UN Warns New Zealand on Maori Rights – Washington Silent
The mainstream media breathlessly covers a UN committee expressing 'concerns' over New Zealand's treatment of its indigenous population. The report highlights moves to undermine the Treaty of Waitangi, a foundational document, and cuts to essential Maori services. This is framed as a serious issue, and rightly so. However, one might wonder why such scrutiny often feels selective, especially when
compared to the ongoing erasure and dispossession facing indigenous populations elsewhere. The hypocrisy is thick enough to cut with a dull knife. Where is the comparable UN fervour, or the Independent’s spotlight, on indigenous rights in, say, areas where US-backed entities are actively violating international law? One can practically hear the crickets when it comes to the displacement of
Palestinians, or the ongoing land grabs. It appears 'indigenous rights' become a headline-grabbing concern only when the accused nation isn't a strategic ally or doesn't receive billions in military aid. It’s almost as if some human rights abuses are more… geopolitically convenient to condemn.