the blame for the riots solely on pro-independence forces.

    While local customary, political, and church leaders have deplored all violence and taken responsibility in addressing growing youth frustrations at the lack of progress on the political front, loyalist voices and French government representatives have continued to fuel narratives that serve to blame independence supporters for hostilities.

    Joey Tau of the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) recalled that the heavy-handed approach of France also led to violent clashes in the 1980s that resulted in the drafting of a peace accord.

    The ongoing military buildup needs to be also carefully looked at as it continues to instigate tension on the ground, limiting people, limiting the indigenous peoples movements.

    And it just brings you back to, you know, the similar riots that they had in before New Caledonia came to an accord, as per the Noumea Accord. It’s history replaying itself.

    The situation in New Caledonia was tackled at the C-24 Special Committee on Decolonisation of the United Nations on June 10.

    Reverend James Shri Bhagwan, general secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, spoke at the assembly and accused France of disregarding the demands of the Indigenous population.

    France has turned a deaf ear to untiring and peaceful calls of the indigenous people of Kanaky-New Caledonia and other pro-independence supporters for a new political process, founded on justice, peaceful dialogue and consensus and has demonstrated a continued inability and unwillingness to remain a neutral and trustworthy party under the Noumea Accord.

    Philippe Dunoyer, one of the two New Caledonians who hold seats in the French National Assembly, is worried that the dissolution of the Parliament with the snap election recently announced by Macron, and the Paris hosting of the Olympics would further drown out news coverage about the situation in the Pacific territory.

    This period will probably not allow the adoption of measures which are very urgent, very important, particularly in terms of economic recovery, support for economic actors, support for our social protection system and for financing of New Caledonia.

    USTKE trade union leader Mélanie Atapo summed up the sentiments of pro-independence protesters who told French authorities that “you can’t negotiate with a gun to your head” and that “everything is negotiable, except independence.” She added:

    In any negotiations, it is out of the question to once again endorse a remake of the retrograde agreements that have only perpetuated the colonial system.

    Today, we can measure the disastrous results of these, through the revolt of Kanak youth.

    Meanwhile, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) has reiterated its proposal to provide a “neutral space for all parties to come together in the spirit of the Pacific Way, to find an agreed way forward.”

    Mong Palatino is regional editor for Southeast Asia for Global Voices. He is an activist and former two-term member of the Philippine House of Representatives. @mongster  Republished under Creative Commons.


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Breaking news: UN Declaration protecting human rights defenders updated with the Declaration +25

    19 June 2024: in a ground-breaking initiative, civil society organisations worldwide have united to produce an authoritative articulation of the international legal framework for the protection of human rights defenders.

    Following a year-long project involving consultations with human rights defenders, a coalition of 18 international (full list below) and regional human rights organisations released the Declaration +25, a landmark document systematising relevant developments in regional and international human rights law and standards of the last 25 years.

    The principles contained in the two documents together represent a baseline for the protection and promotion of human rights defenders while addressing their enduring and evolving needs.

    https://ishr.ch/25-years-un-declaration-on-human-rights-defenders/

    To download: https://ishr.ch/defenders-toolbox/resources/declaration-25

    ‘The 1998 Declaration was a turning point in human rights history,’ the coalition of 18 international and regional human rights groups said today, ‘it recognised the importance and legitimacy of human rights defenders, and the need to protect the right to defend human rights.’

    However, the Declaration has never been fully implemented or enforced, and human rights defenders have had to adapt their work to rising issues such as the climate crisis, racism, discrimination, the backlash against sexual and reproductive rights, but also to new threats – including digital surveillance, and different forms of stigmatisation, and criminalisation.

    ‘With grassroots and frontline activists’ lived experiences and concerns at its heart, the Declaration + 25 will help tackle the current challenges faced by human rights defenders. It will also be a major step towards fulfilling the promise of the 1998 Declaration: enshrining in law the protection of human rights defenders around the world.’

    The project commenced in 2023 with the coalition conducting online and in person consultations with defenders to identify the key issues they face in the defence of human rights that were not fully addressed by the 1998 Declaration, and analyse developments in international and regional contexts and jurisprudence.

