Read the Foreign Affairs Policy Summary

Download the Foreign Affairs Policy as PDF

Introduction

Humanity today faces many global challenges including:

• A global ecological crisis, driven by unsustainable consumption and production.
• Extreme socio-economic inequality and exploitation between and within nations
• Armed conflict within and between states in disregard of international law.
• Lack of democratic participation in decision-making, which undermines human solidarity.

The Green Party believes that our foreign policy needs to recognise these common global problems and that governments must work constructively together to address these. We believe that New Zealand must be a responsible global citizen. Although we are a small nation, we have in the past had a positive impact on global developments. As we continue to contribute to a better world, our foreign policy will have the force of credibility to the extent that our domestic policies meet the standards we promote globally.

Definitions

United Nations: The United Nations Organization, founded in 1945 by 50 countries and currently comprising 193 Member States, based on the UN Charter, a treaty open to all 'peace-loving States' which accept its legally-binding obligations. New Zealand was a founding member in 1945.

Collective security: The doctrine that the security of each nation is best ensured through the actions of all in the common interest; requiring a collective judgement on when aggression has occurred and a collective response in defence of the victim State.

Human Security: A new theory that security in the 21st century is no longer about the individual acting as an instrument of security of the state, but the reverse. The state exists to meet the security needs of the individual, not only in the military area but also in social, economic, environmental, health and educational needs. The UN has not yet endorsed the concept, but has committed to defining it.

Domestic Jurisdiction: The principle that, with the exception of its obligations under international law, a state's internal affairs are subject only to the jurisdiction of its own domestic laws. This principle has eroded since 1945, through international concern over 'core crimes' (genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity - 1940s), over apartheid (1950s - 80s), and more recently under the global scrutiny of situations justifying intervention.

Responsibility to Protect: The primary responsibility for the protection of citizens resides with national governments. But if they prove unable or unwilling to meet that responsibility and gross and systematic violations of human rights occur, responsibility for their protection falls to the international community, including the right to intervene with force.

Global Governance: A network of institutions for resolving global problems. The subsidiarity principle requires decisions taken by the smallest democratic unit appropriate to the scale of any political issue.

Global Civil Society: A network of civil society organizations at national levels which address global problems to ensure that governments and international organizations meet standards of transparency, legitimacy, accountability and efficiency.

Glossary

CITES - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
GNI - Gross National Income
ICC - International Criminal Court
ICJ - International Court of Justice
IPCC - Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change
MFAT - NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
ppm - parts per million
ODA - Overseas development assistance
PIF - Pacific Islands Forum
UNGA - UN General Assembly
UNSAS - UN Stand-by Force Arrangement System
WHO - World Health Organization
WTO - World Trade Organization

Vision

We envision a world where people respect each other and the natural environment. We know our histories and are secure in our varied identities. Each unique contribution is valued. Participation, justice and quality of life are valued over individual wealth. The global political and economic system enables people to meet their needs within Nature's limits, so that future generations may meet theirs on a sustainable basis.

A global community of peoples complements the international community of states. The survival and well-being of humanity depends on individuals and governments recognizing the common global, national and local interests of sustainability and the rule of law.

Key Principles

1. New Zealand's foreign policy should be consistent with the following universal human values: freedom, equality, tolerance, non-violent resolution of disputes, respect for human rights, respect for other species and the environment, and shared responsibility

2. New Zealand's foreign policy should also respect our national values of egalitarianism, self-reliance, pragmatism, tolerance and multi-cultural respect.
3. Governments need to recognise common global problems and the need for common global solutions based on these universal and national values
4. In order to achieve our vision all peoples should work together to attain the following global objectives:
   • Global Sustainability: A world where humanity lives in harmony with Nature and within the carrying capacity of Earth's natural resources.
   • Global Justice: A world based on economic and social justice, where basic needs of sustenance and self-development are met.
   • Global Peace and Security: A world in which nations respect the peaceful resolution of disputes, refraining from acts of aggression, the use of force being in accordance with international law.
   • Global Community: A world in which societies respect the cultural beliefs of others, embracing common global values.
5. In order to achieve these objectives our foreign policy needs to aid a transition from:
   • growth economics to stewardship economics,
   • global inequality to a just global society,
   • a free market of war to the prevention of aggression,
   • selfish national interests to global solidarity

Policy Highlights

Based on the global objectives in our key principles the Green Party has ten major goals .
Their achievement is critical to realising a more just, peaceful and sustainable world.

