The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) urged New Zealand on Thursday to take stronger action to reduce its rising prison population and better support its independent monitoring mechanism following a trip to the country.

Aisha Shujune Muhammad, head of the SPT delegation, cautioned that prison population forecasts in New Zealand over the next decade are “concerning,” noting that current planning centers on “building new prison facilities” opposed to developing “alternatives to detention.” She also emphasized the disproportionate impact of imprisonment on Māori and Pasifika communities, who are already overrepresented in the system.

The SPT shared that it will provide the New Zealand government with a confidential report highlighting its findings, hoping the government wil

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