AUCKLAND (Pacnews) — The Samoan Mau Sitiseni movement will take its fight over New Zealand citizenship rights for Samoans to the United Nations.
The movement’s leader, former National Party MP Arthur Anae, said it has no option but to take the matter to the UN International Human Rights Committee because New Zealand has failed to address the issue.
The Samoan community has been trying for five years to secure citizenship for about 100,000 Samoans, deprived of New Zealand citizenship through retrospective legislation.
It did this by rushing through the Citizenship (Western Samoa) 1982 Act through parliament after the Privy Council ruled all Samoans born between 1924 and 1948, and their children, were entitled to be New Zealand citizens.
Anae said the New Zealand government has only itself to blame if its human rights record is tarnished by its continuing failure to address the issue.
He said more than 100,000 Samoans signed a 2003 petition asking the government to give Samoans back their rights, or to allow Samoans to come and go freely — without social welfare benefits — while they build up the necessary residency qualifications. The petition was rejected.
Mau Sitiseni will file the petition with the U.N. committee in Auckland, asking it to look into the case on behalf of the Samoan people.