1. Achieve sustainability & climate stability

Call for humanity's Ecological Footprint to be of a sustainable size by 2030; and support a global warming cap of 2 degrees C, with declared national objectives for New Zealand's GHG emission reductions (33% by 2020; 60-90% by 2050).

2. Outlaw aggression

Make aggression a crime in international and domestic law, and support conflict prevention and peacemaking globally and regionally through national initiatives.

3. Restrict foreign troop deployment

Deploy armed forces overseas only in the event of, and within six months of, a UN Security Council resolution under Chapter VII of the Charter or a General Assembly resolution under the 'Uniting for Peace' precedent.

4. Apply universal jurisdiction

Investigate, in the first instance nationally under universal jurisdiction, anyone reasonably suspected of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity.

5. Legislate for a nuclear-free world

Vote to reject nuclear deterrence at the United Nations and introduce a Nuclear Weapons Convention there for conclusion by 2012, initially without the nuclear-weapon states if necessary.

6. Make trade fair and sustainable

Promote fair trade and investment policies at the WTO, IBRD and IMF, calling for fundamental democratic reform of these three bodies.

7. Attain the ODA target

Establish a timetable to ensure and increase in ODA to 0.7% of GNI by 2015 and ensure that sustainability and social justice projects are prioritised over donor national- interest related to trade or other objectives

8. Support good governance

Support good governance (legitimate, accountable, transparent and un-corrupt) in all countries, while avoiding the imposition of any single, preconceived model of 'democracy'.

9. Reform the United Nations

Reform the UN, including Security Council composition and procedures, a UN Parliamentary Assembly, General Assembly voting and procedures, system-wide management coherence, and adequate financial support based on continuous and effective auditing of expenditure.

10. Promote understanding among faiths and cultures

Support initiatives for dialogue among all cultures and faiths, acknowledging their common spiritual provenance and eschewing religious fanaticism and fundamentalism.

Specific Foreign Policies

1. Global Sustainability

On the basis of the principles of sustainability and ecological wisdom: the international community needs to focus on a restoration of the bio-spherical balance and on developing a common human existence within global sustainability limits.

A. Climate Stabilization

Climate change, generated by the combined emissions of a number of greenhouse gases, is the most pervasive global threat we face. Worldwide our total global emissions must be reduced quickly and converge to emission quotas that are based on equal per capita entitlements. (A process known as contraction and convergence).The Green Party believes that a lasting solution to the threat of climate change is a long-term, global regulatory framework that is equitable and quantitative, and which includes all countries and covers all sectors (including aviation transport), through responsible engagement with the private sector. Please see our climate change policy for full details.
The Green Party will:

1. Ensure that New Zealand supports the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, because this is the only international agreement that we presently have that works towards reducing emissions.
2. Work with all countries to negotiate a much stronger binding agreement for post-2012, which must involve all nations accepting obligations on per capita entitlements and reducing total emissions quickly.
3. Ensure that all our international trade agreements uphold the principles of Kyoto and contribute to, rather than undermine, environmental sustainability and wellbeing of communities
4. Place a carbon tax on energy intensive imports from OECD countries which have not accepted binding targets
5. Work to ensure that CDM projects, by which industrialised countries earn carbon credits, are authentic and genuinely reduce future global emissions in a just and sustainable way.
6. Explore the meaning of national 'carbon neutrality' and the means of attaining this (through achieving zero net national emissions without international trading, or through such trading).
7. Support UN Environmental Programme 'Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign' through an annual grant of NZ$1 million as part of its increased ODA programme.
8. Support the 'Paris Call for Action' (February 2007) that would create a new UN Environmental Organization with stronger legislative and enforcement powers.

B. Ozone Depletion

The Green Party will:

1. Work towards an accelerated phase-out of all ozone-depleting substances in all meetings of the Montreal Protocol Parties
2. Contribute NZ$1.0 million, over a five-year period, to the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund in recognition that New Zealand has a vital national interest in rapid restoration of the global ozone layer.

C. Biodiversity

The Green Party will:

1. Work towards the universal membership and full implementation of the Biodiversity Convention and the CITES instrument governing trade in endangered species
2. Ensure that all measures necessary to ensure protection of all species of fauna and flora in Aotearoa - New Zealand are faithfully carried out
3. Work for a legally-binding, enforceable prohibition on all whaling
4. Work to have the International Whaling Commission become an international organization with universal membership and a broadened mandate to cover protection of other species (such as dolphins)

D. Sustainable Living: Sustainable Consumption and Development

The Green Party will:

1. Propose to the UN that humanity's Ecological Footprint is globally-sustainable by 2030, with a report on the nature of the global economy and community that would be necessary to attain this goal
2. Pursue policies both internationally and domestically that redefine 'progress' as being dependent on genuine progress measured through sustainability indicators rather than purely economic growth measured solely by GDP, using the new concepts of 'Genuine Progress Indicators', 'Community Indicators' and 'Ecological Footprint Analysis'
3. Address over-consumption patterns by, inter alia, partnering with 'twin cities' and 'twin villages' in other countries as models of sustainable living
4. Participate in negotiations over relevant global and regional fishery quotas with a view to ensuring sustainability in each species-catch by 2015
5. Work towards the commencement of global negotiations for an integrated tropical and temperate forestry sustainability plan, reflecting the common but differentiated responsibilities of all nations

2. Global Justice

We live in a world where there are huge differences in wealth and power between countries, and within countries. The political, economic and military policies of many of the rich countries reinforce these inequalities. This process has been exacerbated by certain international organizations under the undue control of the rich countries (such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund). Genuine development in poorer countries has been hindered primarily by debt marketing and such consequent policy impositions as privatization, deregulation, cutbacks in social services and an open door to foreign investment, as well as support for compliant regimes that are often less than democratic.

A. Fair Trade & Investment

New Zealand should promote a fairer trading system, that is respectful of local values and cultures, and continue advocacy of 'fair trade' products.

To achieve this the Green Party will:

1. Promote a global trading system that respects all of the following
   1. human rights and labour standards
   2. environmental standards and ecologically-sustainable practices
   3. local values and cultures
   4. the right of all to equal access to water for basic needs
   5. the right of all countries and peoples to produce and grow their own food including foods that they traditionally eat
2. Support trade agreements that observe democratic principles embraced by all parties, and respect and promote just and sustainable development through good international economic governance.
3. Ensure that trade agreements involve appropriate means of exchange, such that transaction costs no longer skew the value of goods and services, to the detriment of the developing countries.
4. Ensure that we do not import any goods that have been produced and/or harvested illegally (eg tropical timber).
5. Within a spirit of international co-operation, work to ensure protection of the rights of communities and nations to autonomy in decisions relating to production, trade and labelling of foods, including products consumed for medicinal therapeutic or cultural reasons.

see our Trade Policy

B. Debt Relief

The Green Party will promote positive moves to reduce the indebtedness of poor countries, particularly those of heavily-indebted developing countries (HIDCs).

In particular, the Green Party will:

1. Support the cancellation of 'odious debt' that should never have been granted.
2. Ensure that debt cancellation or reduction is not subverted by World Bank and/or IMF conditionalities.
3. Support debt relief for poor countries that are not necessarily among the category of HIDCs.

C. Appropriate and Ethical Investment

New Zealand should promote ethical international investment, including within its own economy.

With this in mind the Green Party will:

1. Support legislation to open the operation of crown investments such as the 'super fund' to public scrutiny
2. Ensure that all crown investment agencies divest from, and refuse to 'engage' with, any entity that maintains any investments relating to the following unethical behaviour:
   
   1. The manufacture or sale of any nuclear, chemical or biological weapon.
   2. The manufacture or sale of any other weapons especially those whose effects are contrary to international humanitarian law (inhumane weapons).
   3. The Manufacture and export of addictive substances (including tobacco) which do substantial physical damage to those addicted and have little or no medicinal use.
   4. Support to companies who are linked with illegal activities such as illegal harvesting of tropical timber.
   5. Gold mining and oil extraction where these are likely to incur unacceptable environmental damage.
   6. Provides support to unconstitutional and/or repressive regimes that fail to respect human rights.
   7. Actively funds or supports groups that deny climate change is occurring.

D. Overseas Development Assistance (ODA)

New Zealand should increase its ODA programme which (a) is sustainable and conducive to climate stabilization, (b) promotes local participation and gender equality, and (c) enhances the economic and social rights of the recipient countries.

In particular, the Green Party will:

1. Increase the ODA budget to 0.7% of GNI by 2015 (as agreed at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development); any absorptive problems of such an increase in bilateral expenditure to be solved by channelling such funds through multilateral institutions such as the UN Development Programme.
2. Ensure that none of New Zealand's ODA is formally tied to domestic consultancy interests or material equipment; and that a larger proportion of bilateral aid is channelled through NZ NGOs.
3. Investigate and support innovative ways of increasing new multilateral funding for international development through, inter alia, charges on international flights and currency transactions.

