We, the undersigned residents of Te Tairāwhiti / East Coast region, call upon our elected officials in Te Kaunihera o Te Tairāwhiti / the Gisborne District Council; and our elected Members of Parliament, Dana Kirkpatrick and Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, to call for the observance of international humanitarian law, specifically: 

• an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza
• the ingress of humanitarian aid to Gaza

Why is this important?

A community that upholds international law and human rights is a safer community for all.

The observance of human rights and the condemnation of acts that breach those rights, namely acts of violence and terror against civilians, is an important pillar of our democracy, enshrined in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

Speaking up has moral and political weight.

We are daily witnessing through the media, Palestinian families and young children exposed to extreme acts of violence. Having leaders who call out these atrocities and call for action is important and impacts our collective well-being.

Failure to call out acts of violence and terror against civilians is not a neutral position.

International law is persuasive and relevant to your decision making. New Zealand is a member state of the United Nations and is bound by UN resolutions. So is the State of Israel. We draw your attention to the latest provisional ruling of the International Court of Justice dated 24 May 2024 calling on the State of Israel, in conformity with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, to: 

• immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; 
• maintain open the Rafah crossing for unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance; and 
• take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip of any commission of inquiry, fact-finding mission or other investigative body mandated by competent bodies of the United Nations to investigate allegations of genocide.  

We also support the International Court of Justice ruling dated 26 January 2024 and 28 March 2024 calling for the immediate release of all hostages. 

The more voices that join the call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the ingress of humanitarian aid, the stronger it becomes.

Gisborne District Council has begun to acknowledge and address the harm arising from our own legacy of colonisation. The New Zealand government recognises the need to uphold international law, peace and stability. 

We ask you as our community leaders to show solidarity for the people of Palestine, and to hold Israel to account for the illegal, unacceptable and profoundly destabilising terror it is inflicting within Gaza. 

In particular, we ask that you resolve to:

• convey this message to the New Zealand government. 
• convey this message to Local Government NZ.
• publicly display the Palestinian flag at Gisborne District Council as a gesture of solidarity until such time as a permanent ceasefire and ingress of humanitarian aid in Gaza is achieved.  

Maungārongo ki te whenua, he whakaaro pai ki ngā tāngata katoa