100. The Commission, jointly with the Office of the Ombudsman, has written to Corrections to raise concerns that the Amendment Regulations do not comply with international human rights law obligations, in particular because they continue to permit the use of pepper spray in response to passive resistance, in confined spaces, and against individuals identified as high risk (such as those with underlying injuries, mental health issues, respiratory conditions, or pregnancy), as well as the use of restraints following the deployment of pepper spray. 101. The Committee may wish to: (a) Make further inquiries as to the Government’s progress in response to the outcome of the Cripps and Bassett litigation, and the steps being taken to ensure its response complies with domestic and international human rights law obligations and standards; and (b) Recommend that the Government further amend the Corrections Act 2005 and Corrections Amendment Regulations 2023 to: i. Substitute all references to “non-lethal weapons” with “less-lethal weapons”. ii. Prohibit the use of pepper spray: • in response to passive resistance; • in confined spaces; and • against individuals who have been identified as high risk (such as those with underlying injuries, mental health issues, respiratory conditions, or pregnancy). iii. Prohibit the use of restraints following the deployment of pepper spray. Conditions and treatment of persons in prisons (List of Issues items 17 and 18) General observations regarding conditions in prison 102. The Commission is aware of a number of incidents related to the treatment of prisoners which appear to fall short of the standards required under the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules). In 2018, there were reports of investigations and litigation relating to the unlawful use of covert surveillance within a number of prisons.120 In the period since the State Party’s 2019 report, Corrections have experienced ongoing staff shortages which have detrimentally impacted the minimum entitlements of people in prison. The effects of staff shortages were initially exacerbated by the additional restrictions imposed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, discussed further below. However, the Commission is aware that in the period since the Government’s COVID19 response restrictions have been lifted, people in prisons have continued to experience: 121 120 Blair Ensor, Christchurch Men's Prison illegal spying 'a can of worms' Stuff NZ (1 June 2018) available at https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/104355347/christchurch-mens-prison-illegal-spying-a-can-of-worms. 121 See Aotearoa New Zealand Human Rights Commission, Concerns about rights of people in detention during response to COVID-19 (2 April 2020) available at https://archive.hrc.co.nz/news/concerns-about-rights-people-detention-duringresponse-covid-19/; Guyon Espiner, Covid-19: Prisoners confined to cells for up to 29 hours, diary shows Radio New Zealand (1 May 2020) available at https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/415563/covid-19-prisoners-confined-to-cellsfor-up-to-29-hours-diary-shows; Matt Burrows, Auckland Prison inmates confined to cells for 44 hours straight due to 25