Source: Human Rights Commission
The protection and advancement of human rights is crucial to preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE) according to a report released by Te Kāhui Tika Tangata, the Human Rights Commission.
Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt says “following the terrorist attacks on Christchurch Masjidain and release of the Royal Commission of Inquiry report into the attacks, it is evident that significant gaps existed within public sector agencies responsible for the counter-terrorism effort.
“There is an opportunity now to address those gaps by developing a human rights-respecting strategic framework to prevent and counter violent extremism.”
“In today’s Aotearoa, violent extremism includes racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, xenophobia, and white supremacy. It endangers all communities and all of us,” says Hunt.
Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon says ensuring non-discrimination is essential. “Indigenous peoples, racial, ethnic, and religious minorities are particularly susceptible to, and over-targeted by, PCVE strategies.”
The report, prepared at the request of the Government, was tabled at the Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism – He Whenua Taurikura conference last week. The report will inform the Government’s response to recommendations made by the Royal Commission of Inquiry.
The atrocities committed on the Masjidain in Ōtautahi on 15 March 2019 led to the tragic loss of 51 lives and the injury of dozens of others. This act of terror has demonstrated the need for the Government to respect and protect the human rights of all New Zealanders.
“The Royal Commission’s findings included that, prior to the 15 March 2019 terrorist attacks, an “inappropriate” level of the government’s intelligence and security resource was directed at the Muslim community,” says Foon.
An unfortunate corollary to this form of discrimination by the State can be the development of mistrust, within the communities marginalised by those practices, of government institutions.
The Commission’s report highlights that any development of policy should also ensure the realisation of the rights of tangata whenua to have Te Tiriti o Waitangi honoured, as reflected in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“A Te Tiriti o Waitangi approach means engaging with tangata whenua in all stages of the design and drafting of the PCVE strategy and any programmes that may follow,” says Foon.
A rights-based approach also ensures that victims of rights violations can access effective remedies.
At the recent Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism conference, Chief Commissioner Hunt spoke about how the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was designed to address the causes of violent extremism, such as poverty, inequality, disinformation, unfairness, and injustice.
“This is one reason why it is so important,” he said, “that explicit human rights help to shape the government’s strategy against violent extremism.” The Commission acknowledges the survivors, whānau and communities impacted by terrorism and violent extremism in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The report is available here.
