Source: Palestine Forum of New Zealand (PFNZ)
Today, on Human Rights Day, we reaffirm the universal principle that every human being is entitled to dignity, freedom, and justice. These are not abstract ideals; they are basic rights that must be protected, upheld, and defended everywhere.
Yet for the Palestinian people, these rights remain systematically denied.
For more than seven decades, Palestinians have endured occupation, displacement, collective punishment, and the daily violation of their fundamental human rights. This year, Human Rights Day arrives under the shadow of unprecedented devastation in Gaza, where entire families have been erased, communities destroyed, and essential infrastructure, hospitals, schools, homes — reduced to rubble. Palestinians in the West Bank also face escalating settler violence, land confiscation, mass arrests, and severe movement restrictions.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on this day in 1948, states clearly that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. This promise continues to be broken for Palestinians.
New Zealand must stand on the right side of history.
We call on the New Zealand Government to:
- Unequivocally uphold international humanitarian and human rights law in its foreign policy regarding Palestine.
- Demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire and unfettered humanitarian access to Gaza.
- Support international accountability mechanisms, including investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- End military, economic, and diplomatic support for practices that sustain apartheid, occupation, and collective punishment.
Human Rights Day is not merely a moment for reflection; it is a call to action. Silence in the face of injustice is complicity. As New Zealanders, we pride ourselves on fairness, compassion, and a commitment to international law. These values must extend to Palestinians, whose humanity is equal, whose rights are universal, and whose freedom is long overdue.
Palestine Forum of New Zealand remains steadfast in advocating for justice, dignity, and the full realisation of human rights for the Palestinian people.
Until freedom and justice are achieved, our voice will not waver.
Palestine Forum of New Zealand
