Ex-NZ PM Ardern appointed special envoy for combating terrorism

Wellington, April 4

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Tuesday appointed his predecessor Jacinda Ardern as Special Envoy for the Christchurch Call, a Wellington-led global initiative to fight terrorism and extremism after the deadly March 2019 mosque shootings.

The Special Envoy for the Christchurch Call will report directly to the Prime Minister, reports Xinhua news agency.

Ardern has declined to receive any remuneration for the new post and will commence her role on April 17, Hipkins said.

"The Christchurch Call is a foreign policy priority for the government and Jacinda Ardern is uniquely placed to keep pushing forward with the goal of eliminating violent extremist content online," the Prime Minister said.

"Terrorist and violent extremist content online is a global issue, but for many in New Zealand it is also very personal," he said, adding that the Christchurch Call is part of the response to the March 15, 2019, terror attacks on the two Christchurch mosques which killed 51 people.

The special envoy will serve as New Zealand's senior representative on Christchurch Call-related matters, working closely with France as co-leaders, according to the prime minister.

The Christchurch Call is a global initiative working across governments, the tech sector and civil society to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.

It has delivered new safety tools and systems online, backed by many of those running the platforms on which this content is shared, he said.

"Work is also underway in new areas, like the way algorithms affect radicalization and how the implications of fast rising tech such as AI and augmented reality can be exploited by terrorists and violent extremists," Hipkins said.