03361 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: Has the Minister received any advice on the operating procedures of the Red Cross in Afghanistan relating to any mistreatment of prisoners after our armed forces pass them over to Afghan jurisdiction?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:05/05/2011
Answer Text: Under the UN mandate, New Zealand (and other countries) are in Afghanistan to support the Afghan Government. Our mission is to help build the capability of the Afghan nation to govern and manage in accordance with international norms. On joint operations, the Afghan forces are the detaining authority, not the NZDF. In respect of any persons that have been detained by Afghan authorities during operations where New Zealand Defence Force personnel have been present, I have not received any advice suggesting they have been mistreated. I received advice on the operating procedures of the International Committee of the Red Cross from the Head of the ICRC Delegation when I visited Afghanistan in August 2010.
Attachment: None
Date Received:19/05/2011
03358 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: What reports if any, has the Minister received of mistreatment by United States personnel of Afghan prisoners taken by New Zealand Special Air Service (SAS) personnel in Band e Timur, south Helmand province, Afghanistan, on 24 May 2002, and passed into US jurisdiction?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:05/05/2011
Answer Text: : It is acknowledged that, in 2002, the treatment of some Afghan prisoners, originally detained by members of the New Zealand SAS, was not in accordance with the standards our forces maintain, once they had been handed over to United States forces. Senior New Zealand officers present complained about this at the time.
Attachment: None
Date Received:16/05/2011
03367 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: How many times and on what dates have New Zealand officials visited the Taliban commander detained by the New Zealand SAS on 30 January 2011; what is the name of the facility in which he was detained at the time of each visit?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:05/05/2011
Answer Text: The Taliban commander detained by the New Zealand SAS on 30 January 2011 has so far been visited by New Zealand officials on two occasions; 15 February and 25 April 2011. On the occasion of the first visit, the detainee was being held in the Battlefield Detention Site at Bagram Air Field. On the second visit, he was being held at the joint United States-Afghan Detention Facility in Parwan. The first visit was conducted by the medical officer and legal officer serving with the New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan. The medical officer conducted a medical examination of the detainee. The second visit was conducted by the Legal Staff Officer, New Zealand Forces – Afghanistan, who has been committed to HQ ISAF for the purpose of assisting the Ambassador with detainee monitoring, among other tasks. The detainee will be visited again in May and so on, on a monthly basis until he is either released or brought before an Afghan judicial authority.
Attachment: None
Date Received:16/05/2011
03360 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: Does the New Zealand Defence Force or the New Zealand Government have an agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross with regards to detention related matters in Afghanistan
?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:05/05/2011
Answer Text: The Government has undertaken to provide the International Committee of the Red Cross with the details of any person who is detained by New Zealand forces in Afghanistan. The Government has honoured this undertaking.
Attachment: None
Date Received:16/05/2011
03273 (2011) Published – Foreign Affairs – Normal Reply
Question: Is the text of the Afghan government’s assurance regarding the treatment of prisoners, dated 12 August 2009 and provided to the New Zealand government now able to be made public, either in full or in part?
Portfolio: Foreign Affairs
Minister: Hon Murray McCully
Date Lodged:03/05/2011
Answer Text: The text was negotiated on a confidential basis with the Afghan Government.
Attachment: None
Date Received:12/05/2011
03362 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: When will the Minster release a report he told Morning Report on August 16 last year he had asked for regarding, what, if any role New Zealand soldiers have had in securing prisoners who may have ended up in National Directorate of Security in Kabul?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:05/05/2011
Answer Text: I will be releasing a report that addresses these issues up to the present time in the near future.
Attachment: None
Date Received:12/05/2011
03327 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: Did the New Zealand SAS take an Afghan prisoner during a mission with the Afghan Crisis Response Unit (CRU) in Wardak Province mid-2010, and hand that prisoner over to the CRU, who handed the prisoner over to the Afghan National Army, and then the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS)?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:04/05/2011
Answer Text: No. The NZSAS was not involved in any operation in Wardak Province in mid-2010.
Attachment: None
Date Received:07/05/2011
03033 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: What steps has the New Zealand government taken to monitor for any subsequent mistreatment of prisoners captured during joint operations between the New Zealand SAS and the Afghan Response Unit from September 2009 to the present?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:28/04/2011
Answer Text: Under international law, the New Zealand Government is responsible for monitoring the treatment of detainees captured by its forces. One detainee has been captured by the New Zealand SAS since September 2009. That detainee was transferred to US custody and is being held in a secure, clean and safe facility which is professionally operated. New Zealand representatives have visited the detainee on a regular basis, most recently in late April, to ensure that his needs are being met and that the detainee is not being mistreated.