See link Climate Change and Taxation Policy

E. Population, Immigration and Refugees

New Zealand should advocate an integrated policy on global population, migration and refugees, relating it to an appropriate national demographic policy for a higher quality of life for all.

In particular, the Green Party will:

1. Endorse the global objective of a sustainable global population level and pledge to do all we genuinely can to help achieve that goal.
2. Ensure, our ODA programme on population planning activities is doubled as called for in the 1989 Amsterdam Declaration and 1994 Cairo Programme of Action, consciously designed to meet the 'unmet needs' of poor countries in family planning, improved reproductive health services, suppression of sexually-transmitted diseases, improved education (especially for girls), and heightened male responsibility.
3. Identify humanitarian and refugee quotas consistent with national sustainability See link to Population Policy and Immigration Policy

F. Human Rights

New Zealand should ensure that the promotion of human rights reflects universal standards while recognizing the regional and national particularities of a historical, religious and cultural nature as identified in the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights.

Specifically, the Green Party will:

1. Work for a stronger understanding and advocacy of human rights by New Zealanders and in the global community
2. Ensure that criticism of any human rights violations is not muted for reasons of economic, political or military advantage.
3. Use appropriate international legal instruments to promote human rights and democracy, including UN agencies.
4. In the Pacific, support for the pro-democracy movement in Tonga, and dialogue with the political forces in Fiji to facilitate the return to democratic government.
5. In Asia, the promotion of human rights there (with particular concern for China, Burma and North Korea).
6. Elsewhere, New Zealand should champion human rights generally, particularly when there is a political, cultural or sporting connection to New Zealand (e.g. Zimbabwe).

   Human Rights and Counter-terrorism Measures

   New Zealand should oppose the undermining of accepted international human rights standards which have accompanied the so-called 'war on terror'.

   In particular the Green Party will:

7. Oppose the practices of extraordinary rendition, indefinite and arbitrary detention and collective punishment techniques (such as house demolition and land defilement).
8. Insist that any terrorist suspects be subject to normal judicial process
9. Seek the reversal of anti-terrorist legislation that violates any non-derogable human rights norms.

   Indigenous People's Rights

   The Green Party will:

10. Support and implement the Declaration of Indigenous Peoples Rights, with the interests of tangata whenua as the principal consideration of its implementation.
11. Ensure expeditious progress in the Treaty Settlements process in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Without this we cannot have a credible voice in international forums on issues of indigenous people's rights

    Self-determination

    New Zealand should promote the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples as an essential step in the attainment of universal peace, whether this involves devolution of political power, autonomy or independence.

    Specifically, the Green Party will:

12. Urge that early action be taken for an act of self-determination in the 16 remaining non-self-governing territories under Chapter XI of the UN Charter, including New Caledonia, American Samoa, Pitcairn, Gibraltar, Falklands/Malvinas and Western Sahara. With respect to Tokelau, we must respect the wishes of the inhabitants as expressed in two referenda to remain an integral part of the NZ realm.
13. Call for a review within the PIF of the status of non-self-governing territories in the Pacific that are not currently subject to UN monitoring (Tahiti, Wallis & Futuna and West Papua), and give general support for the movements for self-determination there.
14. Explore whether any non-self-governing territories elsewhere should be added to the list under the auspices of the UN Committee on Decolonization (such as West Papua and French Guiana)

    Some territories still yearn for greater autonomy or full independence. Many tend towards violence and become a potential threat to peace and security because of the lack of international machinery for addressing such grievances. New ways must be found of dealing with them in a non-violent manner.

    The Green Party will:

15. Support the principle of self-determination of peoples in all such cases, having regard also to the rights and responsibilities of the sovereign States involved.
16. Introduce into the UN General Assembly a proposal for an expert study to be undertaken, under the auspices of the Secretary-General, concerning possible ways of dealing with issues of secession in a manner that ensures the maintenance of international peace and security and due respect for fundamental human rights, including the right of self-determination.

3. Global Peace and Security

A world without 'war' is obtainable. 'War' is not intrinsic to human society and under international law can no longer be 'declared' by any government. Military confrontations are usually generated by major powers extending their areas of influence. The centre-piece of the Green Party's global security policy is to join with peoples around the world to oppose 'war'.

