Amnesty International’s Secretary General has accused New Zealand of “failing Tuvalu” and “reneging on its climate commitments”, warning the Government is neglecting its global responsibilities as rising seas threaten to swallow Pacific nations.
Agnès Callamard, who visited Tuvalu earlier this month, told 1News she witnessed “a people and a government who are fighting… a climate catastrophe they are not responsible for”.
“We have spent centuries driving the planet to its knees through an economic model that is hungry for profit, even when that profit means killing people or killing the planet. We are completely responsible,” she said.
In Amnesty’s new report. Navigating Injustice, the organisation accuses New Zealand of breaking promises to its Pacific partners and failing to uphold human rights obligations linked to climate change.
“New Zealand is failing Tuvalu through the migration pathways that it is offering currently. Those pathways, frankly, are only meant largely to support New Zealand… It is OK to have self-interest. But in that context, you also need to look at your human rights obligations, including that of non-discrimination,” Callamard told 1News.
Call for stronger migration pathways
Amnesty says Aotearoa could follow Australia’s lead, after Canberra signed a historic treaty with Tuvalu last year allowing islanders to relocate as a family unit and retain residency status if they return home.
“It offers the people of Tuvalu the opportunity to move as a family unit to get residency status immediately, but also to keep the residency status even when they want to return to Tuvalu. That is what we need to encourage,”
Callamard also criticised what she called a “domestic-only” approach from the Government, after Climate Change Minister Simon Watts highlighted adaptation projects within New Zealand but declined to address international obligations.
“He’s talking about adaptation – that’s about New Zealand. Mitigation is about their global responsibilities. And that is not what New Zealand is doing right now,” she said.
She said New Zealand had turned renegade “on its mitigation obligations regarding curbing gas emissions… including phasing out fossil fuels and climate financing”.
Government response
When approached by 1News, Watts said he hadn’t yet read the report but he was waiting for advice and pointed to New Zealand’s National Adaptation Plan.
“it gives us a framework to make sure that we have clarity around roles and responsibilities,” he said.
The minister said he met with Tuvalu’s Climate Minister recently and maintained that the Government’s focus was on building “resilient infrastructure to deal with the weather events we have in our country”.
Watts referred 1News to Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for further comment.
MFAT told 1News that New Zealand “supports Pacific nations in their response to climate change”, including “funding for adaptation initiatives like the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project; food and water security initiatives; climate science and data tools; weather monitoring and early warning systems; disaster readiness and response; and regional frameworks on climate mobility.”
Immigration NZ confirmed Tuvaluans “can already apply to live here under the Pacific Access Category”, which offered up to 75 residence places each year.
However, a spokesperson added: “MBIE is not currently undertaking any work on climate-related visa pathways. Consideration of future changes to policy settings are a matter for the Government.”
Experts warn of policy ‘retreat’
University of Canterbury academic Professor Steven Ratuva said New Zealand had once been viewed as a leader in climate action but had “pushed back a little bit”.
“New Zealand can do much better in terms of supporting its Pacific neighbours in relation to adaptation and the impact of climate change,” Ratuva said, describing the issue as “a human-rights crisis because it’s about people’s lives, their health, their basic survival”.
Amnesty’s warning comes ahead of COP30 in Brazil later this year, where global leaders will be pressed to deliver new commitments to cut emissions and fund climate resilience in vulnerable regions.
Callamard issued a call to action to the Government: “Right now, New Zealand is renegading on its commitment. Committing and financing climate adaptation for countries such as Tuvalu is absolutely central.”