Attachment: None
Date Received:07/05/2011
03023 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: On how many occasions, from September 2009 to the present, has the New Zealand SAS taken prisoners during joint operations between the New Zealand SAS and the Afghan Crisis Response Unit?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:28/04/2011
Answer Text: When the New Zealand SAS conducts joint operations with the Afghan Crisis Response Unit, it does not detain Afghans. The taking of prisoners in joint Afghan-New Zealand operations on Afghan territory is properly the role of the Afghan authorities. The NZSAS has taken one prisoner since September 2009. This was done in an operation conducted independently by the NZSAS in response to a tasking from the International Security Assistance Force.
Attachment: None
Date Received:07/05/2011
03022 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: How many times since June 2010 have New Zealand SAS soldiers been in the vicinity when Afghan prisoners have been taken during joint operations between the New Zealand SAS and the Afghan Crisis Response Unit?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:28/04/2011
Answer Text: In my answer to this question in the House on 3 May I said that I had been advised by the NZDF that people had been arrested by the Afghan Crisis Response Unit on 24 occasions when New Zealand has been in support. Since that answer, I have received a further updated report from Afghanistan that the Afghan Crisis Response Unit has arrested people on 35 occasions when New Zealand has been in support.
Attachment: None
Date Received:07/05/2011
03021 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: Did the New Zealand SAS take an Afghan prisoner during a mission with the Afghan Crisis Response Unit (CRU) in Wardak Province mid-2010, and hand that prisoner over to the CRU, who handed the prisoner over to the Afghan National Army?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:28/04/2011
Answer Text: No. The NZSAS was not involved in any operation in Wardak Province in mid-2010.
Attachment: None
Date Received:07/05/2011
03005 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: Did the New Zealand SAS detain Afghans during a raid on the Tiger International offices in Kabul on 24 December 2010 and later hand some or all of those prisoners over to officers of the Afghan National Directorate of Security?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:28/04/2011
Answer Text: No. These NZSAS were fired upon at the commencement of this operation. They returned fire and then asked everyone to remain in place or get down for a few minutes until Afghan authorities took over. Neither the NZSAS nor the Afghan authorities detained anyone at the conclusion of the operation.
Attachment: None
Date Received:07/05/2011
03004 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: After the New Zealand SAS took an Afghan prisoner during a mission with the Afghan Crisis Response Unit (CRU) in Wardak Province mid-2010, and handed that prisoner over to the CRU, who handed the prisoner over to the Afghan National Army, where the prisoner was mistreated, did the SAS subsequently complain about the mistreatment?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:28/04/2011
Answer Text: The NZSAS was not involved in any operation in Wardak Province in mid-2010.
Attachment: None
Date Received:07/05/2011
03003 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: What was the nature of the New Zealand government’s checking, if any, regarding possible mistreatment in American custody of the Afghan prisoners taken by New Zealand SAS personnel in Band e Timur, south Helmand province, Afghanistan, on 24 May 2002 and handed over to American jurisdiction?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:28/04/2011
Answer Text: I refer the member to my response to question for oral answer No. 5, 3 May 2011.
Attachment: None
Date Received:07/05/2011
03002 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: Does the New Zealand government consider it has a role in offering an apology, or compensation, to those Afghans who may have been mistreated subsequent to them being taken by New Zealand SAS personnel in Band e Timur, south Helmand province, Afghanistan, on 24 May 2002 and handed over to United States jurisdiction?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:28/04/2011
Answer Text: No. New Zealand did not mistreat any persons who were detained. NZDF officers raised concerns about American procedures for detainees at the time. Subsequently, there have been major improvements in the American handling of detainees.
Attachment: None
Date Received:07/05/2011
03001 (2011) Published – Defence – Normal Reply
Question: Were Afghan prisoners taken by New Zealand SAS personnel in Band e Timur, south Helmand province, Afghanistan, on 24 May 2002 and handed over to United States jurisdiction?
Portfolio: Defence
Minister: Dr Wayne Mapp
Date Lodged:28/04/2011
Answer Text: Yes. The NZSAS did detain personnel after a raid in Band e Timur in 2002. Those detainees were handed over to American jurisdiction. Subsequently, NZDF officers complained about the procedures that the Americans used for detainees at that time. These procedures have since been improved.
Attachment: None
Date Received:07/05/2011