A United Nations committee aiming to prevent torture in state institutions has visited a dozen prisons throughout the country over the past two weeks.
The visit of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture has been somewhat shrouded in confidentiality, with its findings under wraps.
The Department of Corrections confirmed Auckland Prison, Mt Eden Correctional facility, Auckland Region Women's Corrections Facility, Auckland South Corrections Facility, Waikeria Prison, Arohata Prison, Rimutaka Prison, Christchurch Women's Prison, Christchurch Men's Prison, Rolleston Prison, Otago Corrections Facility and Invercargill Prison were all visited unannounced.
Previous Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier and the Office of the Inspectorate have issued reports, highlighting concerns human rights were being breached through the prolonged use of solitary confinement at several prisons, including Auckland Prison.
The ombudsman and the Office of the Inspectorate make regular visits and inspections to prisons, but delegation head Aisha Shujune Muhammad told RNZ the ombudsman's report was not the reason for the visit, which intermittedly take place in countries signed up to the optional protocol to the Convention Against Torture.
Along with prisons, the experts often make unannounced visits to police stations, youth detention facilities and old-age care homes, and meet with government officials.
"At the end of the day, when the person is detained, there is every likelihood that there may be torture or ill-treatment, which is why our prevention work is so focused on ensuring that the systems and mechanisms are in place, the safeguards are in place, so that torture or ill-treatment may be avoided," Muhammad said.
She said the committee was focused on preventing torture and did not investigate claims by individuals, looking at legal safeguards in place, how complaint mechanisms worked and the use of restraints.
Once they visit a country, they prepare a report that is passed to the government, which then decides whether to make it public.
"One of the very basic elements of torture prevention is to ensure that there are independent visiting bodies, visiting these places of deprivation of liberty, because these institutions or places are not places that are accessible to the public."
She said torture could occur in state institutions in any country.
"The development of a country has often-times no correlation with whether people in detention may have the safeguards necessary in place and the systems necessary in place for the prevention of torture and ill-treatment."
Victoria University criminology lecturer Dr Liam Martin said independent prison inspections were "essential", when trying to get a clear picture of current prison conditions.
"Prison conditions in New Zealand are generally a black box," he said. "It's hard to know what's going on in there, if it's not you or your family members being incarcerated."
He said journalists could not often interview prisoners, and there was a shortage of independent university research into prison conditions.
"There's all kinds of ways the gate-keeping happens," Martin said. "These inspections, where people have a statutory right to get in there and release information publicly, are utterly essential."
Martin said the visits were even more important, with the number of prisoners expected to rise over the next decade - the Ministry of Justice projects the population will increase by 36%.
In 2023, the United Nations Committee Against Torture published a report into New Zealand prisons, saying it was concerned about the over-representation of Māori in the justice system, as well as issues with staff shortages, overcrowding and prolonged use of solitary confinement.
Subsequent reports, including from the ombudsman, were issued in 2024, calling attention to human rights breaches through the prolonged use of solitary confinement in Auckland Prison.
Last month, the Office of the Inspectorate issued a report about Mt Eden Corrections Facility, with chief inspector Janis Adair saying most prisoners were being subject to restrictive regimes, spending about 22 hours a day locked in their cells.
Martin said recent reports he had read, including some of the above, highlighted systemic issues with how much time prisoners spent in their cells and how tightly movements were controlled.
"Under the Corrections Act and the UN's minimum standards, such as the Mandela Rules, prisoners have to have an hour out of their cells everyday.
"If you are trying to think about what a prison is and what it's like to be in there, it's in that cell."
Corrections Association president Floyd Du Plessis said he wanted to sit down and talk with the UN subcommittee and the Ombudsman, and discuss what wasn't working and how change could be achieved.
"We challenge those groups, if you want to make actual change, then sit down with us and let's work through what could be done."
'We've made significant changes'
Corrections commissioner for custodial services Leigh Marsh said the department regularly facilitated unannounced visits to its prisons, including from the Ombudsman, and it valued "independent scrutiny" of facilities and operations.
He said significant changes had been made in response to independent reviews and as part of pro-active work, including strategies on mental health and the over-representation of Māori.
Marsh said more beds were coming for Christchurch Men's Prison and Waikeria Prison, which recently opened 500 new beds in June, and 96 in the mental health and addiction units.
He said, since the UN Convention Against Torture's 2023 report, Corrections had boosted staffing, with 923 additional frontline staff, including 824 corrections officers
Marsh said the government was committing $78 million to extend rehabilitation programmes to include prisoners on remand.
"We are committed to ensuring people in prison are treated safely and humanely, with robust processes in place," he said. "There has been continuously ongoing work to further improve these processes.
"The safety of prisoners, our staff and the public is our top priority."
By Ellen O'Dwyer for rnz.co.nz
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