[UNCLASSIFIED]

UNCLASSIFIED

Kia ora Carole,

 

Thank you for your OIA request received on 18/06/25 for:

 

·         Will New Zealand sanction these individuals, or is the policy on
violent rhetoric selectively enforced? I expect a clear explanation of
whether New Zealand has a consistent approach to addressing such dangerous
rhetoric globally, or if certain cases are conveniently ignored.

 

·         Additionally, I request all correspondence received by the
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and/or the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade, concerning New Zealand’s response to or engagement with
the issue of violence in South Africa. I understand that private
information of correspondents will be redacted under section 9(2)(a) of
the Official Information Act 1982, but I see no reason for the
correspondence to be withheld.

 

·         I also want all internal correspondence between Ministry
officials discussing responses to this correspondence, as well as all
draft versions of any response letters prepared, if any.

 

This email confirms receipt of your request and advises that we will
respond to it as soon as reasonably practicable, and in terms of the
timeframes and requirements of the OIA.

 

Please note that our response letter to you (with your personal details
redacted), and any enclosed documents, may be published on the Ministry’s
website.

 

Ngâ mihi

 

Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatû Aorere

 

UNCLASSIFIED

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[UNCLASSIFIED]

UNCLASSIFIED

Tēnā koe Carole,

I am writing in regard to your OIA request below, to advise that responding to the second part of your request—specifically:

“Additionally, I request all correspondence received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and/or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, concerning New Zealand’s response to or engagement with the issue of violence in South Africa…”

—would require review of a significant amount of material and is likely to involve substantial collation and research. As such, this part of your request may be refused under section 18(f) of the OIA , this is because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs filing system (including paper files) does not allow for topic based searches, as would be required by your original request.

Accordingly, I seek your agreement to refine this part of your request to:

Advice provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs regarding alleged white genocide in South Africa since 1 May 2025.

Please note that clarification or amendment of a request is considered a new request for the purposes of calculating the maximum statutory timeframe for response (section 15(1AA) of the OIA refers).

Please confirm if you are happy to proceed with the refined request above, by 30 June 5pm. If we do not hear from you, we will proceed with your original request.

Ngā mihi

Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatū Aorere

195 Lambton Quay, Private Bag 18901, Wellington 5045, New Zealand
http://www.mfat.govt.nz/ | http://www.safetravel.govt.nz/

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED
-----Original Message-----
From: Carole <[FOI #31340 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 18 June 2025 12:57 pm
To: ENQUIRIES <[MFAT request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - New Zealand's Sanctions Policy on Israel and South Africa

Dear Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,

In light of New Zealand’s recent sanctions against two Israeli diplomats for their alleged violent rhetoric, I'm clarity on whether New Zealand will apply the same standard to South African politicians who have openly called for the killing of white people in South Africa. These inflammatory statements, which incite racial violence, are well-documented and pose a severe threat to human rights and stability.

Will New Zealand sanction these individuals, or is the policy on violent rhetoric selectively enforced? I expect a clear explanation of whether New Zealand has a consistent approach to addressing such dangerous rhetoric globally, or if certain cases are conveniently ignored.

Additionally, I request all correspondence received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and/or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, concerning New Zealand’s response to or engagement with the issue of violence in South Africa. I understand that private information of correspondents will be redacted under section 9(2)(a) of the Official Information Act 1982, but I see no reason for the correspondence to be withheld.

I also want all internal correspondence between Ministry officials discussing responses to this correspondence, as well as all draft versions of any response letters prepared, if any.

Yours faithfully,

Carole

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This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #31340 email]

Is [MFAT request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"The information contained in this email message is intended only for the addressee and is not necessarily the official view or communication of the Ministry. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute this message or the information in it. If you have received this message in error, please email or telephone the sender immediately."

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[UNCLASSIFIED]

UNCLASSIFIED

Tēnā koe Carole,

This would likely still result in a section 18(f) because it is not time bound. Without including a specific time period, the Ministry is required to review information since New Zealand re-established diplomatic ties with South Africa following the end of the apartheid regime in 1994.

Are you able to provide a specific time period you are interested in? For context, we chose 1 May 2025 as this capture's advice relating to some of the recent political/media attention this topic has received globally.

Please see the attached letter concerning your OIA request.

Ngā mihi

Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatū Aorere

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED
-----Original Message-----
From: Carole <[FOI #31340 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2025 6:27 AM
To: ESD <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Official Information request - New Zealand's Sanctions Policy on Israel and South Africa [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Dear ESD,

I'm happy to refine my request to: 'advice prepared by MFAT on violence against ethnic minorities in South Africa.'

Does this avoid the need to refuse the request under section 18(f)?

Yours sincerely,

Carole

-----Original Message-----

[UNCLASSIFIED]

UNCLASSIFIED

Tēnā koe Carole,

I am writing in regard to your OIA request below, to advise that responding to the second part of your request—specifically:

“Additionally, I request all correspondence received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and/or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, concerning New Zealand’s response to or engagement with the issue of violence in South Africa…”

—would require review of a significant amount of material and is likely to involve substantial collation and research. As such, this part of your request may be refused under section 18(f) of the OIA , this is because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs filing system (including paper files) does not allow for topic based searches, as would be required by your original request.

Accordingly, I seek your agreement to refine this part of your request to:

Advice provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs regarding alleged white genocide in South Africa since 1 May 2025.

Please note that clarification or amendment of a request is considered a new request for the purposes of calculating the maximum statutory timeframe for response (section 15(1AA) of the OIA refers).

Please confirm if you are happy to proceed with the refined request above, by 30 June 5pm. If we do not hear from you, we will proceed with your original request.

Ngā mihi

Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatū Aorere

195 Lambton Quay, Private Bag 18901, Wellington 5045, New Zealand
http://www.mfat.govt.nz/ | http://www.safetravel.govt.nz/

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #31340 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"The information contained in this email message is intended only for the addressee and is not necessarily the official view or communication of the Ministry. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute this message or the information in it. If you have received this message in error, please email or telephone the sender immediately."

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