and police did not have to release their footage of an incident. Tasers are currently being updated to a two shot model, prompting concerns that they are becoming routinely used and employed in a wider variety of situations than originally anticipated. The Commission recommends that the Committee reinforces its earlier comments about the use of Tasers and, if they are retained, the importance of ensuring greater accountability and the use guidelines limiting their use only to the most extreme situations. ➢ Corrections Amendment Bill In 2010 the Committee considered that the privatisation of prisons should be monitored to ensure that persons deprived of their liberty were guaranteed all the rights enshrined in the Covenant.44Currently an amendment to the Corrections Bill is before a Select Committee. The Bill proposes to increase efficiency by removing layers of oversight, or by extending powers to additional people (including staff of privately managed prisons). The cumulative effect of some of the changes has the potential to weaken the Act’s human rights protections in significant ways. These changes appear to be in breach of binding international obligations that New Zealand has committed to. The Commission agrees with the statement in the Bill’s explanatory note that “overall, current legislation continues to provide a sound framework for the operation of the corrections system” and welcomes the commitment to “managing prisoners in a manner that is safe, secure, humane, effective and efficient”. However, greater efficiency does not require, or justify, erosion of legislative protections for people deprived of their liberty. While the nature of imprisonment means that human rights may be limited in some circumstances, any incursion into individual rights must be accompanied by appropriate safeguards. The Bill removes a number of procedural safeguards that ensure oversight and accountability around the use of coercive powers. These checks and balances are crucial in situations where the powers of the State are exercised upon those in their custody. The Commission recommends that the Committee reiterates the importance of the State ensuring that all persons deprived of their liberty are guaranteed the rights in the Covenant. ➢ High level of incarceration of Māori & Pacific people Māori form approximately 15 per cent of the population, but account for over half of the prison population.45 Pacific people comprise 11.31 per cent of all prisoners yet are only estimated to make up seven per cent of New Zealand’s population.46 To a large extent the disproportionate number of Māori in prison can be attributed to their social and economic circumstances generally, but there is an element of bias in the justice system itself which results in Māori being more likely to be apprehended and severely punished than non-Māori.47 While the Commission recognises that the Government has put in place a number of programmes to deal with Māori inequalities, the Committee should urge the State to commit to specific targets and timelines for reducing the disproportionate number of Māori in prison Immigration (Articles 2, 9(1) & 13) ➢ Conditions of Detention 44 CCPR/C/NZL/Q/5 at 3 Johnson A., Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (2010) A Road to Recovery. 46 Statistics New Zealand National Population projections accessed June 2011 at http://www.statistics.govt.nz/tools_and_services/tools/TableBuilder/population-projections-tables.aspx 47 Overrepresentation of Māori in the Criminal Justice Sector: An Exploratory Report. Department of Corrections, Wellington (2007) at 6 45 Page 16 of 35