The bureaucrat appointed to head the agency responding to victims of state abuse presented a report to the UN in 2015 that failed to acknowledge the torture that occurred at the adolescent unit at Lake Alice hospital.
On Tuesday the Government announced the appointment of Rajesh Chhana as chief executive of the Crown Response Unit, the agency that will respond to victims of state abuse.
However, in his role as deputy secretary of policy at the Ministry of Justice, Chhana introduced New Zealand’s report to the UN’s Committee Against Torture in 2015.
The Sixth Periodic Report was presented as part of New Zealand’s obligations in complying with the UN’s Convention Against Torture. The report was written in 2013 and the 2015 meeting was the final stage of the UN’s review.
His involvement in the Crown’s positioning back then, and presenting it to the UN, has already drawn attention of some survivors, who are questioning if he was adequately vetted by the Government before being appointed to this sensitive new role.
On Wednesday, Erica Stanford – the minister responsible for the Government’s response to the Royal Commission – said she wasn’t aware of Chhana’s previous involvement regarding the state’s record on torture, and had asked questions of the Public Service Commission regarding his appointment.