Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill rushed, not specific enough – Catholic Church

New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops and Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand say the Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill is being rushed too fast through Parliament, and is not specific enough. The Catholic Church recognises the urgency of responding to the threat of ISIS in the Middle East, but it is important that powers under the Bill were not misused in other situations

In a joint written submission to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, the Bishops and Caritas said the New Zealand government had to address all matters covered by United Nations Security Council resolution 2178.

“If we want the ISIS war to end, we need to offer an escape route to people who no longer want to participate in the conflict,” says Bishop Patrick Dunn of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.

“We do not want to see the war prolonged because people who want to stop fighting have no way out.

“The Security Council resolution also calls for governments to provide reintegration and rehabilitation of foreign fighters back into their own societies, and fostering political and religious tolerance are also among measures in the resolution.”

The joint submission cites Denmark, where young people who have gone to fight in ISIS are being encouraged to return and are offered counselling, vocational training and rehabilitation.

Speaking to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Caritas Director Julianne Hickey said the specific context giving rise to the legislation needs to be clearly defined to ensure it is not applied in situations unrelated to the specific terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria.

“Five places in the new Schedule in the Bill refer to unlawful activity causing serious economic damage to New Zealand carried out for purposes of commercial or economic gain,” Mrs Hickey says.

“It does not seem to us that commercial or economic gain is the main purpose of the extremist violence used by ISIS. We would like to know what this clause is intended to be used for.”

Speaking on behalf of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, Monsignor Gerard Burns told the Foreign Affairs Select Committee that urgent security concerns have long been an excuse for removal of important human rights which protect the most vulnerable.

“The Select Committee must ensure that there are sufficient checks and balances on the powers that this legislation gives to the powerful.”

The submission also included concerns about access to natural justice for people whose passports are cancelled while overseas, especially if left vulnerable in dangerous places like Syria and Iraq.

The Bishops and Caritas said that there are valid reasons for New Zealanders to travel to the Middle East, including religious, family and humanitarian reasons.

The submission is available on the Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand website here: www.caritas.org.nz/resources/submissions/2014/countering-terrorist-fighters-legislation-bill

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