NZ funds lending to governments at bottom of human rights table – report

Gaza in 2025. Israel is one of four countries singled out for rights abuses in the report. (Image: Getty)

Wed, 05 Nov 2025

New Zealand retail funds invested more than half a billion dollars into sovereign bonds in four countries singled out for major human rights violations.A Motu Research paper released on Nov 5 concluded that sovereign bond investments had been largely overlooked in NZ. It called for better screening after finding more than two-thirds of so-named “high alert” investments were from funds certified by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA).The report “Sovereign Bond Investing and Human Rights: An Analysis of New...

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