The Green Party places priority on the peaceful settlement of disputes between nations as required in the UN Charter. The main prerequisite for global peace and security is the achievement of global sustainability and global justice.

We foresee an effective system of global security for all nations in the 21st century. This will be attained in two ways: making collective security more operationally effective to meet modern requirements; and taking associated steps to regulate and reduce weaponry.

The Green Party also recognises that some existing ongoing conflicts around the world need specific acknowledgement and urgent attention, because of the length of conflict and their potential to contribute to global instability. We therefore oppose New Zealand support in, or involvement in, the current United States led coalition operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (but support UN peace-building action there). We also oppose assisting such military operations through intelligence gathering and therefore support closure of the satellite communications interception station at Waihopai, (which is integrated into a US -led global electronic intelligence network).

The Green Party will also encourage the world community to give urgent attention to critical conflicts, such as Israel/ Palestine and Darfur.

Guided by the Principle of Non-violence, the Green Party will pursue the following foreign policies.

A. Collective Security

While it requires flexible interpretation of the UN Charter, the two fundamental elements of collective security remain valid today - pacific settlement (under Chapter VI) and the legitimate use of force (under Chapter VII).

(a) Building Peace

The peaceful settlement of conflict between and within states) is pursued through three mechanisms: conflict prevention; peacemaking and peace-building. Such non-violent strategies needs to recognise the local, national and global dimension of each conflict, and should engage with civil society.

To achieve this the Green Party will:

1. Explore ways in which governments and civil society can work together to detect, and prevent, impending conflict.
2. Support the establishment of a conflict prevention unit, a mediation unit and a peacekeeping unit within the UN Secretariat.
3. Propose the establishment of a conflict prevention unit, a mediation unit and a peacekeeping unit within the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) as an aid to peacemaking efforts in the Pacific region under the authority of the PIF Secretary-General
4. Support New Zealand continuing to specialize in regional peacekeeping, building on our successful peacemaking experience with Bougainville as well as East Timor and the Solomon Islands, (learning from Norway's valuable achievements in Sri Lanka, Palestine and Sudan).
5. Continue to provide bilateral mediation assistance to regional counties in crisis, provided this is supported by the PIF.
6. Support fragile states to become more resilient and robust, economically and politically, and help prevent them from being preyed upon by international criminal syndicates and vested foreign interests.
7. Raise for discussion in the PIF whether any member wishes to seek assistance from the UN Peace-building Commission; and if so, develop a regional strategy to that end.
8. Negotiate an agreement (MOU) with the UN Dept. of Peacekeeping Operations (UN-DPKO) with a view to making units of the NZDF available to the UN under the its Stand-by Arrangement System (UNSAS) at the shortest feasible time (aiming at 48 hours).

   (b) Legitimate Use of Force

   Armed intervention can be justified only as a last resort, in circumstances of inter-state aggression or intra-state situations of genocide or the gross and systematic violation of human rights. Such operations can only be mandated by the UN. The use of force is constrained by international law and regulated by legitimate decision-making structures - in a manner comparable to that prevailing in national societies. This requires policies that address aggression, intervention criteria, self-defence, peacekeeping, troop deployment and counter-terrorism,

   Outlawing Aggression

   The Green Party will:

9. Undertake, as a legally binding obligation in domestic law, never to commit its armed forces for military action beyond its national territory without a UN Security Council decision explicitly authorizing this in advance.
10. Undertake, in an accompanying political declaration at Head of State (or equivalent) level, never to commit its armed forces as part of any coalition military action unless such action has been explicitly authorized by a Council resolution within the preceding six months.
11. Propose to the UN General Assembly that it call upon the Security Council to adopt a presidential statement in which the Council agrees that military action by any UN Member State that is not authorized by a Council resolution adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter within the preceding six months is a violation of the Charter.
12. Submit draft legislation to Parliament that incorporates a binding commitment in NZ law that no NZ Government will commit aggression, as defined in UNGA resolution 3314 (XXIX), against any other UN Member State.
13. Prepare an accompanying declaration for signature by the Head of State that the Government will recognise and respect, as binding upon itself, the determination of aggression (including whether or not aggression has been committed by New Zealand) made by any of the relevant principal UN and UN-related organs, and respect this as binding upon itself. These are the Security Council, the International Court of Justice, the Secretariat (through the Secretary-General acting under article 99) or, in future, the International Criminal Court ( in the event that in the event that a legally-binding definition of aggression is agreed under its auspices and aggression becomes an operative a justiciable offence - an offence that a court can make a binding ruling on - under the Statute of Rome, after 2017, as envisaged at the 2010 Review Conference).

