Brunei's new death penalty for gay sex 'fly in the face' of human rights: New Zealand PM Ardern

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern denounced Brunei's decision to implement Islamic laws that would allow death by stoning for adultery and homosexuality on Thursday.

Brunei, a Muslim-majority former British protectorate with a population of around 400,000, on Wednesdaybegan implementing Sharia laws, which punish sodomy, adultery and rape with the death penalty - including by stoning, and theft with amputation.

Ardern said the new laws "fly in the face" of New Zealand principles on inclusion, human rights and the death penalty. She said that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters, made New Zealand's views very clear.

"We are a country that prides itself on being inclusive, on defending human rights. Obviously, the moves that they have made fly in the face of both our opposition to the death penalty, but also our principles around inclusion and human rights," the New Zealand PM said.

Brunei has defended its right to implement the laws, elements of which were first adopted in 2014 and which have been rolled out in phases since then.

Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 72, is the world's second-longest reigning monarch and is prime minister of the oil-rich country. He ranks as one of the world's wealthiest people.