Human Rights Commission

Media releases:

• Corrections Amendment Bill proposals may fail international standards (May 23, 2012)
• Human rights values key to prisoner rehabilitation (August 1, 2011)
• Prisoners’ rights (June 24, 2011)
• Commission releases annual report on OPCAT (December 16, 2010)
• Commission welcomes NZ appointment to UN torture subcommittee (October 29, 2010)
• Report highlights inadequate treatment of detainees (December 18, 2009 )
• UN reports on New Zealand (May 19, 2009 )
  
• First monitoring report on places of detention released (February 16, 2009)

Other information

IPCA report on deaths in Police custody

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has released a review of 27 deaths which occurred in Police custody. The review covered the ten years between 2000 and 2010 and was prompted by several deaths of heavily intoxicated detainees. It was also conducted in light of the Authority’s responsibilities under the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.

Read the report on the IPCA’s website here.

Legal intervention

RIDCA v VM is a 2011 decision of a full bench of the Court of Appeal, in which the Commission intervened.  The case dealt with the grounds on which detention under the Intellectual Disability Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation Act (IDDCR) could be extended.

RIDCA CENTRAL (REGIONAL INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY CARE AGENCY) V VM COA CA491/2010 19 December 2011

 Links:

• Office of the Ombudsmen: http://www.ombudsmen.parliament.nz/index.php?CID=100117
•  Independent Police Conduct Authority: http://ipca.govt.nz/Site/about/Monitoring-places-of-detention.aspx
•  Office of the Children’s Commissioner: http://www.occ.org.nz/
•  Ministry of Justice, Human Rights Page: http://www.justice.govt.nz/policy/constitutional-law-and-human-rights/human-right

 Convention Against Torture

•  United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/opcat/index.htm
•  United Nations Committee Against Torture: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/index.htm
•  United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Torture/SRTorture/Pages/SRTortureIndex.aspx
•  Association for the Prevention of Torture: http://www.apt.ch/
• European Committee for the Prevention of Torture: http://www.cpt.coe.int/en/default.htm