Welcome to Penal Reform International's monthly e-newsletter, a round-up of PRI and other penal reform news from a variety of criminal justice and human rights resources around the world.
The views expressed in the news items below are not necessarily those of PRI.
In this month's edition:
Spotlight: Gender-sensitive approach to non-custodial sentences
Since 2015, PRI has been conducting a pioneering, multifaceted project focused on the experiences of women completing non-custodial sentences – specifically community service orders and probation orders – in Kenya, and the investigation of how best to adopt a gender-sensitive approach.
PRI has now published new gender-sensitive resources, including the model for reform, a training workshop on community sanctions for women offenders and guidelines for social investigations and pre-sentence reports.
Two new blogs on a gender-sensitive approach to probation are now also available:
Omar Phoenix Khan, who carried out the external evaluation of the project, outlines eight key points to consider when implementing a gender-sensitive approach.
Information on this project, and PRI's other work and achievements in 2016, can be found in our Annual Report 2016. Highlights include:
Photo: Prison Hospital, Kazakhstan. Credit: Karla Nur, 2014
In this blog, PRI’s Programme Officer Olivia Rope explains why criminal justice reform must form part of efforts to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The blog marks the 2017 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development– which sought to strengthen and assess progress towards six of the SDGs.
18 July 2017 marked Nelson Mandela International Day – the second since the UN agreed the revised set of Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules. On the day, PRI launched a Twitter campaign promoting our Mandela Rules resources, including PRI's:
Essex paper 3: Initial guidance on the interpretation and implementation of the Mandela Rules.
To mark Mandela Day, PRI also published an expert blog – HM Inspectorate of Prisons for England & Wales marks Nelson Mandela International Day – by Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons. In the blog, Peter Clarke explains how HMI Prisons have incorporated the Rules into their latest edition of men's prison Expectations, which set out the detailed criteria used to inspect prisons and other custodial establishments.
PRI’s regional office for Sub-Saharan Africa has conducted training for prison staff on the management of vulnerable prisoners, including the mentally ill, disabled prisoners and the elderly. The two-day workshop, held in Kampala, provided training for 18 prison staff and included an overview of the Nelson Mandela Rules and the Bangkok Rules, with a focus on provisions related to the treatment of vulnerable prisoners
Photo: Taghreed Jaber, PRI’s Regional Director in MENA, speaking at the conference.
PRI’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) office and the National Council for Human Rights in Algeria held a national conference, Security and Human Rights: the Algerian Reconciliation model. Taghreed Jaber, PRI’s Regional Director in MENA, stated that the fight against violent extremism is one of the key focuses of the work of the MENA office.
A trial in British Columbia Supreme Court could determine the future of solitary confinement rules in Canadian prisons. The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) and the John Howard Society of Canada have brought a challenge against current solitary confinement rules, arguing that they are inhuman and unconstitutional.
UNODC's World Drug Report 2017has found that more needs to be done to ensure affordable access to effective prevention, treatment and care for individuals, including those in prison settings. In particular, the report highlights the need to accelerate accessibility to hepatitis C treatment.
In a statement on World Hepatitis Day, UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, highlighted the need to grant prisoners access to hepatitis prevention and treatment services equal to those offered in communities.
PRI Regional Director receives an award for work on youth justice
PRI's Central Asia Director, Azamat Shambilov, has received an award from UNICEF Kazakhstan for his advocacy work with PRI promoting the rights of the child in Kazakhstan, including equal treatment for children in conflict with the law.
Further training: monitoring closed institutions for children in Kazakhstan
Following the launch of a monitoring groupto carry out permanent and independent public monitoring of penitentiary institutions for children in Kazakhstan, further training was held in Almaty on 11 and 12 July 2017. Experts from Kazakhstan and the UK, as well as representatives of NGOs and public monitoring commissions, were among those present.
The new websiteof La Balle aux Prisonniers (LaBAP) is now available. LaBAP is an NGO set up in 2016 which seeks to improve the living conditions of prisoners and help with their rehabilitation – first and foremost by promoting sport in prison, along with all other forms of cultural or social activity. LaBAP works in DRC, Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, France and Belgium.