    Over 700 human rights defenders from all regions of the world took part in these consultations, which, along with inputs from legal and human rights experts and civil society organisations, fed into the Declaration + 25. The document was adopted unanimously at a two-day experts’ meeting in Bangkok, Thailand in April 2024. The result is a call to action to governments, multilateral organisations, businesses, and civil society to protect human rights defenders and their activities.

    ‘People everywhere have the right to defend human rights and unite to achieve justice for all, and States have an obligation under international law to protect those exercising that right, and ensure they can work freely and safely,’ the 18 rights groups emphasised.

    ‘The Declaration +25 is a powerful new tool and reminder of the existing standards and principles that States, corporations and society at large must implement to protect and enable human rights defenders across the world for the years to come.’

    The Declaration+25 was formally launched on Wednesday 19 June at a side event in Geneva, on the margins of  the 56th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2024/06/08/launch-of-the-hrd-declaration25/]

    List of participating organisations: 

    • Amnesty International 
    • Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) 
    • CIVICUS 
    • Defend Defenders 
    • FIDH 
    • FORUM-ASIA 
    • Front Line Defenders 
    • Gulf Centre for Human Rights 
    • ICNL 
    • ILGA World 
    • IM Defensoras 
    • International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) 
    • OMCT 
    • Peace Brigades International 
    • Protect Defenders 
    • Protection International 
    • The Regional Coalition for WHRDs in South-West Asia and North Africa (known as WHRDMENA) 
    • Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

    https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/civil-society-unveils-new-supplement-of-un-declaration-protecting-human-rights-defenders

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • ‘We cannot have peace without independence,’ says Kanak govt official

    By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

    As New Caledonia passes the one-month mark since violent and deadly clashes erupted on last month, there has been no clear path put forward by Paris as far as the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) is concerned.

    Yesterday, eight people — including the leader of the Field Action Coordinating Cell (CCAT) Christian Téin — were arrested by New Caledonia’s security forces over the unrest since May 13.

    According to the Public Prosecutor’s office, they face several potential charges, including organised destruction of goods and property and incitement of crimes and murders or murder attempts on officers entrusted with public authority.

    “All the unrest, all the troubles, is the result of the ignorance of the French government,” said New Caledonia territorial government spokesperson Charles Wea.

    “We cannot have peace without the independence of the country. New Caledonia will always get into trouble if the case of independence is not taken into consideration,” he said.

    But speaking in an exclusive interview with RNZ Pacific, the French Ambassador to the Pacific, Véronique Roger-Lacan, said there were options to resolve the ongoing conflict — but the violence needed to stop first.

    Roger-Lacan said there was a national process to address the independence issue — that was through the controversial constitutional changes which has sparked the unrest.

    Youth protest peacefully in April 2024.
    A young Kanak protests peacefully during a pro-independence rally in April 2024. Image: RNZ Pacific/Lydia Lewis

    Paris is also engaged with the UN Committee on Decolonisation (C24) where options of self-determination through independence or free association with an independent state are being discussed.

    On top of that, Paris has met with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) heads, or troika, over the phone and said talks are underway to either organise a meeting with regional leaders soon, or at the PIF leaders meeting in Tonga in August.

    Whatever the option, the FLNKS and the wider pro-independence movement want a robust process that leads to independence, said Wea.

    Charles Wea
    Kanaky New Caledonia territorial government spokesperson Charles Wea . . . “All the unrest, all the troubles, is the result of the ignorance of the French government.” Image: RNZ Pacific/Kelvin Anthony

    Militarisation ‘fake news’
    More than 3000 security forces have been deployed, and armoured vehicles with machine gun capability have also been sent to French territory.

    Roger-Lacan said the forces were needed and she rejected claims that the territory was being “militarised”.

    She stressed that the thousands of special forces deployed were “necessary” to contain the violence and restore law and order.

    Territorial Route 1 has been blocked by barricades erected by the rioters, and Roger-Lacan posed the question: “How do you remove this type of barricade if you have no forces?”

    ‘A militarisation movement’ – Reverend Bhagwan
    Pacific civil society groups continue to deplore France’s actions leading up to the ongoing unrest and its response to the violence.

    They have called for the immediate withdrawal of the extra forces and a phasing down of security options.

    Pacific Conference of Churches general secretary Reverend James Bhagwan told RNZ Pacific France’s heavy deployment of security forces looked like militarisation to him.

    “We have seen far too much already these last few weeks to be fooled,” Bhagwan said.