    Legitimising Armed Intervention: The 'Responsibility to Protect' Doctrine

    The Green Party will:

14. Promote the doctrine of 'responsibility to protect' in cases of genocide or gross and systematic violations of human rights, having regard to the need to ensure that any UN-authorized intervention is designed exclusively to meet the needs of the victim population and that the decision to intervene does not reflect the primacy of any major power interests.
15. Propose to the UN General Assembly that the five criteria for justifying intervention under the 'responsibility to protect' doctrine(seriousness of threat, proper purpose, last resort, proportional means and balance of consequences) be adopted by the Security Council through a resolution, accompanied by a concurrent resolution of the General Assembly itself.

    Legitimising Self-Defence

    The Green Party will:

16. Submit to the UN General Assembly a proposal that all future reports by any UN Member State to the Security Council concerning the use of military force in self-defence will contain a factual explanation and a legal justification for the actions taken. The Security Council should determine in each case, through resolution or presidential statement, whether the claim of self-defence is valid and the military action justified.
17. Propose to the UN General Assembly that a resolution be adopted declaring that pre-emptive force may not be used by any country, in any circumstance, on the basis of self-defence. The United Nations, however, should develop a standing preventive deployment force, with a robust mandate, which can be deployed by the Secretary-General acting under Security Council authority, within 48-hours of a request by any country. In such a situation, the armed forces of the host country may act in coordination with, and under the command of, the UN preventive force.
18. Ensure that New Zealand has no participation, direct or indirect, in any military alliance that is based on the self-defence provision of the UN Charter (Article 51) as the principal rationale. This is because most of the abuses of illegal armed force has been rationalised on the basis of collective self-defence. This, however, does not preclude NZ coming to the aid of a victim state through UN collective security, authorised by the Security Council.
19. Prohibit New Zealanders serving as mercenaries in any armed conflict anywhere

    Extra-Territorial Stationing of Troops

    The Green Party will:

20. Propose to the UN General Assembly that any request by one UN Member State to another for the stationing of troops and military equipment on its national territory must be notified to the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council. Such a request shall explain the reasons for such troop deployment and military installation, and their expected duration. The Security Council shall note the request, and determine whether such a request is consistent with the maintenance of international peace and security.
21. Undertake that no deployment of NZ armed forces outside NZ territorial jurisdiction will be undertaken (including all SAS forces) without a Legal Position Paper tabled before, and endorsed by, Parliament that declares such deployment to be consistent with international law, containing also the reasoning behind such a judgement.

    Counter-Terrorism

    The Green Party will:

22. Recognize the need to address the legitimate economic and social grievances felt by many groups which foster non-state terrorism, confronting the 'root causes' of terrorism through positive economic, social and political policies.
23. Recognize that terrorism by state and non-state actors visits death and destruction equally upon innocent people, and each is to be equally condemned; and that policies of military intervention and occupation increase rather than diminish terrorism.
24. Support continuing efforts to reach agreement at the UN on the definition of 'terrorism', which would include terrorist acts by both states and non-state actors.
25. Call at the General Assembly for the individuals and groups on the Security Council's '1267 list' to be subject to independent review by an expert legal group with recommendations made to the Secretary-General for ensuring that due legal process is observed.
26. Call for the closure of any detention camps incarcerating 'unlawful combatants' (a phrase without validity in international law), and for the fair trial in civil courts of any such detainees within three months of capture or their unconditional release.
27. Refuse to hand over prisoners of war or those detained for other reasons to other countries if it is likely that they will be detained in such detention camps or subject to illegal interrogation or torture.

