Why is NZ not a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance?
The Australian Foreign Minister released:
Australia was proud to gain full membership of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in June 2019. We will share through that forum our approach to Holocaust remembrance, education and research, including our efforts to counter the spread of online Holocaust denial and anti-semitism.
Anti-semitism is one of the most insidious forms of gross human rights abuse. Defeating it continues to be integral to Australia’s human rights agenda.
This got me interested as to what countries are and are not members. So I checked.
There’s 34 full members and eight associates. Guess which is basically the only Western country not a member?
Yes, New Zealand.
Now the IHRA has been going since 1998, so this is not the fault of any one Government. Here’s when other countries joined:
- 1990s: France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, UK, US
- 2000s: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
- 2010-2014: Finland, Ireland, Serbia, Slovenia
- 2015-2019: Australia, Bulgaria, Portugal
But surely it is time New Zealand joined. It is through the work of groups such as the IHRA that we ensure the Holocaust is not forgotten and buried in time.
So challenge to NZ political parties. Will you pledge to have NZ apply to join the IHRA?