According to their website – “Amnesty International is a movement which mobilises the humanity in everyone and campaigns for change so we can all enjoy our human rights. Our vision is of a world where those in power keep their promises, respect international law and are held to account.”
If you thought Amnesty International Aotearoa NZ were about human rights, you’d be totally wrong.
ABORTION
You just need to read their submission supporting the decriminalisation of abortion. They start by saying: “Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.”
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3, says that “Everyone has the right to life…”, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, Preamble, says “the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth…”
Good start – but what follows is completely the opposite message from this so-called human rights group…
“We recognise that legal protection of human rights, including the right to life, commences at birth.”
(Might as well scrap all those prenatal guidelines about mothers not drinking or smoking or singing to their unborn child or eating healthy, etc.)
“We believe [Model A] will best ensure that access to safe abortions is effectively available to pregnant people(!!) to make their own decisions, free from barriers, delays or restrictions that could violate their human rights, including their reproductive autonomy.”
Model A is abortion any time, for any reason, up to birth.
“Criminalisation of abortion in any circumstances and denial of access to safe abortion services is a manifestation, cause and consequence of social systems that discriminate, deny personal and bodily autonomy and impose unequal burdens on the basis of individuals’ reproductive capacities and their pregnancy status, among other related factors.”
Too bad about the ‘personal and bodily autonomy’ of unborn children, ‘discrimination’ against them, or ‘denial of access’ to life! And just to show how ‘woke’ Amnesty International is –
“AIANZ therefore recommends that the bill be clarified further and that it is made explicit that services should be available also to transgender people and people of other gender identities capable of becoming pregnant.”
PROSTITUTION
CONVERSION THERAPY
Sadly they also made a submission supporting the conversion therapy ban. Never mind the bill says that “consent” is irrelevant – a person determining their own direction and choices – a serious interference with the rights and freedoms affirmed in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (BORA). Never mind the right to freedom of religion. Never mind the right of self-determination is a founding principle of the mental health profession. Never mind that the law would oppress and violate the right to seek whatever lifestyle you desire. If all of this isn’t making you rethink how woke and how confused Amnesty International is about human rights, here’s the latest example:
ANTI-SEMITISM
Amnesty International’s ‘Israel Apartheid Report’, published in 2022, has been soundly rejected by many countries that we relate to – our principal allies: Australia, USA, United Kingdom and Canada. These countries recognize that the report is ‘divorced from reality’, displays double standards and is antisemitic.
NZ Jewish groups say that it is replete with lies, false accusations, and racism. Notably, no Arab nation has endorsed the report. The Australian foreign minister said the Amnesty International report was “divorced from reality”. A German foreign ministry spokesperson said, “We reject expressions like apartheid or a one-sided focusing of criticism on Israel. That is not helpful to solving the conflict in the Middle East.” The United Kingdom rejected the report, saying, “We do not agree with the use of this terminology.” The president of the Czech Republic sent a letter to the president of the State of Israel in which he wrote that he “was informed about an alarming document made by the international organisation Amnesty International… I am horrified about such strong antisemitic stand and I completely condemn such unilateral statement.”
The Austrian foreign ministry criticized it. The United State department noted that it “reject[s] the view that Israel’s actions constitute apartheid” and that “it is important as the world’s only Jewish state that the Jewish people must not be denied their right to self-determination, and we must ensure there isn’t a double standard being applied”.
There’s that pesky self-determination term again – the one that Amnesty International totally ignored with the conversion therapy bill. In fact, the executive director of Amnesty International Israel has criticized the AI report, calling it a “punch to the gut” and she says it is not helping the situation, but may be making things worse. New Zealand’s foreign minister has maintained conspicuous silence. Maybe they don’t even think it’s worth commenting on.
What’s the bottom line in all of this? Just beware of Amnesty International’s woke ideology that is undermining all the good work they have done and should be doing in the area of unlawful torture, media freedom and rights of refugees and asylum seekers.
This article was originally published on McBlog and republished by Family First New Zealand.
