The Green Party strongly condemns the revelation that Air New Zealand may have provided assistance and maintenance to
Saudi Arabian vessels involved in committing atrocities in Yemen.
“My thoughts go to the Yemeni community who continue to suffer one of the worst atrocities in human history, including
mass starvation and violence causing hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, leaving millions displaced”, Green Party
spokesperson on Human Rights said today.
“New Zealanders will be heartbroken to find our national carrier may have helped commit these mass crimes for financial
gain.
“As a child in Iran I saw a little of the ravages of another Middle Eastern war, which waged on for far too long because
there was profit in our suffering. After celebrating the reinstatement of our refugee resettlement programme last week,
this latest revelation is a reminder that the best way to help refugees is to prevent our displacement. Air New Zealand
has breached that duty of care.
“We must now be vigilant here in Aotearoa against the culture of impunity when it comes to corporate profit from war
industries.
“We welcome Air New Zealand’s move to cease all support for the Saudi military after the matter came to light, and to
apply this lesson to all future third party contracts.
“However, we as a nation have an absolute legal and moral duty to investigate, and hold to account anyone in Air New
Zealand’s leadership who may be found to have knowingly provided support and assistance to the atrocities committed in
Yemen. If those in Air New Zealand HQ were not aware of what was going on, it needs to be established how that was
allowed to happen.
“Now, as always, is a time for Aotearoa New Zealand to stand as an independent principled voice for peace.”