9. KEITH LOCKE (Green) Link to this
to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Will he be calling for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre following the recent United Nations Commission on Human Rights’ report, issued 15 February 2006, which highlights the systematic practice of torture and the indefinite detention without trial of detainees; if not, why not?
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Minister of Foreign Affairs) Link to this
For many years now New Zealand has condemned human rights abuses where they have been proven to have occurred. The issue, therefore, is not the existence of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre, but rather the treatment of detainees there or elsewhere. The Government’s position is that all persons detained at Guantanamo Bay or elsewhere should be treated in accordance with international humanitarian law and human rights law.
Why is the Government such a wimp as to not call for the Guantanamo Bay facility to be closed, when the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan—
Madam SPEAKERThe member knows better, in the light of the discussions that have been going on in this House, than to use the word “wimp”. Would the member please just ask the question straight; otherwise we will have continual points of order.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. That term has been ruled out on many occasions. That member has been here for some time, and I think it is about time that he caught up with the Standing Orders.
I do not, in this context, rule that out of order. “Fortitude” is perfectly all right. Has the member finished his question?
Why is the Government lacking such fortitude as to not call for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay facility, when the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, did so last week, and when the European Parliament voted 80 to 1 last week for closure, insisting to the US administration that: “Every prisoner should be treated in accordance with international humanitarian law, and tried without delay in a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent tribunal.”?
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS Link to this
I think I answered that question substantially in the primary answer, but I will say that we have taken several opportunities to publicly underline the fundamental importance of respecting all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including in the context of countering terrorism. I note also that the United States Government has provided an interim response to the Special Rapporteur on Mercenaries group on Guantanamo Bay, and we would encourage it to carry on the dialogue. It is a fact that for years we have railed against human rights abuses, particularly against events during the regime of Pol Pot.
How can the Minister say that the question of closing Guantanamo Bay is separate from what goes on within it, when the Dominion Post stated on Monday: “It has been clear to most since the camp was set up that it was nothing more than an attempt to get around applying to others the protections against the power of the state that American citizens demand for themselves.”; and, when the Government does, as the Minister says, speak out on human rights abuses, torture, and detention in Zimbabwe, Burma, and elsewhere, why will he not stand up to the United States as the world’s superpower when it sets such a bad example?
I will just remind the member that this is question time. It is not the time for debate. So would the member confine his questions and ask them tersely, without long speeches being attached to them.
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS Link to this
There is an interim report to the Special Rapporteur on Mercenaries group from the United States. There is a dialogue going on, which we encourage. But I want to say this very clearly. The day I set my guidelines based on the views of the Dominion Post, I will be giving up politics.
Will the Government ask the US Government and visiting General John Abizaid to show the same moral leadership in the world that the Minister has said this week that New Zealand shows in the Pacific, and tell the US that it cannot continue with the torture, which, as stated in the UN report, includes beating, drugging, force-feeding, the use of dogs, exposure to extreme temperatures, sleep deprivation, inducing stress, and prolonged isolation?
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS Link to this
Let me say that I do share Mr Locke’s view that in the Pacific, New Zealand is a shining light. I just want to say it is not appropriate for me, or I believe for any other member of Parliament, to lecture to a highly placed military person on a matter in which he has no authority or control, and when the responsibility lies with someone else.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. The Minister said, in his answer, that the visiting general does not have any power or control. In fact, General John Abizaid is in charge of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
I seek to table a map of the world, showing where Iraq and Guantanamo Bay are.
I seek leave to table documentation showing that General John Abizaid is in charge of troops in Afghanistan, which does produce prisoners for Guantanamo Bay.
Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection; it will not be tabled.
I seek leave to table the motion passed in the European Parliament last Thursday, calling for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay facility.
I seek leave to table the 1984 Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which New Zealand is a signatory to and should be advocating.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
I seek leave to table two documents. One is a document in support of Pol Pot, and the other is in support of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Both are by one Keith Locke, now Keith Locke MP.