Fiji warns ‘selfish’ countries amid Paris Agreement climate rulebook deadlock
Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama … urging world leaders to summon the courage and political will to make the switch from dirty to clean energy. Image: Fiji Times Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Talks to draft the Paris Agreement rulebook remained deadlocked today on traditionally tough issues. Emerging economies – China, India, Brazil and South Africa […]
Read More →New Zealand needs to take a human-rights based approach
Source: Human Rights Commission Acting Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero will highlight significant human rights issues in New Zealand with United Nations member states in Geneva this week. Every five years, United Nations member states hear about the human rights issues facing New Zealanders and then make recommendations to the New Zealand Government about […]
Read More →Grace Millane’s death reminds us of the violence so many women in New Zealand face
Source: Human Rights Commission By Saunoamaali’i Dr Karanina Sumeo Grace Millane’s death is an absolute tragedy. While the details of the case are still emerging, our hearts rightly ache that we couldn’t protect Grace, a visitor to our country. Grace’s death also reminds us of the very real dangers so many women face in New […]
Read More →Rebekah Armstrong: What the Australian Modern Slavery Act will mean for big Kiwi businesses
Source: Human Rights Commission Australia has a Modern Slavery Act. It comes into effect 1 January 2019 and places legal requirements on companies earning more than A$100 million ($104.7m) per annum to publicly report on modern slavery risks in their supply chains. The new Act is part of the global response to address the human […]
Read More →Sincha Dimara: My mother, a West Papuan survivor of many hardships, spurred along by her faith
Dominguis and Dolfintje Dimara pictured on the day they were married. Image: #InspirationalPapuaNewGuineans PROFILE: By Sincha Dimara in Port Moresby I once asked my mother how was it that she married at the tender age of 16 and left home in West Papua for a foreign land – neighbouring Papua New Guinea – never to […]
Read More →Human rights watchdog calls for police probe into ‘unclear’ Papua killings
Christmas spirit at a Human Rights Day rally in the Papuan capital of Jayapura this week. Image: Voice Westpapua Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Indonesian police should investigate a Papuan armed group’s killing of at least 17 people, including a soldier, at a construction area in Nduga in Papua’s densely forested Central Highlands earlier this month, […]
Read More →Pacific voices tell stories of climate change reality in new documentary
A new documentary Subject to Change, a collection of interviews and personal stories from across the Pacific, explores the impact of climate change. Video: MFAT Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Two young women students are the driving force who created a new documentary titled Subject to Change which highlights the climate change challenges faced by Pacific […]
Read More →UN official defends West Papuan rights – free speech, peaceful assembly
UN’s OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani … “there are many West Papuan grievances, and we’ve seen this in many parts of the world where grievances are unaddressed, or there’s a suppression of dissent.” Image: UN interview screenshot Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk West Papuan rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly have been defended by the […]
Read More →Labour rally in Jakarta, Fiji march highlight global human rights issues
How UN agencies strive to put human rights at the centre of their work. Video: UN Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Hundreds of workers from the Confederation of United Indonesian Workers (KPBI) held a protest march at the weekend in the capital of Jakarta and Fiji’s Coalition on Human Rights staged a march today to commemorate […]
Read More →Paula Tesoriero: Human rights declaration as relevant as ever at 70
Source: Human Rights Commission Three New Zealanders helped bring about the land mark Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 70 years ago, writes Acting Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero. Anniversaries often prompt reflection. The 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December is a useful moment to look at what we […]
Read More →Widodo wants security forces to guard all development projects in Papua
Sixteen bodies have been retrieved from the killings of workers on a Papuan infrastructure project claimed by pro-independence militants to be Indonesian soldiers. Image: Hark Arena By Ray Jordan in Lampung, Indonesia President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo insists that work on the Trans-Papua road project will continue despite this week’s shooting of construction workers in the […]
Read More →Transformational change needed to reform our Education system
Source: Human Rights Commission The Human Rights Commission welcomes the release of the Tomorrows Schools Independent Taskforce: “Our schooling futures: Stronger Together’ Report. Acting Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero says the recommendations in the report are an opportunity to create an education system that is innovative, flexible and focused on collaboration rather than in […]
Read More →New accessibility work programme important step in breaking down barriers
Source: Human Rights Commission The Human Rights Commission welcomes the announcement of a new government work programme focussing on accessibility. Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero says the announcement paves the way forward to breaking down some of the barriers experienced by New Zealanders on a daily basis, in particular disabled New Zealanders. “A quarter of […]
Read More →Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Seriousness of the Maggie Barry bullying allegations
Political Roundup: The Seriousness of the Maggie Barry bullying allegations Allegations of bullying and illegal activity in Parliament continue to dog National MP Maggie Barry, with leaks and anonymous interviews from former staff coming out daily since the Herald broke the story on Saturday. National MP Maggie Barry. Image sourced from Wikimedia.org. Photograph by Mark […]
Read More →Having a voice: A conversation with Robert Martin
Source: Human Rights Commission Having a voice: A conversation with Robert Martin December 3, 2018 Today is the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities – a day to focus on the full and equal participation of disabled people. Earlier this month, Paula Tesoriero, the Disability Rights Commissioner spoke with Robert Martin MNZM to […]
Read More →Indonesian police arrest more than 500 over West Papua flag demos
Hundreds of Papuan Students Alliance (AMP) in march in Surabaya to commemorate December 1, a day they consider to be West Papua liberation day, on Saturday. Image: Wahyoe Boediwardhana/jakarta Post By Arnold Belau in Jayapura and Wahyoe Boediwardhana in Surabaya More than 500 Papuans in several cities across Indonesia and West Papua were arrested following […]
Read More →PNG’s post-APEC technology dream leaves rural sector far behind
By Pauline Mago-King It has only been two weeks since the conclusion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, yet much has transpired – to the dismay of host country Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea’s trajectory to this monumental event has been one involving great strides from the moment it secured the bid to […]
Read More →France: Protests
Source: New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade – Safe Travel France: Protests There are ongoing demonstrations in Paris and across France. Protests have turned violent and traffic has been disrupted across the country. We continue to advise New Zealanders in France to avoid all demonstrations, protests and rallies, follow any advice issued by […]
Read More →Surabaya counterprotest, 300 arrested in West Papua flag demonstrations
An unnamed Papuan student beaten during the December 1 West Papuan flag demonstration in Surabaya, Indonesia. Human rights sources report more than 300 arrests by Indonesian authorities. Image: Humam rights sources Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Hundreds of Papuan students faced off with counterprotesters in Indonesia’s second largest city of Surabaya today in a rally calling […]
Read More →Pioneering NZ Pacific research initiative to make ‘reset’ change
Keynote speakers Associate Professor Kabini Sanga from Victoria University and Dr Alisi Holani (right), deputy CEO of the Ministry of Commerce, Consumer, Trade, Innovation and Labour (MCCTIL) in Tonga. They spoke about a “rich gap” and other issues affecting Pacific media reportage. Image: Tom Blessen/PMC By Sri KrishnamurthiThe NZ Institute for Pacific Research will cease […]
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