Many care residences not monitored for ill-treatment

Chief Commissioner David Rutherford says that while most places of detention are monitored for ill-treatment, there are many, such as locked aged-care facilities and community-based homes for disabled persons, which are not.

Thousands of New Zealanders in detention or in other places where they do not have freedom of movement are vulnerable to human rights abuses.

“Preventive monitoring is used to ensure prisoners, children and youth in care facilities and people in health and disability places of detention are treated with dignity and respect, but dementia units are not currently covered and I’d like them included,” David Rutherford said.

There are an estimated 138 locked aged-care facilities. In addition, New Zealand has many community residences for people with disabilities, including mental health disabilities, which are not currently monitored for meeting human rights standards.

“Because abuse is usually carried out behinds closed doors, it is vital that we do our best to protect those with disabilities from abuse at the hands of their carer. It is very concerning that many community homes for people with a mental health disability are not being properly monitored.

“Broadening the scope of New Zealand’s current monitoring mandate under the United Nations Convention against Torture would help to prevent and identify ill-treatment and abuse in more places,” David Rutherford said.

To address this issue, the Commission has started a research project to review and examine these less traditional places of detention. This work is partially funded by the European Union and is part of the Asia Pacific Forum’s Torture Prevention Ambassador Project.

The Commission’s Senior Legal and Policy Analyst, Michael White, is New Zealand’s Torture Prevention Ambassador.

For information about the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture click here. For information about the Convention against Torture click here.

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