April 12, 2022
Human rights not just for blue-eyed
Anti-racism campaigner John Minto says the response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed the hypocrisy of western governments – including New Zealand – to human rights.
He says advocating for the rights of other groups under occupation and attack, such as Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, are told their governments can’t impose sanctions or respond to human rights violations.
When it comes to Ukraine with its European population, action has been swift.
“Suddenly the New Zealand Government and the western world take notice, but in fact when the refugees have brown eyes when it’s brown-eyed people around the world being killed, it’s, ‘oh no, we can’t do anything.’ Ukraine’s broken that so I think we have got to demand far higher standards from our own Government and Government’s around the world to stand up for everyone’s human rights, not just the human rights of people with blue eyes,” Mr Minto says.