ME MYSELF AND I

I was a young boy  and had forced ECT in 1975 in lake alice mental hospital NZ for trying to run away and again 2001 in Auckland hospital due to being overwhelmed buy the effects of keeping all the memories of my childhood suppressed, I tried to take my life. I was not warned of all the risks or side effects, I did not ask for or want The electroshock therapy, according to my friend in 2001 it lifted me from a depression into a brief silliness (the euphoric high that typically follows ECT), quickly followed by an even worse depression than before. And it left me with severe memory loss, and I believe some more cognitive damage, which made it even harder to cope with work and family life .

"I'm interested in the people who say: "But you're so articulate now, how could electroshock therapy have possibly been destructive?" My answer: You do not know me. You do not know what I was like before I had the electric shock treatment, and you do not know what I am like now. Do not pretend that you know what I feel, what I think or who I am. Just because I was able to write a book does not give you a picture of me, other than the picture I 'choose' to present in public. Most people who know me, other than those EXTREMELY close to me never even knew I was depressed. I have a public face, and a private face, and the two are very different. I work very hard at maintaining the public face, and I have worked hard to recover from several very low points in my life. I have never said I was brain dead, simply that there was damage." how much I may never know as Doctors seem unwilling or to scared to run the tests to find out, is this because they already know what the answer  is. I just wish they would stop running for cover and do all they can to help me recover so I can have some form of normal life with my family, they deserve to be happy to don’t they.

Malcolm Justice

WHAT A HARD LIFE HAS TAUGHT ME

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” 

AND

“I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” 

AND

“The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.” 

AND

“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”

ALSO

“There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.”

AND JUST SOMETIMES 

“It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane for a while.” 

BUT

It is only once you have given up that you have failed.

WHEN THINGS IN YOUR LIFE SEEM TOO MUCH TO HANDLE

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers....

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full.

...

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.

The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was

Full.

They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full..

The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed..

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car..

The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put

The sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children.

Spend time with your parents.

Visit with grandparents.

Take your spouse out to dinner.

Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter.

Set your priorities.

The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented.

The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.'

The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

LIFE BOOKS FOR KIDS IN CARE

click on the link to read about life books The Lifebook works a lot like a baby book, but it is supposed to help kids in foster care talk about the trauma they've experienced.when they are old enough to cope with it 

http://www.wbez.org/news/lifebooks-help-kids-foster-care-track-their-history-112056 

Press release by CLAN NZ

"Following this week’s statement by the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT), a new advocacy group, CLAN NZ, claims New Zealanders’ human rights have been violated yet again, by the State that violated their rights as children.

UNCAT, in their concluding observations of New Zealand’s recent 6th Periodic Review, called on the New Zealand Government to respect their obligations to the Convention Against Torture on the matter of failing to provide adequate redress to over a thousand people who were historically abused as children while in NZ State run institutions. 

Between the years 1950 - 1990 approximately 200,000 (190,620) New Zealand children were in State care. Many of them were subjected to physical, psychological and/or sexual abuse. The legacy of this abuse has lasted throughout their lives.

Care Leavers Australasia Network NZ (CLAN NZ) is calling on the NZ Government to face up to its past and hold an independent, open and accountable inquiry (Royal Commission) into what went on in their institutions with regards to historic child abuse. A NZ Royal Commission would need to have full statutory powers to compel witnesses and demand evidence.

Spokesperson Netta Christian said CLAN recommends that the NZ Royal Commission would need to be all-encompassing, in that it should cover all people in New Zealand who were in institutional care or other forms of out-of-home residential care, as a state ward or as a child whose parents placed them into care, as a child or youth (or both). This would include all church homes; children’s homes; orphanages; group homes; detention centres; non-kinship or kinship foster care. CLAN also recommends that it cover all forms of abuse and neglect and unpaid labour.

“A Royal Commission would create a safe platform for many people to come forward and testify,” said Ms Christian. “With what we are currently seeing in Australia, what we have seen in Ireland and what is about to start in the UK (with our own New Zealand judge Lowell Goddard leading the UK sex abuse inquiry), it would be quite absurd to assume that New Zealand did not have the same problems, despite Prime Minister John Key and NZ Social Development Minister Paula Bennett stating that enough is already being done.”

