Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you to Malta for your leadership on this important issue.
For Aotearoa New Zealand, all conversations about preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism take place in the shadow of the Christchurch terrorist attack of 15 March 2019 when a terrorist killed 51 Muslim New Zealanders.
We have learned from that experience that New Zealand needs to take a whole of Government, whole of society approach to countering and preventing terrorism and violent extremism. A gender responsive, human-rights based approach is fundamental.
New Zealand’s Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism Strategy guides our work. It is ideologically neutral, to respond to a range of existing and emerging threats. Our recent focus has been on prevention, including the development of a Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism Strategic Framework.
Our Human Rights Commission plays an important role in ensuring our approach puts human rights at its core. Through extensive yet thoughtful public engagement, we’ve been able to reflect the voices of those who are often hesitant to speak to government.
As part of the Government’s consultation process on the Strategic Framework, participants shared examples of recent backlash to gender equality in New Zealand, including where women’s rights were perceived as being secured at the expense of men’s, and where transgender rights have been challenged.
We heard that toxic masculinity is inherent in many extremist groups. These groups are often linked to white supremacy and have strong ideologies regarding the physical attributes men and women should possess, as well as the social and cultural roles each gender should inhabit.
Mainstreaming gender through all aspects of our work will ensure that our efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism support the elimination of gender-based violence. Our effectiveness will be shaped by our ability to engage with men and boys, and masculine ideologies. Addressing the broader attitudes and behaviours of men and boys is essential to mitigating the gendered impacts of countering and preventing terrorism and violent extremism.
Our annual counter-terrorism hui (meeting) brings together New Zealanders from central and local government, communities, civil society (particularly women-led organizations), the private sector and the research community. The hui provides an opportunity to discuss current issues and our collective responses.
The success of our Government’s vision for a safe New Zealand relies on our ability to walk alongside our communities, to listen and learn from their experiences, and to keep their voices at the centre. This must deliberately include women and girls in all their diversity, and must consider gender at every stage, including via gender disaggregated data, and a definition of violent extremism that takes into account gendered impacts, influences, and ideologies.
As we learn from our gender diverse community in Aotearoa New Zealand, we turn also to you, our international partners. Safe countries rely on safe regions and a safe world. A coordinated gender-responsive approach is fundamental to achieving these goals.
Thank you.