    “We still have militias who are armed, we still have increasing numbers of security forces on the ground. That is militarisation whether it is formal or something that’s been organised in a different way.

    “We are just calling it as we see it.

    “We’ve also seen the way in which the French government treats that particular area, recognising that this is part of maintaining their colonies as part of the Indo-Pacific strategy, that there is a militarisation movement happening by the French in the Pacific.”

    ‘Get their facts right’
    However, Ambassador Roger-Lacan vehemently disagrees with such claims, saying individuals such as Reverend Bhagwan need to “get their facts right”.

    She said claims that the French state had militarised New Caledonia and the region, must be corrected because “it’s not true”.

    “First of all, violence had to be stopped, and public order and law enforcement had to be resumed,” she said.

    “I would like to suggest for those people [civil society] to watch the houses that were burnt, to listen to the people that were harassed in their houses, to listen to people who were scared of the violence.”

    She said such comments were biased, doubling down that “reinforcement was needed”.

    The general secretary of the Pacific Council of Churches, James Bhagwan.
    Pacific Council of Churches general secretary Reverend James Bhagwan. . . . Image: RNZ/Jamie Tahana

    The general secretary of the Pacific Council of Churches, James Bhagwan. Photo: RNZ / Jamie Tahana

    Intergenerational trauma
    The French Ambassador to the Pacific said concerns that the death toll from the unrest was much higher than reported was also not true.

    The death toll stands at eight, she said, adding that three state security officers and five civilians had died.

    But some indigenous Kanaks have called for Paris to investigate the death toll, as they believe more young rioters were feared dead.

    Roger-Lacan wants worried parents to know France had heard them and concerned parents could call the 24/7 hotline.

    “With gendarmes in New Caledonia everywhere, they know all the families, they know all the tribes,” she said.

    “It is not true that we don’t have the appropriate links with the whole population.”

    Reverend Bhagwan believes it is naive to expect communities to simply trust France given the political history of the territory.

    He said there was “intergenerational trauma” simmering under the surface, especially when Kanaks see French forces on their land.

    “You can understand then why mothers are concerned about their children, and so to ignore that intergenerational trauma for people in Kanaky, is really a little bit of naivety on the French High Commissioner’s part,” Reverend Bhagwan said.

    But one thing all parties agree on is that “force” is not the answer to solve the current crisis.

    “Of course, force is not the answer,” Ambassador Roger-Lacan said, but added “force has to be used to bring back public order sometimes”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • PSNA puts New Zealand govt ‘on notice’ over breaches of Genocide Convention claim

    Asia Pacific Report

    A pro-Palestinian advocacy group has put the New Zealand government “on notice” over its alleged complicity with Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza now in its eighth month.

    Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) issued the government a “letter of demand” today for what it claims to be the government’s breaches of international law, and individual criminal liability under the Genocide Convention.

    The PSNA said in the letter that “with the support of the Palestinian community,
    human rights advocates, and community organisations, [we] hereby raise our concerns as to Aotearoa’s breaches of international law in relation to the unfolding situation in Gaza, as well as the individual criminal liability which may attach to New Zealand Government Ministers, Members of Parliament and other officials for aiding and abetting international crimes committed by Israel, including genocide, pursuant to the Rome Statute.

    “This letter hereby puts you on notice for any relevant breach of the New Zealand domestic law or international law.”

    PSNA’S National chair John Minto said that “in writing this letter to you, we have engaged the assistance of several legal experts, students, academics, and human rights advocates.”

    In a separate explanatory statement, Minto said the letter of demand “signals our intent with the support of members of the Palestinian community to pursue legal accountability for the lack of actions taken by the government, and key government ministers, in their roles.

    “PSNA is deeply concerned about New Zealand failing to uphold our legal responsibilities under the Genocide Convention which requires the government to take actions that ‘prevent and punish the crime of genocide’.”

    The letter was addressed to nine cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

    The other ministers are Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters, Attorney-General Judith Collins, Immigration Minister Erica Standford, Regulation Minister David Seymour, Trade Minister and Associate Foreign Affairs Minister Todd McClay, Minister for Women Nicola Grigg, Associate Minister of Immigration Casey Costello, and Associate Minister of Defence Chris Penk.