CLAN considers the establishment of an adequate redress/compensation system for survivors or care leavers would have to be an essential part of the inquiry. “Survivors are entitled to redress for the loss of their childhoods, the loss of their families and the misery they have continued to endure throughout their lives,” Ms Christian explains. “Many survivors and victims of child sexual abuse are broken, some beyond repair. Many have taken their own lives. No amount of money can buy back what they have lost.”

Therefore redress should have two purposes – firstly to assist in providing funds for survivors and victims of abuse to seek out counsellors and psychologists of their own choosing to start their healing journey. “There should be no limits on counselling and psychological services for care leavers and their families. We know that the trauma has been passed on through the generations.” 

The second purpose would be to provide an amount of money in compensation - financial redress. “Whatever the amount decided, redress payments should be available in instalments if that is what people choose,” says Ms Christian, and CLAN also believes those who have received compensation in the past should still be entitled to apply.

Many care leavers are older and have complex medical and psychological needs. Priority access to essential services such as legal, medical, dental and housing is also needed. Ms Christian suggests there should be additional financial assistance to help care leavers find their parents and siblings or the graves of their parents and siblings

Additionally, there needs to be major improvements to the way records are provided to care leavers. New Zealand still has private and government organisations that hold information but deny care leavers access to their own personal histories. “For people in their 70s, 80s and 90s, desperate to trace family members they never knew, this particular cruelty should not be allowed to continue.”

Many New Zealand organisations collectively failed in their duty of care to these children. People in authority often knew what was going on and did nothing. For example the police often caught children who ran away from the orphanages, refused to believe their stories of abuse, and returned them straight back to the homes from which they were trying to escape, no questions asked.

Ms Christian insists it is time for action - and justice - for the generations of New Zealand children who deserved so much better than the neglectful, cruel and abusive treatment they received living in the State welfare system. “We’ve got to stop pretending that it didn’t happen here.”

Netta Christian
CLAN NZ
(Care Leavers Australasia Network NZ)

Please click on link to read about child abuse in #NZ and then if you like sign the Petition

    https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/The_New_Zealand_Government_Launch_a_Royal_Commission_into_Instituional_historical_child_abuse/?cCvkZib … 

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS on the 6th periodic report of NEW ZEALAND

Committee against Torture

ADVANCE UNEDITED VERSION

1.        The  Committee  against  Torture  considered  the  sixth  periodic  reports  of  New Zealand (CAT/C/NZL/6) at its 1292nd and 1295th meetings, held on 21 and 22 April 2015 (see CAT/C/SR.1292 and 1295), and adopted at its 1312nd and 1314th meetings, held on 5 and 6 May 2015 (see CAT/C/SR.1312 and 1314), the following concluding observations.

A.    Introduction

2.        The Committee welcomes the interactive dialogue held with the State party’s high- level multisectoral delegation, as well as the additional information and explanation provided by the delegation to the Committee.

B.    Positive aspects

3.        The Committee welcomes the State party’s ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention of the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (OP-CRC-SC).

4.        The Committee welcomes the legislative and administrative changes in areas of relevance to the Convention, including:

(a)      Amendments  to  Family  Court  legislation,  to  enable  faster  more  fluid resolutions;

(b)      The introduction of Police Safety Orders, to protect women and their families when police cannot arrest someone for family violence due to insufficient evidence;

(c)      The commencement of the Immigration Act 2009, that entered into force on

29 November 2010, which prohibits expulsion to a place where a person faces a risk of torture and limits the situations in which asylum seekers may be detained.

(d)      The  enactment  of  the  Immigration  Amendment  Act  2013,  which  gives agencies the time needed to make enquiries into the backgrounds of groups of individuals, pending decisions on refugee or protection claims;

(e)      The enactment of the Victims of Crime Reform, which aims to enhance victims’ rights and role in criminal justice processes, and improve the responses of government agencies to victims of crime;

(f)       The  enactment of  the  “Vulnerable Children  Act”  with  new measures to protect children.

5.        The Committee takes note of the legislative initiatives in areas of relevance to the Convention and encourages their adoption, including the introduction of a Bill to establish Victims’ Orders Against Violent Offenders, to reduce the likelihood that victims have unwanted contact with their perpetrators.

6.        The  Committee  welcomes  the  efforts  of  the  State  party  to  give  effect  to  the

Convention, including:

(a)      The  release  of  the  Children’s  Action  Plan  for  Vulnerable  Children,  of

October 2012;

(b)      The adoption by the Government, in 2013, of a broadened New Zealand’s

definition of trafficking which now includes the “exploitative purpose”;

(c)      The establishment by the Government of a Ministerial Group on Family Violence and Sexual Violence in December 2014, jointly led by the Ministers of Justice and Social Development.

7.        The Committee notes with appreciation the existence of a vibrant civil society that contributes significantly to the monitoring of torture and ill-treatment, thereby facilitating the effective implementation of the Convention in the State party.

C.    Principal subjects of concern and recommendations

Incorporation of the Convention in national legislation

8.        Bearing in mind its previous concluding observations (CAT/C/NZL/CO/5, para. 4) the Committee remains concerned that the Convention has not been fully incorporated into domestic law. The Committee further notes that judicial decisions make little reference to international human rights instruments, including the Convention. (art.2)

The Committee reiterates its previous concluding observations and recommend that the State Party should:

(a)      Enact comprehensive legislation to incorporate into domestic law the provisions of the Convention;

(b)      Strengthen the current mechanisms to ensure compatibility of domestic law with the Convention; and

(c)      Organize training programmes for the judiciary on the provisions of the

Convention and the jurisprudence of the Committee.

National Preventive Mechanism

9.        The  Committee welcomes the  work of  the  designated five  existing institutions forming the National Preventive Mechanism and coordinated by the New Zealand Human Rights Commission. However, it notes that the Children’s Commissioner and the Independent Police Conduct Authority have not received sufficient resources and that the number of staff is inadequate to enable these bodies to fulfil their mandate (art. 2).

The State party should strengthen the National Preventive Mechanism (NPMs) and the five entities composing it by increasing without delay the funding available and ensure that all five entities are staffed with an appropriate number of personnel. The State party should also support the NPMs in developing and maintaining a collective identity through, inter alia, joint visits and joint public reports, harmonized working methods, shared expertise and enhanced coordination.

Independent Police Conduct Authority

10.      The Committee is concerned at the mandate of the Independent Police Conduct Authority which does not allow this institution to fully investigate and initiate prosecution of perpetrators. The Committee is also concerned that the law leaves to the police the power to initiate investigations on the police itself, raising questions about the independence of such investigations. (art. 4, 9, 11, 13)

The State party should ensure that the Independent Police Conduct Authority is equipped with  a  broader  mandate and  full  independence in  order  to  investigate promptly, effectively and impartially all reports of violence. In particular, such investigations should not be undertaken by or under the authority of the police or military, but by an independent body.

Violence against women

11.      While welcoming the measures adopted by the State party to prevent and combat violence against women (paras. 5 and 6(d) above), the Committee notes with concern reports on the persistence of violence against women, and particularly its disproportionate occurrence on Māori women. The Committee is particularly concerned at information received that while 90 per cent of the cases of sexual violence remain unreported, statistics also show that the number of applications for safety orders have decreased since 2010, even though the number of family violence investigations have increased over the same period. Moreover, the Committee is concerned at the lack of proper funding for specialist sexual violence services, including by specialists, which reflect the diversity in the States Parties’ communities. (arts. 2, 12, 13, 14 and 16).

In light of the persistent occurrence of violence against women, the Committee recalls its General Comment No. 2 on implementation of article 2 by States parties, and urges the State party to redouble its efforts to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women throughout its territory by, inter alia:

(a)      Taking necessary measures to encourage and facilitate the lodging of complaints by victims and to address effectively the barriers that may prevent women from reporting acts of violence against them, including by ensuring that education professionals,  health-care  providers  and  social  workers  are  fully  familiar  with relevant legal provisions, trained to recognize the signs of violence against women and are capable of complying with their obligation to report cases;

(b)      Ensuring the effective enforcement of the existing legal framework by promptly, effectively and impartially investigating all reports of violence and prosecuting and punishing perpetrators in accordance with the gravity of their acts;

(c)      Strengthening  public  awareness-raising  activities  to  combat  violence against women and gender stereotypes;

(d)      Increasing its efforts to combat violence against indigenous women;

(e)      Guaranteeing in practice that all victims benefit from protection and have access to adequately funded medical and legal aid, psychosocial counselling and social support schemes;

(f)       Removing the  cultural and  financial barriers to  accessing  protection orders by removing or reducing the costs associated;

(g)      Developing and implementing a comprehensive national sexual violence prevention strategy by further intensifying community-based approaches to combat violence against women, with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.

Trafficking in persons

12.      While welcoming the progress in combating trafficking in persons (para. 6(c) above) the Committee is concerned that human trafficking remains, however, a matter of concern, as the State party reportedly continues to be a destination country for foreign men and women subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking and a source country for children subjected to sex trafficking within the country. The Committee notes also that despite the current situation only a limited number of trafficking cases have been recently prosecuted under its anti-trafficking legislation (arts. 2, 12, 13, 14 and 16).

The State party should:

(a)     Vigorously enforce the existing legislative framework and promptly, thoroughly  and  effectively  investigate,  prosecute  and  punish  with  appropriate penalties trafficking in persons and related practices;

(b)      Enhance   international   cooperation   to   combat   human   trafficking, including through bilateral agreements, and monitor its impact.

(c)      Provide specialized training to public officials, including on the Protocol to  Prevent,  Suppress and  Punish  Trafficking in  Persons,  Especially Women  and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime;

(d)      Adopt affective means to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish acts of trafficking, and conduct nationwide awareness-raising and media campaigns about the criminal nature of such acts;

(e)      Provide effective remedy to all victims of the crime of trafficking;

(f)       Provide the Committee with comprehensive disaggregated data on the number of investigations, prosecutions and sentences handed down for human trafficking, and the provision of redress to the victims.

Arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons deprived of liberty

13.      Bearing in mind its previous concluding observations (CAT/C/NZL/CO/5, para. 9) and   the   Subcommittee   on   Prevention   of   Torture   (SPT)   country   visit   report (CAT/OP/NZL/1, paras. 33-34), the Committee is concerned at reports that, despite remedial measures taken by authorities, overcrowding remains a problem in many places of deprivation of liberty. The Committee is concerned at reports that, in a number of places of deprivation of liberty, the material conditions and health-care services, in particular mental health  services,  are  inadequate.  The  Committee  is  concerned  at  provisions  of  the Corrections Amendment Act 2013 which, inter alia, authorises mandatory strip-searching of prisoners in a broad range of circumstances. Finally, the Committee is further concerned at information received that the rate of violence between prisoners and the rate of assaults of prisoners on guards is higher in the privately-run Mt. Eden Corrections Facility than in other comparable public correction facilities. (arts. 2, 11 and 16).

The State party should strengthen its efforts to bring the conditions of detention in all places of deprivation of liberty in line with relevant international norms and standards, including inter alia the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules), in particular by:

(a)     Continuing to reduce overcrowding, particularly through the wider application of non-custodial measures as an alternative to imprisonment, in the light of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (Tokyo Rules);

(b)      Ensuring that adequate mental health care is provided for all persons deprived of their liberty;

(c)      Amending the Corrections Amendment Act 2013 to the extent required to remove inconsistencies with the provision of the Convention.

While taking note of the statement made by the Representatives of New Zealand that “contract-managed prisons must comply with the same domestic laws, international standards and obligations relating to prisoners welfare and management as publicly managed prisons”, the Committee recommends that the State Party should ensure that privately-run places of detention fully comply with those laws, standards and obligations.

Indigenous people in the criminal justice system

14.      While noting with satisfaction the efforts and subsequent measures taken by the State party to address the situation of indigenous people like, inter alia, the Turning of the Tide Prevention Strategy and the Creating Lasting Change 2011–2015 Strategy, the Committee remains concerned at information received that indigenous people continue to be  disproportionately affected  by  incarceration.  The  Committee  is  also  concerned  at information received that while making up 15% of the State Party’s population, Māori comprise 45% of arrests and over 50% of prison inmates, moreover more than 60% of female inmates are Māori (arts. 2, 11 and 16).

The  State  party  should  increase  its  efforts  to  address  the  overrepresentation of indigenous people in prisons and to reduce recidivism, in particular its underlying causes, by fully implementing the Turning of the Tide Prevention Strategy through the overall judicial system and by intensifying and strengthening community-based approaches with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders and increased participation of Māori civil society organizations.

Excessive use of seclusion in mental health facilities

15.    While welcoming the adoption of the Mental Health and Addiction Service Development Plan 2012-2017 aiming at eliminating the practice of seclusion in the State Party and the commitment by the Ministry of Social Development to the Minister responsible that all historic abuse claims with respect to that department will be closed by the end of 2020, the Committee is concerned at information received on the persistent use of seclusion in Mental Health facilities for purposes of punishment, discipline and protection, as  well  as  for  health-related reasons.  The  Committee  further  notes  that  a significant number of victims have been secluded for more than 48 hours and that Māori are more likely to be secluded. The Committee is concerned at information that the State Party is continuing to include in new psychiatric facilities cells specifically designed for solitary confinement.  The Committee is concerned that, according to information received from non-governmental sources, sixty to seventy percent of people in detention have either a learning disability or mental illness. The Committee further notes that the State party failed to investigate or to hold any individual accountable for the nearly 200 allegations of torture and ill-treatment against minors at Lake Alice hospital. The Committee also notes the lack of relevant statistical information (art. 16, 11 and 14).

The State party should:

(a)      Limit the use of solitary confinement and seclusion as a measure of last resort, for as short a time as possible, under strict supervision and with the possibility of judicial review;

(b)      Prohibit  the  use  of  solitary  confinement  and  seclusion  for  juveniles, persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, pregnant women, women with infants and breastfeeding mothers, in prison and in all health-care institutions, both public and private;

(c)      Conduct   prompt,   impartial   and   thorough   investigations   into   all allegations of ill-treatment in prisons and health-care institutions, both public and private; prosecute persons suspected of ill-treatment and, if found guilty, ensure that they  are  punished  according  to  the  gravity  of  their  acts;  and  provide  effective remedies and redress to the victims;

(d)      Compile and regularly publish comprehensive disaggregated data on the use of solitary confinement and seclusion.

Juvenile justice

16.      Bearing in mind its previous concluding observations (CAT/C/NZL/CO/5, para. 8), the Committee remains concerned at the gaps in the protection of juveniles in the State party’s criminal justice system (arts. 11 and 16).

The State party should take the necessary measures to ensure the proper functioning of the justice system in compliance with international standards. In particular, the State party should:

(a)      Ensure full implementation of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules  for  the  Administration of  Juvenile  Justice  (Beijing  Rules)  and  the  United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh Guidelines);

(b)      Ensure  that  juvenile  detainees  and  prisoners  under  18  are  held separately from adults, in line with the provisions of the Beijing Rules (rules 13.4 and

26.3) and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their

Liberty (rules 17, 28 and 29);

(c)      Resort to alternatives to incarceration, taking into account the provisions of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (Tokyo Rules) and the Bangkok Rules.

Use of electrical discharge weapons (tasers)

17.      While welcoming the establishment of a Community Tactical Options Reference Group to liaise over the issues relating to the use of force by the police confirming the information provided by the delegation that the use of  electrical discharge weapons is tightly regulated and controlled in each jurisdiction and  is subjected to oversight and scrutiny processes, the Committee is concerned at reports of cases of inappropriate or excessive use (arts. 2, 12, 13, 14 and 16).

The State party should ensure that electrical discharge weapons are used exclusively in extreme and limited situations, where there is a real and immediate threat to life or risk of serious injury, as a substitute for lethal weapons, and by trained law enforcement personnel only. The State party should revise the regulations governing the use of such weapons, with a view to establishing a high threshold for their use, and expressly prohibit their use on children and pregnant women. The Committee is of the

view that electrical discharge weapons should not form part of the equipment of custodial staff in places of deprivation of liberty. The Committee recommends the State  party  to  provide  more  stringent instructions to  law  enforcement personnel authorized to use electric discharge weapons, and to strictly monitor and supervise their use through mandatory reporting and review of each use.

Non-refoulement and mandatory immigration detention

18.      While welcoming the information provided by the State Party on the comprehensive system put into place to assist asylum seekers, the Committee is concerned at bills introduced into Parliament that would reduce some of the existing statutory standards of protection of asylum-seekers and undocumented migrants, in particular at the Immigration Amendment Act 2013, which inter alia allows the detention of “mass arrivals groups” of asylum seekers for up to six months, and at policies and practices currently applied in relation to persons who, irregularly arrive in the State party (arts. 2, 3, 11 and 16).

The State party should adopt the necessary measures with a view to:

(a)      Ensure  full  compliance  with  its  obligations  under  article  3  of  the

Convention in respect of non-refoulement;

(b)      Ensure that detention should be only applied as a  last resort, when determined to be strictly necessary and proportionate in each individual case, and for as short a period as possible;

(c)      Establish, in case it is necessary and proportionate that a person should be detained, statutory time limits for detention and access to an effective judicial remedy to review the necessity of the detention;

(d)      Adopt all necessary measures to  ensure that stateless persons whose asylum claims were refused and refugees with adverse security or character assessments are not held in detention indefinitely, including by resorting to  non- custodial measures and alternatives to closed immigration detention.

(e)       Ensure  that  effective  measures  are  in  place  to  identify  as  early  as possible all victims of torture among asylum seekers and among other persons in need of  international protection, and provide them with priority access to  the refugee determination procedure and access to treatment for urgent conditions;

(f)        Provide a thorough medical and psychological examination and report, considering application of the procedures set out in the Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Istanbul Protocol), by adequately trained independent health experts, with the support of professional interpreters, when signs of torture or traumatization have been detected during the personal interviews and, on that basis, provide access to immediate rehabilitation;

(g)      Provide regular training on the procedures established in the Istanbul Protocol to asylum officers and health experts participating in the asylum determination procedure, including training on detecting psychological traces of torture and on gender-sensitive approaches.

Redress, including compensation and rehabilitation, for victims of torture

19.      While welcoming the commitment of the State Party to provide compensation to victims of historic claims of abuse, the Committee is concerned at the fact that victims have not  been  awarded  with  full  redress,  including  compensation  and  rehabilitation,  as prescribed by general comment No. 3 (2012) on the implementation of article 14 by States

parties. The Committee further notes that the Prisoners' and Victims' Claims (Continuation and Reform) Amendment Act 2013 restricts the circumstances in which the courts are able to award compensation to prisoners victim of acts that amount to torture and ill-treatment.

Recalling its general comment No. 3 (2012), the Committee recommends the State Party to amend the provisions of the Prisoners’ and Victims' Claims (Continuation and Reform) Amendment Act 2013 that might be inconsistent with the aim of the Convention. The State party should establish the legislative and structural framework necessary for ensuring that all victims of torture receive redress, including medical and psychological assistance, full compensation and the means for full rehabilitation.

Withdrawal of reservation to article 14

20.      While  noting  the  explanations  provided  by  the  delegation,  the  Committee  is concerned that the State party has maintained its reservation to article 14 of the Convention, which leaves at the discretion of the Attorney-General of New Zealand the right to award compensation to torture victims, is incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Convention, as well as with its obligation to ensure the rights of victims of torture to a fair and adequate compensation including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. (art. 14)

The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (CAT/C/NZL/CO/5, para. 14) and urges the State party to consider withdrawing its reservation to article 14 of the Convention and ensure the provision of fair and adequate compensation through its civil jurisdiction to all victims of torture.

Follow-up procedure

21.      The Committee requests the State party to provide, by 15 May 2016, follow-up information in response to the Committee’s recommendations contained in paragraph 9 concerning the National Preventive Mechanism, paragraph 10 on the Independent Police Conduct  Authority and  paragraph 15  on  excessive  use  of  seclusion in  mental  health facilities.

Other issues

22.     The Committee invites the State party to become a party to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

23.      The State party is  requested to  disseminate widely the  report submitted to  the Committee and the present concluding observations, in all appropriate languages, through official websites, the media and non-governmental organizations.

 24.      The State party is invited to submit its next report, which will be its seventh periodic report, by 15 May 2019. For that purpose, the Committee will, in due course, transmit to the State party a list of issues prior to reporting, considering that the State party has accepted to report to the Committee under the optional reporting procedure.

