In accordance with section 15 of the Burial and Cremation Act 1964 (“Act”), I hereby give the following notice.

Notice

1. I declare service:

• in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan¹ as defined, 25 April 1988 up to and including 31 December 1991, and from 1 December 2001 up to and including 30 September 2021 to be operational service for the purposes of the Act.
  Islamic Republic of Afghanistan The geographic area of Afghanistan includes all of the sovereign territory as defined by the boundaries with neighbouring states through currently recognised agreements. These include recognised boundary arrangements accepted at independence on 19 August 1919 with neighbouring Iran and Pakistan, as well as 1963 and 1965 agreements with China. The boundaries with neighbouring Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are defined through recognised pre-independence agreements, the 1946 Afghan-Soviet Treaty and any subsequent agreements.

2. I declare that the declaration for service in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will supersede the declarations made on:

• 4 March 2010 by the Honourable Judith Collins, Minister of Veterans’ Affairs, for service with the United Nations Mine Clearing Training Team (UNMCTT) in Pakistan and Afghanistan from 1 April 1989 to 31 December 1991; and
• 15 December 2016 by the Honourable Craig Foss, of Veterans’ Affairs, for service in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the airspace above it on or after 1 December 2001 until declared otherwise.

3. This entitles any member of the New Zealand Defence Force covered by this declaration (and their spouse, civil union partner or de facto partner) to have their remains buried in the part of any cemetery set aside by a local authority for the burial of:

• members of Her Majesty’s Forces that have undertaken operational service; and
• the spouses, civil union partners, and de facto partners of members of Her Majesty’s Forces that have undertaken operational service.

4. Members of other Commonwealth Forces who have undertaken the same operational service and their spouses, civil union partners, and de facto partners may also be interred.

5. As required by the Act, consultation occurred prior to the making of this declaration.

Dated this 9th day of December 2021.

Hon MEKA WHAITIRI, Minister for Veterans.

1 and other types of government during the specified periods