Work to stop NZ support of hate
David Cumin made this Official Information request to Human Rights Commission
The request was successful.
From: David Cumin
Dear Human Rights Commission,
BACKGROUND
For decades, there has been evidence that the curriculum used in UNRWA schools glorifies the murder of Israelis and teaches children to hate Jews. In 2019, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed concern “about the existence of hate speech in [PA]… school curricula and textbooks, which fuels hatred and may incite violence, particularly hate speech against Israelis, which at times also fuels antisemitism.” There is also evidence that UNRWA has created their own material that encourages terror.
Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt, Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon, and colleagues met with MFAT staff on 13 October 2020, and said “NZ’s international human rights obligations do not stop where its territorial sea ends… If NZ taxpayer funds are being used to publish antisemitic textbooks, this would place NZ in breach of its international human rights obligations.”
Following the Oct 07 massacre and subsequent war, there is increasing evidence that not only is material in UNRWA schools antisemitic, but there are close ties between UNRWA and Hamas terrorists. This may also be a breach of NZ's international human rights obligations.
REQUEST
I request all internal documents you hold, and external correspondence sent by any Human Rights Commission staff member relating to the issue of New Zealand's funding of UNRWA. Please limit the timeframe of correspondence sent after 23 May 2023, when HRC staff (Philippa Moran and Nera Tautau) met with MFAT officials (Deb Collins, Greg Lewis, and others) to discuss the issues.
Sincerely,
David
From: Infoline
Tçnâ koe
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Tēnā koe David
We acknowledge receipt of your information request, which was received by
Te Kāhui Tika Tangata | Human Rights Commission on 19 February 2024.
We confirm that on 20 February 2024 we sent you an email response,
confirming that you have already been provided with up-to-date information
regarding any external correspondence sent by Commission staff relating to
the issue of New Zealand’s funding of UNRWA.
The remainder of your request, regarding internal documents held by the
Commission relating to the issue of New Zealand’s funding of UNRWA, will
be responded to through our OIA processes, on or before 6 March 2024.
If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of
an extension of that timeframe. If you have any queries, please feel free
to contact us on [1][email address] or telephone 0800 496 877. We
are able to provide confidential services for interpreting in 42
languages, and NZ Relay Service for those with speech or hearing
impairments.
Nāku noa, nā
Joanne
OIA Inbox
[2][IMG] Te Kāhui Tika Tangata | New Zealand Human Rights Commission
[3]e: [email address] | freephone: 0800 496 877 | [4]w: www.tikatangata.org.nz
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Tēnā koe David
We write in relation to the remainder of your 19 February request
regarding internal documents and correspondence held by the Commission
relating to the issue of New Zealand’s funding of UNRWA.
We confirm that on 6 March 2024 we sent you a response via email which
confirmed that, excluding internal communications preparing our responses
to your information requests regarding UNRWA, the Commission does not hold
any substantive communications about this issue since 12 June 2023 that
you have not already been provided.
We confirm that we have now responded to all aspects of your 19 February
request.
Alternative avenues
If you are not satisfied with this response, under the Official
Information Act you are entitled to complain to the Ombudsman’s Office.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or on freephone 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Philippa
OIA Inbox
[2][IMG] Te Kāhui Tika Tangata | New Zealand Human Rights Commission
[3]e: [email address] | freephone: 0800 496 877 | [4]w: www.tikatangata.org.nz
[5][IMG] [6][IMG] [7][IMG] [8][IMG]
[9]We can access confidential services for interpreting and translating in more than 180
languages through [10]Language Assistance Services[11] and [12]NZ Relay Service[13] for those
with hearing or speech impairments.
This message may contain information that is confidential or legally privileged. If you have
received this email in error please contact the sender immediately. You do not have permission
to use or disclose this information if the email is not addressed to you.
Please consider the environment before printing this email
References
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2. https://www.tikatangata.org.nz/
3. http://[email address]/
4. http://www.tikatangata.org.nz/
5. https://twitter.com/nzhumanrights
6. https://www.facebook.com/nzhumanrightsco...
7. https://www.youtube.com/user/nzhumanrights
8. https://nz.linkedin.com/company/new-zeal...
9. https://connectingnow.com.au/
10. https://www.mbie.govt.nz/cross-governmen...
11. https://connectingnow.com.au/
12. https://www.nzrelay.co.nz/index
13. https://connectingnow.com.au/
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- Download a zip file of all correspondence
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David Cumin left an annotation ()
For the record, the HRC responded that they have not followed up with MFAT about the funding of schools that teach children to glorify terror, or UNRWA's well-reported ties with Hamas (including UNRWA staff participating in the Oct 07 atrocities).
HRC responded privately with "We confirm that the Commission has not engaged in any substantive correspondence with MFAT that mentions UNRWA since the meeting that was held on 23 May 2023."
Link to this