    ‘We have never seen anything like this’: UN Commission of Inquiry head  Video: Al Jazeera

    NZ’s obligations
    The letter stated that New Zealand’s obligations under international law were:

    1. Its responsibility under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) to prevent and to punish the ongoing genocide in Gaza;
    2. Its obligation pursuant to the Geneva Conventions to ensure respect for international humanitarian law; and
    3. Its obligations under customary international law to cooperate with other states to bring an end Israel’s ongoing serious breaches of peremptory norms, and to refrain from aiding or assisting Israel in those breaches.

    Alleged breaches
    The PSNA letter alleged the following breaches of international law:

    1. The opening page of the PSNA "letter of "intent" to the New Zealand government
      The opening page of the PSNA “letter of “intent” to the New Zealand government dated 20 June 2024. Image: Screenshot

      Potential failure to prevent the export of military components for use in weaponry by Israel. Specifically, failure to adequately regulate Rakon Limited (a company based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland) regarding the export of components to the United States for use in military equipment, which may be being used in Israel’s genocide;

    2. Sending New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel to train alongside Israel Defence Forces during the US-led Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercises beginning on 26 June 2024;
    3. Sending NZDF personnel to assist in United States and United Kingdom-led military operations against the Houthis in Yemen, with the effect of suppressing regional protest against Israel’s genocide in Gaza;
    4. Withholding approval for funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA);
    5. Failure to provide humanitarian visas to Palestinians in Gaza who have family members in Aotearoa (by contrast with the 2022 Special Ukraine Visa for Ukrainians fleeing from war);
    6. Failure to take any measures of retortion against Israel, such as expelling diplomats or suspending diplomatic relations;
    7. Continuing to allow shipping company ZIM to use New Zealand ports;
    8. Failure to suspend the Israel Working Holiday Visa for Israeli citizens who have served with the Israel Defence Forces carrying out international crimes;
    9. Relatedly, failure to implement a ban on investments in, and imports from, companies building and maintaining illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in line with UN Security Council resolution 2334 (UNSC2334 was co-sponsored at the UN Security Council by New Zealand in 2016); and
    10. Failure to engage with proceedings in the genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and failing to denounce Israel’s breaches of ICJ rulings, most notably by illegally continuing its military assault on Rafah.

    Minto concluded the detailed 39-page letter including supporting appendices by saying, “It is not too late for Aotearoa to hold Israel to account and to help bring an end to its impunity, and its atrocities.

    “New Zealand must defend the international rule of law. We may rely upon it ourselves one day.”

    PSNA plans to take further steps if it fails to get a “meaningful response” from the government and the relevant ministers by 18 July 2024.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Kanaky New Caledonia unrest: Pro-independence militant leaders arrested

    By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk

    New Caledonia’s security forces have arrested eight people believed to be involved in the organisation of pro-independence-related riots that broke out in the French Pacific territory last month.

    The eight include leaders of the so-called Field Action Coordinating Cell (CCAT), a group that was set up by the Union Calédonienne (UC), one of the more radical and largest party making up the FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) platform.

    The large-scale dawn operation yesterday, mainly conducted by gendarmes at CCAT’s headquarters in downtown Nouméa’s Magenta district, as well as suburban Mont-Dore, is said to be part of a judicial preliminary inquiry into the events of May 13 involving the French anti-terrorist division.

    The whole area had been cordoned off for the duration of the operation.

    Public Prosecutor Yves Dupas said in a media release this inquiry had been launched on May 17.

    “It includes potential charges of conspiracy in order to prepare the commission of a crime; organised destruction of goods and property by arson; complicity by way of incitement of crimes and murders or murder attempts on officers entrusted with public authority; and participation in a grouping formed with the aim of preparing acts of violence on persons and property.”

    Dupas said that because some of the charges included organised crime, the arrested individuals could be kept in custody for up to 96 hours.

    Téin among 8 arrested
    CCAT leader Christian Téin was one of the eight arrested leaders.

    Dupas said the arrested men had been notified of their fundamental rights, including the right to be assisted by a lawyer, the right to undergo a medical examination, and the right to remain silent during subsequent interviews.

    CCAT leader Christian Tein is one of the eight arrested on Wednesday – Photo NC la 1ère
    CCAT leader Christian Tein . . . one of the eight Kanak pro-independence leaders arrested yesterday. Image: NC la 1ère TV screenshot/RNZ

    “Investigators and the public prosecution intend to conduct this phase of the inquiry with all the necessary objectivity and impartiality — with the essential objective being seeking truth,” Dupas said.

    Dupas pointed out other similar operations were also carried out on Wednesday, including at the headquarters of USTKE union, one of the major components of CCAT.

    The arrests come five weeks after pro-independence protests — against a proposed change to the rules of eligibility of voters at local elections — degenerated into violence, looting and arson.

    Current estimates are that more than 600 businesses, and about 200 private residences were destroyed, causing more than 7000 employees to lose their jobs for a total cost of more than 1 billion euros (NZ$1.8 billion).

    Nine people have been killed during the unrest, mostly Kanaks.

    The unrest is believed to be the worst since a quasi civil war erupted in New Caledonia during the second half of the 1980s.

    ‘Stay calm’ call by the UC
    Pro-independence party Union Calédonienne swiftly reacted to the arrests on Wednesday by calling on “all of CCAT’s relays and our young people to stay calm and not to respond to provocation, whether on the ground or on social networks”.

    UC, in a media release, said it “denounces” the “abusive arrests” of the CCAT leaders.

    “The French State is persisting in its intimidation manoeuvres. Those arrests were predictable,” UC said, and also demanded “immediate explanations”.

    UC president Daniel Goa is also calling on the removal of the French representative in New Caledonia, High Commissioner Louis Le Franc.

    The Pro-France Loyalistes party leader and New Caledonia’s Southern province President, Sonia Backès, also reacted, but praised the arrests, saying “about time” on social networks.

    Another pro-France politician from the same party, Nicolas Metzdorf, recalled that those arrests were needed before “a resumption of talks regarding the future of New Caledonia”.

    “But all is not settled; the restoration of law and order, even though it now seems feasible, must continue to intensify.”

    At the weekend, a Congress of the FLNKS was postponed, due to persisting differences between the pro-independence umbrella’s components, and the fact that UC had brought several hundred CCAT members to the conference, which local organisers and moderate FLNKS parties perceived as a “security risk”.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • No breakthrough in hostage Kiwi pilot talks held by West Papuan rebels

    By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist

    All parties, including West Papuan pro-independence fighters who took Phillip Mehrtens hostage, want the New Zealand pilot released but freeing him is “complicated”.

    In February 2023, Mehrtens, a husband and father from Christchurch, was working for Indonesian airline, Susi Air, when he landed his small Pilatus plane on a remote airstrip in Nduga Regency in the Papua highlands.

    He was taken hostage by a faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) commanded by warlord Eganius Kogoya.

    The rebels, who also torched his aircraft, later claimed he had breached a no-fly order that they had issued for the area.

    Sixteen months on, and despite failed attempts to either rescue or secure Mehrtens’ release, there’s been very little progress.

    A Human Rights Watch researcher in Indonesia, Andreas Harsono, said it was a complex situation.

    “It is complicated because there is no trust between the West Papuan militants and the Indonesian military,” he said.

    Harsono said as far as he was aware Mehrtens was in an “alright physical condition” all things considered.

    In a statement in February, the TPNPB high commander Terianus Satto said they would release Mehrtens to his family and asked for it to be facilitated by the United Nations secretary-general.

    Failed rescue bid
    Harsono said the situation was made more difficult through a failed rescue mission that saw casualties from both sides in April.

    “Some Papuans were killed, meanwhile on the Indonesian side more than a dozen Indonesian soldiers, including from the special forces were also killed. It is complicated, there is no trust between the two sides.”

    United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) executive secretary Markus Haluk — speaking through a translator — told RNZ Pacific space for all parties, including the West Papua National Liberation Army, needed to be made to discuss Mehrtens’ release.

    “They never involve TPNPB as part of the conversation so that’s why that is important to create the space, and where stakeholders and actors can come together and talk about the process of release.”

    Meanwhile, in a statement sent to RNZ Pacific, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Mehrtens’ safety and wellbeing remained MFAT’s top priority.

    “We’re doing everything we can to secure a peaceful resolution and Phillip’s safe release, including working closely with the Indonesian authorities and deploying New Zealand consular staff.

    “We are also supporting Phillip’s family, both here in New Zealand and in Indonesia,” the spokesperson said.

    RNZ has contacted the Indonesian Embassy in Wellington for comment.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.