June 06, 2017
Te Ikaroa takes Statoil petition to UN conference
Campaign group Te Ikaroa intends to present a petition to Norwegian government representatives attending this week’s United Nations Ocean Conference in New York.
The group, which represents 80 East Coast hapu and iwi, objects to seismic testing along its coast by Chevron and Norway’s state oil company Statoil and Chevron.
Spokesperson Tina Ngata says the subsistence rights of whanau and hapu in the region depend on healthy marine ecosystems, and there is a significant body of science that upholds the group’s concerns about the damage of seismic testing.
She says more than 23,000 New Zealanders have signed the petition against the exploration programme and any drilling .
Te Ikaroa will also join other indigenous groups in lobbying for and amendment to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to bring it in line with the UN Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and allow for indigenous oversight of the Convention and its implementation.
The petition will remain open until the end of today at https://www.toko.org.nz/petitions/norway-statoil-is-not-welcome-in-our-waters
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