Saturday, 10 April 2021, 1:08 pm
Revelations that foreign affairs officials have approved
the sale of military equipment to a host of
human-rights-abusing countries, including Israel, is an
outrage.
In recent years foreign affairs has been
dominated by trade priorities with concerns for human rights
sidelined. Senior foreign affairs staff at all levels have
advised successive ministers of foreign affairs to
prioritise trade above everything else.
The tragic
outcome was seen in last night’s television one
story.
In Israel’s case the situation is even more
galling because New Zealand has also been importing military
equipment from Israel which has been “battle-tested” on