B. Control of Weaponry

(a) Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

The Green Party will:

1. Suggest to the General Assembly that it request the Security Council to introduce a new item to its agenda: 'A System for the Regulation of Armaments under Article 26 of the Charter'.
2. Suggest to the General Assembly that it request an advisory opinion of the ICJ whether, in light of its 1996 Opinion, it is of the view that the NWS parties to the NPT have fulfilled their Treaty obligations to negotiate in good faith nuclear arms reductions leading to the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons from national arsenals.
3. Propose in the UN General Assembly that India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea be invited to accede to the NPT as nuclear weapon states (based on an amendment to article I of the Treaty), thereby updating the Treaty to reflect the realities of the 21st century.
4. Take a leading role in the drafting of a Comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Convention in which all nine nuclear weapon states accept a binding legal obligation to eliminate all nuclear weapons from their national arsenals as called for in the NPT, in negotiated phases leading to total elimination by 2020.
5. Vote on all resolutions at the UN General Assembly concerning nuclear weapons and nuclear military strategy in a manner that is strictly consistent with its national nuclear-free policy, its abhorrence of nuclear deterrence and the NPT objective of the elimination of nuclear weapons from national arsenals.
6. Work for a verification protocol for the Biological Weapons Convention.

   (b) Weapons in Outer Space

   The Green party will:

7. Work for a stronger and verifiable legal regime governing the ban on weapons in outer space, including a ban on space-based ballistic missile defence systems, as a supplement to the Outer Space Treaty.

   (c) Conventional Weapons

   The Green Party will:

8. Ratify the 2001 UN protocol banning the illicit manufacture of, and trade in, small arms and light weapons.

   (d) Inhumane Weapons

   The Green Party will:

9. Work for the completion of treaties banning the manufacture and use of depleted uranium weapons, cluster munitions, white phosphorous and the use of defoliants in warfare.
10. Propose at the UN General Assembly that the Security Council declare that the use of weapons identified in humanitarian law as inhumane constitutes a threat to international peace and security, thereby empowering the Council to take enforcement measures, involving as appropriate sanctions or armed force, against a State violating that law.

4. Global Community

While the world is coalescing into one society in a technological sense, it remains politically separate and fractious. There is a need for all nations to foster understanding on a cross-cultural basis.
Guided by the principles of Participatory Democracy, Appropriate Decision-making and Respect for Diversity, the Green Party will pursue the following policies.

A. Cultural Dialogue

The Green Party will:

1. Initiate a national-regional project entitled 'A Meeting of Pacific Cultures' as part of the inter-cultural dialogue at the United Nations. The project will seek to identify the principal values of Pacific and European cultures (with special focus on Maori-Pakeha cultural blend), and how these relate in a positive manner to the universal global values proclaimed at the United Nations.
2. Support the inter-faith dialogue among all religious and spiritual movements in our country, with a view to gaining insights into our common spiritual heritage that humanity will need as we confront global challenges of the 21st century.
3. Support the proposals for a UN High Representative and a Forum for the Alliance of Civilizations, and the proposed World Council of Spiritual and Religious Leaders.

B. Civil Society

The Green Party will ensure that government:

1. Actively works with and supports, the various NGOs and other civil society organizations (labour, business, cultural, disarmament, humanitarian, religious) which are committed to the four strategic objectives outlined earlier (Global Sustainability, Global Justice, Global Peace and Security and Global Community)
2. Work to ensure that the NZ Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC) genuinely meets its statutory objectives of advising the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister on our nuclear-free policy and general disarmament policy

C. Governance

(a) Assisting National Governance

The Green Party will:

1. Support good governance around the world through effective and legitimate multilateral channels, recognizing that there are a variety of models of participatory governance, and those proposed by Western governments are not always the most appropriate.
2. Recognize that our own democracy is a 'work-in-progress' in which perfection is never achieved, and that our efforts to assist others must be accompanied by a sense of humility. A stronger commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in our internal structures will strengthen Aotearoa New Zealand's credentials for assisting in human rights and democracy promotion elsewhere.

   (b) Strengthening Global Governance

   The world cannot afford a third global cataclysm. The challenge of UN reform must be accomplished during 'peacetime'. The four issues below are paramount.

   Security Council Reform

   The imperfect nature of the UN Security Council has become a source of deep concern and controversy. This has occasionally necessitated a difficult choice between respecting the Council's binding decisions in all cases or withholding such respect on certain occasions where, it is believed, such decisions are unjust and reflect unduly the interests of certain major powers.

   The Green Party will:

3. Recommend to the General Assembly that a high-level panel report be commissioned, based on an expert study, and under the auspices of the Secretary-General, to report to the General Assembly on the merits and feasibility of including a regional approach to Security Council membership.
4. Recommend to the General Assembly that it call upon the Security Council to establish two subsidiary organs under the Charter:
   • A verification committee, composed of experts from Council members and from the Secretariat, that would assess evidence submitted by a Member State pertaining to international peace and security (including terrorism) for accuracy, before submitting it with comment to the Council; and
   • A legal advisory committee, composed of legal experts from Council members and from the Secretariat, that would submit to the Council, in advance of any resolution authorizing the use of force, an affirmation that such force would be consistent with the purposes, principles and provisions of the Charter.
5. Recommend to the General Assembly that it adopt a resolution calling upon each permanent member of the Security Council strictly to respect Article 27, and refrain from casting a veto unless its supreme national interests are jeopardized by a proposed Council action of a non-procedural nature; and that in the event of such a veto being cast, it will provide at the time of voting a written statement explaining the reasons why its supreme national interests are threatened.
6. Recommend to the General Assembly that a high-level panel report be prepared for the Secretary-General to submit to the Assembly on the legitimate powers of the Security Council and the need for an appropriate form of judicial review of its functions and decisions.

   UN Managerial Reform

   With a view to making the UN system and the UN Secretariat more effective, the Green Party will:

7. Support the Secretary-General's managerial reform package of 2006.
8. Support full implementation of the recommendations of the 2006 High-Level Report on System-Wide Coherence.

   Global Financing

   With a view to making the UN system less reliant on arbitrary voluntary national funding, the Green Party will:

9. Investigate ways of increasing automatic funding for, among other purposes, multilateral development agencies through, e.g., charges on international aviation flights and international currency transactions.

   Global Commons Management

   New Zealand should promote a fair and effective global management for the global commons under a universal jurisdictional system.
   The Green Party will:

10. Oppose all attempts by any nation to claim national sovereignty of the Arctic seabed that is inconsistent with international law.
11. Announce its readiness to unilaterally relinquish its annexation-based territorial claim (of 1923) to the Ross Dependency, and call for Antarctica to be placed under an appropriate universal jurisdiction.
12. Urge the 40 or so non-Parties to sign and ratify the UN Convention on Law of the Sea and, in particular, endorse the US Administration's proposal of May 2007 that the US Senate ratify the Convention.
13. Oppose attempts to deny or remove from humanity's common inheritance those components of earth's ecosystems including seeds and plants used in agriculture, natural forests, the oceans and seabed, through privatisation (including patent-enforcement on seed by 'Genetic Use Restriction Technologies': GURTS), or through depletion as a result of excessive commercial exploitation

D. International Law

The most important means of promoting global security in the 21st century is the strengthening of international law. The actions of every country must, henceforth, be in strict accordance with international law, such that crises of the kind witnessed in Palestine and Iraq do not arise again.

(a) International Judicial Settlement

The Green Party will:

1. Develop a 'Coalition for the Law' group from among the 65 States that currently accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ to encourage others to do the same, especially the four Security Council permanent members that do not (US, Russia, China and France).
2. Propose that the General Assembly call upon the Security Council to ensure the observance of all decisions by the World Court through enforcement procedures, as envisaged in article 94 of the Charter.
3. Propose that the UN Secretariat (acting through the Secretary-General) be empowered by the General Assembly under Article 96 to seek, as a principal organ of the UN, advisory opinions from the ICJ on issues of international peace and security.

   (b) International Criminal Jurisdiction

   The Green Party will:

4. Encourage States not yet parties to the ICC to join the Statute of Rome.
5. Respond to evidence, and actively seek evidence, pertaining to any suspected commission of any of the core crimes currently under the ICC jurisdiction, with respect to either a State Party to the Statute of Rome or under New Zealand's laws of universal jurisdiction.

   c) Respect for International law by political bodies

   The Green Party seeks a balance between:

   • Strict adherence to the rule of international law that is codified and its impartial application by international judicial bodies (ICJ; ICC), and
   • Reform of essentially political bodies (UN Security Council; WTO) whose regulatory decisions unduly reflect the interests of major powers in violation of the UN Charter's principles of common interests and good faith.

   The Green Party will:

6. Encourage universal compulsory jurisdiction of the World Court (ICJ), and universal adherence to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
7. Seek a UN Security Council declaration guaranteeing impartial enforcement of ICJ / ICC decisions.
8. Propose that legal advice to the UN Security Council and Secretary-General be given from an independent judicial panel on all matters pertaining to the use of force by the UN and all Member States.
9. Require that a Legal Memorandum be tabled before the NZ Parliament in advance of any deployment of NZ armed forces overseas, affirming the compatibility of such action with our obligations under international law, and in particular the UN Charter.