CAT/OP/NZL/1 104. The Subcommittee is further concerned with the record-keeping system, which is in dire need of improvement. It noted that information about refugees and asylum seekers was not easily ascertainable and that some copies of court warrants and records of social allowances were missing in individual files. 105. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party expedite the rebuilding of the Mangere refugee and asylum centre, with a view to ensuring that living conditions respect the dignity of refugees and asylum seekers. 106. The State party should also, as a matter of urgency, improve record-keeping at the Mangere refugee and asylum centre, ensuring that information concerning refugees and asylum seekers is easily accessible and accurate. G. Border facilities Wellington International Airport 107. While noting that, reportedly, detention at the police station at Wellington International Airport rarely exceeded three hours, the Subcommittee was concerned that the premises did not permit detainees of different genders to be held separately, there being only one cell. Auckland Airport 108. The Subcommittee commends the material conditions of the immigration day-room facilities, where persons awaiting their flights are held for periods of normally less than three hours. It also noted the professionalism of the staff in charge of the facility. 109. The Subcommittee noted that persons of foreign origin who had been refused entry were treated differently, depending on the airline that had been arranged for their departure, because transport and the use of escorts were at the discretion of each airline. H. Transportation of detainees 110. The Subcommittee inspected two types of vehicles used by the Corrections Department for transferring prisoners by road: vans with single metal compartments for holding prisoners individually and vehicles with collective benches. Through interviews with detainees and information received from custodial staff, the Subcommittee learned that during transportation in vehicles with single “cages”, which were used most often, prisoners were routinely handcuffed and often restrained at the waist, regardless of their individual security classification. While accepting that some prisoners may require to be transported in conditions of extreme security to prevent escape, aggression or self-harm, the Subcommittee is of the view that these measures are excessive and should not be customarily applied to all prisoners at all times. Moreover, the Subcommittee considers that transfers in small cages with metal benches and without proper windows for long journeys (up to 12 hours) fall short of a humane system of transportation. The Subcommittee was also concerned that the design of the vehicles prevented both the monitoring of the prisoners’ condition by custodial staff and the effective communication of prisoners with the driver. 111. Regarding transfers of detainees by air, the Subcommittee expresses its utmost concern at the alleged practice of routinely using handcuffs, waist restraints and, in particular, at the suggestion that on some flights all prisoners are attached to a chain down the centre of the plane throughout the flight. As with transfers by road, the extreme security 20

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