The Manaaki Collective holds a vision for a peaceful, just Aotearoa New Zealand. We are collectively committed to the principles of social justice, and the honouring of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
We are very concerned with the recent increase in digital hate, online harassment and death threats, and the crossing over into real-life harassment in Aotearoa. Threats of violence and physical intimidation of human rights defenders constitute a human rights crisis in New Zealand.
We call for a more responsive system that protects the rights of human rights, environmental rights and minority rights defenders.
The tactics of digital harassment, threats, doxxing and smear campaigns are deliberate tactics to cause terror and inhibit important progress towards the ideals of treaty justice and human rights for marginalised groups in Aotearoa. They are an extension of a colonial, patriarchal white supremacist system that has sought to oppress through fear, violence and division for centuries.
We denounce white supremacist narratives which cloak hate towards Māori and minority groups as “free speech”. The most prevalent attack on free speech that takes place in Aotearoa New Zealand, is the inhibition of the free speech of marginalised groups as a result of attacks and threats from the alt-right.
We affirm our freedom as nation to pursue treaty justice without being subjected to smear campaigns of being ethno-nationalist, divisive or dangerous.
We reject the alt-right racist and xenophobic narratives of the “Great Replacement Theory” and “Māori Supremacy” that has been used to implicitly call for violence against Māori, Muslim and non-white migrant communities.
We assert that it is every New Zealander’s right to advocate for advancements in treaty justice, human and environmental rights without coming under risk of personal or digital harassment.
We call upon the New Zealand government to honour it’s commitments under the Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Declaration of Human Rights and the Declaration for Human Rights Defenders to provide immediate protection for those being targeted by white supremacist groups in Aotearoa New Zealand.
We call upon New Zealand government agencies and independent organisations such as Netsafe and InternetNZ to work collaboratively with targeted communities to develop safer and more effective reporting protocols and prevent harm befalling the groups mentioned above.
We call upon New Zealand politicians to abandon the use of xenophobic, classist, anti-Māori rhetoric that denies racism and disrespects Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
We refuse to accept that the current hate directed towards human rights and Tiriti justice defenders reflects the Aotearoa we want to be, and extend our solidarity out to those being targeted.
To register your support for this declaration, please fill out the form below. Your name will not be published anywhere, but we will be keeping a running tally on the numbers of support.
Here is a downloadable PDF version of the Manaaki Collective Declaration:
The Manaaki Collective 
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