NZ Position Undermines Integrity
Pacific Centre for Participatory Democracy
"How can New Zealand speak out on human rights violations and corrupt governance in countries like Zimbabwe, Uganda and Burma if our own house is not in order? The integrity of our moral position is quickly being undermined. The belligerent actions of the New Zealand government are impacting not only on the rights of indigenous peoples here but around the world - and the whole world is watching." - Manu Caddie, Director of the Pacific Centre for Participatory Democracy.
Amnesty International has joined a growing number of global human rights organizations criticizing the position the New Zealand government has taken recently at the United Nations on issues of self-determination for indigenous peoples.
Amnesty raised their concerns during a session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, a forum established to debate the draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples under the auspices of the UN Commission on Human Rights.
"The proposal of New Zealand, Australia and the United States is particularly concerning as it would allow states to invoke the concepts of political unity and territorial integrity to justify the denial of any and all rights in the Declaration, no matter how fundamental to the welfare and survival of indigenous peoples."
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