Speech
United Nations Convention on Refugees
I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language. Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the evening (Sign)
I then specifically greet you: Rick Towle, Regional Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees based in Canberra; Brian Lynch, Chairman of Refugee Services Aotearoa New Zealand and your Chief Executive Heather Hayden; Rosslyn Noonan, Chief Human Rights Commissioner; Michael Powles, Chair of the United Nations Association of New Zealand; Nigel Bickle, Deputy Chief Executive (Immigration) at the Department of Labour; Distinguished Guests otherwise, notably Hon Aussie Malcolm, Former Minister of the Crown and now Deputy Chairman of Refugees as Survivors New Zealand; Ladies and Gentlemen.
Thank you for inviting Susan and me to this reception to mark the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1951.
As Governor-General since August 2006, we have had the pleasure of regular connections with New Zealand’s refugee communities. Susan is Patron of the Wellington Refugees as Survivors Trust, while I fulfil the same role for the Auckland Regional Migrants Services Trust and Refugee Services Aotearoa New Zealand, which are our joint hosts this evening along with the UNHCR and the Department of Labour.
The Convention, signed in July 1951, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees which was established December 1950, were designed to deal with a specific problem, namely assisting the estimated 1 million people, largely in Europe, still uprooted after World War II to return home.
Sixty years after the Convention was signed, its significance has never diminished. With just one “amending” protocol adopted in 1967, which widened its ambit to cover all refugees, it is by far the most widely ratified refugee treaty.
As a 60-year-old document that was adopted on the cusp of the Cold War to address a primarily European problem, it is not perfect. It does not, for example, deal with the issue of people who are displaced within their own country.
Even so, it has proven to be remarkably flexible in a rapidly changing world. In particular the principle of “non-refoulement”—that people should not be forced to return to a nation where they fear persecution—has become part of customary international law and is seen as binding on all states. Along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it has set an international standard for the treatment of some of our world’s most vulnerable people. As Professor Guy Goodwin-Gill, Professor of Public International Law at Oxford University noted:
“It was no failure in 1951 not to have known precisely how the world would evolve; on the contrary, it may be counted a success that the drafters of the 1951 convention were in fact able to identify, in the concept of a well-founded fear of persecution, the enduring, indeed universal characteristics of the refugee, and to single out the essential, though never exclusive, reason for flight.”
The numbers that have taken flight fearing persecution are simply staggering. In its latest report, the UNHCR estimates that there are more than 10.4 million refugees worldwide. There are also many more millions of stateless people and as “internally displaced people” that are also of concern to the UNHCR.
Of the refugees, more than half are in Asia and some 20 percent in Africa. Some live in well-established camps and resettlement centres while many others survive in makeshift shelters or live in the open.
In light of these numbers, which dwarf New Zealand’s population, the issue of assisting refugees seems almost overwhelming.
Even so, New Zealand’s standing and contribution to assisting refugees is both commendable and long-standing. As a land that was one of the last in the world to be settled by humans, all New Zealanders are migrants or the descendents of migrants.
That history of migration began with the arrival of Māori by canoe from Polynesia and was followed by European settlers in the 19th century arriving in sailing ships and later steamers. In the early part of the 20th Century, New Zealand, however, restricted immigration, particularly from Asia.
However, in face of the devastation caused by two world wars, and the work of people such as New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser in establishing the United Nations, New Zealand came to see the need to reach out to the world. In 1944, for example, New Zealand accepted without any legal obligation, an historic consignment of 733 children and 102 caregivers from Poland.
Like refugees before and since, they had endured great hardship. Many saw loved ones killed by the invading armies or saw them die from starvation or disease, either during deportation to Siberia, in the labour camps or on the long trek when evacuated to Iran.
The welcome they received from New Zealanders created memories that have never faded. In late 2009, I attended their 65th anniversary reunion, and many spoke of how, from Wellington Railway Station, all the way to their camp at Pahiatua, groups of children could be seen lining the railway track, waving flags of welcome.
New Zealand has established an international reputation as a nation ready and willing to accept those forced from their homes. There has been a continuing history of goodwill towards refugees shown with New Zealand’s policy in this area, reflecting the commitment by successive governments to fulfilling humanitarian obligations and responsibilities.
For example, since 1976, Refugee Services Aotearoa New Zealand, of whom I am proudly affiliated as Patron, as New Zealand’s principal resettlement agency, has helped more than 40,000 refugees to build new lives. While those numbers are small compared with the figures I outlined earlier, they are significant when compared to New Zealand’s population.
I might also add that Refugee Services work at the National Refugee Resettlement Centre in Mangere and elsewhere is supported by many other agencies. They include Immigration New Zealand, Refugees As Survivors New Zealand, Auckland Public Health Refugee Medical Services, AUT University and the Red Cross to name but a few. In particular, many of these services rely heavily on the contribution of volunteers, a number of whom I have had the honour of bestowing Royal New Zealand honours.
Looking at those who have found a new home in New Zealand, they have come from every corner of the globe. They include those from Poland in the 1940s, Hungary in the 1950s, Czechoslovakia in the 1960s, Viet Nam, Cambodia or Chile in the 1970s and 80s, Somalia and the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, or from Burma, Afghanistan and the Middle East or Africa in more recent times. They come from a wide range of ethnicities, languages and cultures. They arrived having often endured trauma and the loss of loved ones. Many arrived with little but their clothes, unable to speak to English.
Two features, however, unite them all. The first is that in seeking to build a life here in New Zealand, they have taken pride in the heritage and culture they brought with them, and in their new home.
The second is that in rebuilding their lives from scratch, they have not only done so, but also made a significant contribution to New Zealand’s society and economy.
Their contribution is varied. Mitchell Pham, a Refugee Services board member and Vietnamese refugee who came to New Zealand as a teenager, was recently awarded the honour of being named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In another example, a few years ago, Hamilton’s Somali community celebrated as Ajiil Farah became the first Somali-born person to graduate from the Waiouru Military Camp and join the New Zealand Army. These are just two examples; one could easily give countless more.
In conclusion, we today mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the United Convention on the Status of Refugees. It is in many ways a bitter sweet milestone because after 60 years, it is so saddening that many millions of people are still being forced to flee their homes.
It reminds us of the need to redouble our efforts to build a world of peace. A world where nations settle their disputes amicably through negotiations, and a world where governments never use illegal force against their own people and everyone enjoys the democratic rights and civil liberties that New Zealanders enjoy.
Even so, we can also celebrate that our world has created an agreement to guide the protection of refugees. It was, and remains a landmark agreement, that has endured. We also celebrate New Zealand’s contribution to that work and the contribution that refugees have made to our country.
And on it is on that note I will close in New Zealand’s first language Māori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.