Letter to Hon Louise Upston - Urgent Investigation Required – Alleged Torture of Children at Gloriavale

Paul Thistoll
CEO
Rights Aotearoa

28 October 2025

Hon Louise Upston

Minister for Social Development and Employment
Parliament Buildings
Wellington

Urgent Investigation Required – Alleged Torture of Children at Gloriavale

Tēnā koe Minister Upston,

I write on behalf of Rights Aotearoa regarding the recently reported child disciplinary practices at Gloriavale, specifically the hand-over-mouth technique described in the New Zealand Herald on 27 October 2025[1]. Rights Aotearoa is the leading non-governmental organisation devoted to the promotion and defence of universal human rights of all New Zealanders.

The practice constitutes torture under international law

The deliberate obstruction of a child's airways to suppress crying meets the definition of torture under Article 1 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT), to which New Zealand is a State Party:

"any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as... intimidating or coercing him or a third person..."

Asphyxiation, even partial and temporary, causes severe physical suffering and terror. When systematically applied to infants and children for the purpose of "breaking their will" – as encouraged by Gloriavale founder Hopeful Christian – it constitutes torture designed to coerce behavioural compliance through infliction of suffering.

The international community has definitively classified deliberate interference with breathing as torture. Waterboarding – recognised universally as torture under UNCAT – operates on the same principle: obstruction of airways to produce the physiological experience of drowning, creating overwhelming panic and terror. Survivors describe uncontrollable fear, the sensation of imminent death, and profound psychological trauma. If covering the airways of adult detainees constitutes torture, then systematically covering the mouths and noses of infants and children – who cannot comprehend what is happening, cannot consent, and have no capacity to understand when the suffering will end – is unquestionably torture of the most severe kind. The application of such techniques to the most vulnerable members of our society represents a particularly grave breach of New Zealand's human rights obligations.

New Zealand's binding legal obligations

Under UNCAT Article 2(1), New Zealand must "take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction." Article 4 requires States Parties to ensure all acts of torture are offences under criminal law.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC), which New Zealand ratified in 1993, establishes in Article 37(a) that:

"No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

Article 19(1) requires States Parties to:

"take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse... while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child."

Domestically, section 9 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 provides:

"Everyone has the right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, degrading, or disproportionately severe treatment or punishment."

This right applies to children as much as adults – indeed, the vulnerability of infants heightens the Crown's protective obligations.

Immediate investigation is mandatory

UNCAT Article 12 states:

"Each State Party shall ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed in any territory under its jurisdiction."

The Herald's reporting, corroborated by testimony before the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care, provides more than reasonable grounds. The Commission itself heard evidence that this technique was taught systematically to parents during community meetings.

Your statement that you are "not going to rule anything in or out" is noted. However, the legal position is clear: New Zealand's obligations under international human rights law are not discretionary. Where there is credible evidence of torture being committed against children, the State must investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute.

Requested actions

Rights Aotearoa requests that you:

1. Immediately direct the New Zealand Police to open a formal criminal investigation into allegations of torture and child abuse at Gloriavale, with terms of reference that specifically address the hand-over-mouth technique and its systematic teaching;
2. Ensure Oranga Tamariki conducts urgent safety assessments of all children currently residing at Gloriavale, with particular focus on infants and young children;
3. Commission an independent review into whether current regulatory frameworks are adequate to detect and prevent torture in isolated religious communities;
4. Report publicly on the findings of any investigations and the steps taken to ensure compliance with UNCAT, UNCROC, and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990; and
5. Provide assurance that the multi-ministerial group you lead will treat these allegations with the gravity they warrant under international human rights law.

Gloriavale's spokesman's assertion that the practice is "no longer taught" does not discharge the Crown's obligation to investigate past acts of torture, nor does it provide confidence that children are currently safe. The resignation of Howard Temple following sexual offending convictions, and the school's failure of back-to-back educational audits, paint a picture of systemic institutional failure to protect children.

The Crown cannot be a passive observer where torture of children is credibly alleged. I look forward to your response outlining the concrete investigative steps your Government will take.

I have every confidence in your leadership in this gravely important matter.

Nāku noa, nā,

Paul Thistoll

CEO

Rights Aotearoa

[1] https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/minister-wont-rule-out-closing-gloriavale-amid-horrendous-abuse-claims/SLPIOC4DQVFOTFBOWGEL2O7RWI/