JUSTICE GODDARD and the CHILD ABUSE INQUIRY

The New Zealand experience

• Bolt Burdon Kemp
• Sam Benton
• New Zealand, United Kingdom
• April 29 2015 
• 

Author page »

The recent selection of panel members and the publication of the terms of reference for the Independent Child Abuse Inquiry – now called the Statutory Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse – means that the long frustrated and delayed process can finally commence.

At Bolt Burdon Kemp, we have previously written a number of blogs about this process.  The importance of the Inquiry, both to victims of abuse and also to the entire country, cannot be overstated.  While we support the Inquiry and its goals, however, we must remain cautious and objective about how it develops.

For instance, the appointment of New Zealand High Court Judge Lowell Goddard to chair the Inquiry has been met with guarded optimism by most.  The question of Justice Goddard’s independence from the ‘baggage’ and politics of the Inquiry, a question that doomed her predecessors, is assumed by most to be a non-issue.

Having practised as one of the only specialist child abuse lawyers in New Zealand for over eight years, primarily dealing with abuse in Staterun institutions, I have to ask – what of Justice Goddard’s independence fromNew Zealand’s baggage?

This is not to suggest that Justice Goddard has any ties to the establishment.  Indeed, earlier this year Justice Goddard expressed doubt as to the existence of such an institution in New Zealand – which is certainly a debatable position, particularly for a former Deputy Solicitor-General.  The topic of this post, however, is this: as a New Zealander, will the new Chair be impacted by views held by those in power ‘back home’ regarding the value of child abuse inquiries?

The approach to child abuse inquiries in New Zealand

In its “exhaustive” worldwide search for an Inquiry Chair, the Foreign Office cannot have overlooked the fact that New Zealand holds the dubious distinction of lagging behind most countries in the Commonwealth (and indeed in the Western World) in its approach to child abuse.  Successive Governments, to date, have resisted all calls for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into child abuse in its own country.

Official responses to such calls for an inquiry have been dismissive, downplaying the scale and significance of the issue.  It is incredible to assume that New Zealand is somehow unique among Western nations innot suffering from systemic child abuse.

The state of child abuse litigation in New Zealand

When recently questioned by the Home Affairs Committee, Justice Goddard expressed doubt that there was anything like the scale and multi-faceted nature of the problems in the UK Inquiry which may have taken place in New Zealand.  This response echoes the view of the New Zealand Government.

Indeed, as a Judge in the Wellington High Court, Justice Goddard would undoubtedly be aware of the hundreds of civil child abuse claims currently filed against the Government in that Court, some of which have not advanced for nearly a decade, not to mention the hundreds of claims that lawyers for the victims advise have yet to be filed in that Court.

Justice Goddard would most likely be aware of the hundreds of settlements that have already been reached in other such claims against the State, many of which were reached with clients who had no legal representation.

She would most likely also be aware of concerns expressed by New Zealand’s Human Rights Commission and the lawyers for hundreds of claimants about the Wellington High Court’s role in assisting the State in denying justice to these claimants.  In 2010, the United Nations Committee Against Torture recommended that New Zealand:

“…should take appropriate measures to ensure that allegations of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in the “historic cases” are investigated promptly and impartially, perpetrators duly prosecuted, and the victims accorded redress, including adequate compensation and rehabilitation.”

New Zealand is shortly coming before the United Nations Committee Against Torture for review once more and there have been a number ofsubmissions relating to the State’s lack of response to this recommendation.

In February 2015, RadioNZ interviewed guests (including a District Court Judge and the New Zealand Minister of Social Development) on three occasions about the backlog of hundreds of outstanding abuse claims, mostly relating to New Zealand’s Ministry of Social Development.

While the radio debate largely centred on how quickly the remaining claims would be able to be resolved, a matter about which there is considerable dispute, both the scale of the claims and the New Zealand Government’s failure to respond to these in an adequate or timely manner cannot be denied.

It remains to be seen whether Justice Goddard will demonstrate her independence from the state of denial that exists in the New Zealand Government and Courts.  For the sake of all survivors of child abuse inthis country, I can only hope that she does.