UNCLASSIFIED
New Zealand Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade
Manatū Aorere
195 Lambton Quay
24 July 2025
Private Bag 18−901
Wellington 6160
New Zealand
T +64 4 439 8000
F +64 4 472 9596
Carole
OIA 30209
[FYI request #31340 email]
Tēnā koe Carole
Thank you for your email of 18 June 2025 in which you request the following under the
Official Information Act 1982 (OIA):
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.
Background
On 24 July 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the Ministry) contacted you
to discuss the scope of your request, because as it was originally framed it captured a
significant volume of information. The following refinement was proposed:
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.
On 25 June 2025, you responded with the following refinement:
UNCLASSIFIED
Page 2 of 2
'Advice prepared by MFAT on violence against ethnic minorities in South Africa.'
On 25 June 2025, you were advised that your request would still likely result in a refusal
due to substantial collation and research because it was still not time limited and would
require a search through the Ministry’s entire historic records. It was suggested that you
include a specific time period to capture the information you were most interested in.
On 28 June 2025, you responded with the following amendment to your request:
Thanks for the additional opportunity to clarify - I'd like to request information
going back to 1 January 2024.
On 30 June 2025, the Ministry confirmed your refined request to be for:
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 January 2024.
Response to your request
The document titled,
Informal Note: US-South Africa relations update, dated
22 May 2025, is in scope of your request and is attached. Some information is withheld
under section 6(a) of the OIA, to avoid prejudicing the security or defence of New
Zealand or the international relations of the New Zealand Government.
Please note that it is our policy to proactively release our responses to official
information requests where possible. Therefore, our response to your request (with your
personal information removed) may be published on the Ministry website:
www.mfat.govt.nz/en/about-us/contact-us/official-information-act-responses/
If you have any questions about this decision, you can contact us by email at:
[email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman of this decision by contacting www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Owen Thornber
for Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade
