CONFIDENTIAL
NEW ZEALAND
Report by British High Commission, Wellington
General Observations
New Zealand has a good human rights record and we have no evidence that she is in breach of any of the require- ments of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Right No.
(i) Persons arrested must appear
before a magistrate within 48 hours. During the Government's recent campaign to trace immi- gration "overstayers" a small number (not more than half a dozen) of suspected overstayers were de- tained overnight and then released without being charged. They are entitled to bring a case for wrong- ful arrest to the courts.
Rating suggested by Post
Comment by South-West Pacific Department We think the rating under "Imprisonment without Trial" ought to be 0 rather than 1. It has yet to be proved that the over- stayers were wrongfully arrested.
In any case, this was an example of excessive zeal on the part of the police; it did not arise out of any deliberate policy of de- tention without trial. We think it is trifling to count as a blemish on its own, and we are not aware of any other examples that might indicate a trend.
(ii) There is no evidence of the use of
torture in New Zealand.
(iii) There is no evidence of the existence of
slavery in New Zealand.
(iv) The press and broadcasting systems have the same degree of freedom as the media in the United Kingdom.
(v) The legal systems of New Zealand and
Britain are for obvious reasons alike and the New Zealand Judiciary has the same degree of independence as the British.
الم
1
о
0
CONFIDENTIAL
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