27 September 2025

I know what it is to live under a system so cruel it tried to write my system-imposed inferiority into law. I know what it is like to have the land your granny bought and the house your father built declared “the white side” and be resettled to the other side of the river because you were born the wrong colour. Apartheid was not just political oppression — it was an assault on human dignity itself. The greatest tragedy wasn’t that they called us inferior, but that so many were indoctrinated into believing it.

When you stand up to tyranny and the full might of the regime is trained against you — through whippings and beatings, banishment, incarceration without trial, having your land confiscated or even murdered — you long for friends to stand with you. And you resent those in positions of influence who remain silent.

While Prime Minister Muldoon branded Nelson Mandela a terrorist, most New Zealanders stood against the evil of Apartheid. As Mandela himself said when he visited this country: “When we heard people thousands of miles away stood with us in 1981, it was like the sun shining through the dark corridors of our cells on Robben Island.”

That is why I believe New Zealand must not remain silent on Palestinian statehood.

A Test of Principle

The atrocities of 7 October were evil. Let us be clear: there is no such thing as a justifiable atrocity. But to condemn terrorism does not absolve us of the responsibility to pursue justice. The blood of the innocent on 7 October cries for justice and all the hostages need to be returned. And so does the blood of 80 years of oppression and brutalisation and the current inhumane atrocities against mostly women and children in Gaza and the West Bank. The cruel carnage in Gaza has met all the legal criteria for a genocide. So much for a rules-based world order.

New Zealand has long prided itself on an independent foreign policy — one that stood against Apartheid, against nuclear proliferation, and for human rights. Today we face a test of that same principle. The question is simple: Should we recognise the State of Palestine? The answer is not just diplomatic. It is moral.

The Economic Fear

Some argue recognition could provoke economic retaliation, particularly from the United States. With NZ–US trade exceeding $16 billion annually, and recent tariff hikes already squeezing our exporters, the fear is real. But if our foreign policy is dictated by fear of tariffs, then our sovereignty is for sale. Other nations — Ireland, Spain, Norway — have recognised Palestine without economic collapse. Australia, too, has moved in that direction. They did not crumble. They stood.

The Moral Imperative

Recognition is not about choosing one side in a conflict. It is about affirming the right of a people to exist, to govern themselves, and to live free from occupation and violence. Recognition won’t be a silver bullet and will require many complex actions, but it will stand as a beacon of hope for over 2 million people living in utter inhumane and hopeless suffering. To remain silent is to sleep through injustice. And if we are to honour our own legacy — from standing with Mandela to welcoming refugees from war-torn lands — we must not sleep now.

The Real Risk

The greater danger is not economic. It is moral erosion.

What message do we send if we only speak when it is safe? If we only stand when it is convenient?

Being awake to injustice is not weakness. It is resilience. It is the stubborn belief that justice is always worth the fight.

Conclusion: A Call to Conscience

New Zealand must not be a fair-weather friend to justice. We must be bold enough to act, even when it costs us. Because the price of silence is too high. And the cost of courage — though steep — is the only currency that buys a better world.

To refuse to provide a symbol of promise during these dark days is akin to arguing we need to wait for the genocide to be completed before we will recognize the place Palestinians can bury their dead. Let’s be global leaders by lighting a candle instead of cursing at the dark!

(Gregory Fortuin is Former NZ Race Relations Commissioner and South African Honorary Consul to New Zealand, appointed by Nelson Mandela.)

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