Welcome to Penal Reform International's monthly e-newsletter, a round-up of PRI and other penal reform news from around the world and a variety of criminal justice and human rights resources.
The views expressed in the news items below are not necessarily those of PRI.
In this month's edition
In the spotlight: Marking the Nelson Mandela Rules on Mandela Day
The Nelson Mandela Rules are a revised set of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners from 1955. The updated Rules now provide better protection and solid guidance to prison administrations, with important new provisions that include the prohibition of prolonged solitary confinement and the recognition of the duty of healthcare professionals to report torture and ill-treatment.
Read this statement by international civil society signed by PRI calling for states to renew their commitment to the fight against torture and ratification of OPCAT.
PRI attended the 32nd regular session of the Human Rights Council held between 13 June and 1 July in Geneva, Switzerland. There was a full day discussion on the human rights of women, and PRI hosted a side-event on the rights of women in conflict with the law. PRI Programme Officer, Olivia Rope presented a new report ̶ Women who kill their abusers: how do criminal justice systems respond? ̶ a collaboration between PRI and Linklaters LLP. Other issues discussed at the side-event included the impact of drug policies on women and a video message from the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture on gender perspectives in torture.
PRI also made a joint oral statement with the Quaker UN Office on violence against Indigenous women prior, during and after imprisonment. The statement highlighted the disproportionately high rates of Indigenous women in prison, the prevalence of inter-sectional discrimination based on race and gender, and the greater risks of violence in prison for Indigenous women.
This session marked the tenth anniversary of the Human Rights Council; watch this video documenting its impact over the past decade.
In its latest session, the Human Rights Council established a new mandate for an Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This decision – put forward by a group of Latin American countries – was narrowly reached and is considered an important milestone, being the first UN mandate explicitly designed for the monitoring and protection of LGBTI rights.
The United Nations General Assembly convened a high level meeting 8-10th June in New York to review the progress made toward achieving previously agreed targets in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Member states adopted a Political Declaration to guide and monitor the HIV/AIDS response with a view to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, a target agreed in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Declaration has been criticised by civil society for its exclusion of key populations, with limited references to those most at risk of contracting HIV and to services for these populations. Prisoners are one of key groups, and are five times more likely to be living with HIV than adults in the general population. A new report by UNAIDS - The Prevention Gap - uses data from 146 countries to document the global trends in HIV infections, reviews the impact of prevention measures and treatments, and identifies in which locations and populations states must make more HIV prevention investments.
The report shows that the decline in new HIV infections among adults has stalled, and concludes HIV prevention efforts need to be increased if AIDS is to be eradicated by 2030 and highlights the importance of combatting HIV in prisons.
Read this PRI blog arguing that prison populations must not be ignored in the fight against HIV. See also PRI's short briefing linking criminal justice reform with the achievement of the SDGs, including SDG 3 on health.
Kazakhstan reviewed by UN Human Rights Committee
Kazakhstan was recently reviewed by the Human Rights Committee on its implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Encouraging comments were made about the reduction in the size of the prison population overall and the provision of reintegration and rehabilitation services that continue after release. However, the Committee drew attention to the high levels of suicide, torture and overcrowding in prisons, as well as the excessive use of preventative and pre-trial detention. Concerns were also expressed about the investigation procedures for complaints of torture and the particularly poor conditions in facilities for children.
The US Department of Justice has issued a report reviewing the use of ‘restrictive housing’ (solitary confinement) in the USA. It states that restrictive housing should be used rarely, applied fairly, and subjected to reasonable constraints. The report includes a series of ‘Guiding Principles’ that are intended to inform plans for limiting the use of restrictive housing in the criminal justice system, and makes policy recommendations for the Department of Justice.
The Correctional Service of Canada has created a 360-degree virtual tour of a federal prison, with visitors able to see inside and read about cells of different security levels, health care centres, workshops, chapels and more. The tour is also accessible in HTML format.
Listen to this podcast on Canada’s introduction of scanners for prison visitors to prevent drug trafficking into the prison.
Prisoners are a high risk group for NPS use. This short report by the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction provides an overview of the current situation in terms of NPS use and harms across Europe and reviews the available health- and drug-related interventions in that area. It includes a section on prisons and custodial settings.
UNODC has published its latest world drug report. It provides a global overview of supply and demand trends for illicit drugs and discusses the world drug problem in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.
UK-based organisation, Birth Companions has published a Birth Charter for Women in Prisons in England and Wales to inform the Government’s review of the treatment of imprisoned women and their babies. It consists of a set of recommendations for the care of pregnant women and new mothers in prison, and aims to improve practice on issues ranging from antenatal care and birthing partners to breastfeeding, family visits and counselling.
Amnesty International has published a report documenting the stories of 100 women who have reported torture during detention by police and armed forces over the course of Mexico’s ‘war on drugs’. The report recognises the widespread impunity for the perpetrators of torture, and recommends fuller legal protections for women as well as the strengthening of the Government’s 2015 ‘Mechanism to Follow up on Cases of Sexual Torture Against Women’.
Updated e-course to reflect Nelson Mandela Rules
PRI’s e-course, Women in detention: putting the UN Bangkok Rules into practice, has been updated to reflect the revised Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Watch a trailer or enrol here.
At the end of June, PRI’s new Africa Office welcomed Directors or Probation and Community Service from all over the East Africa region to Kampala for the PRI’s ExTRA Project End-term Evaluation meeting. The project focused on community service as an alternative to imprisonment for petty offences and is now complete after two years of piloting the intervention across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
A documentary on the use of alternative sanctions in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia is now available. It has been produced within the framework of a recent two-year project aimed to promote the use of non-custodial sanctions in these three countries, implemented by PRI’s South Caucasus Office.
The documentary explores the relevant legislation in each country, the agencies and departments responsible for implementing non-custodial sentences and the opportunities available for offenders. It includes interviews with probation agencies, offenders and NGOs operating in the region.
PRI’s Regional Director for the South Caucasus, Tsira Chanturia, is interviewed and discusses the recent PRI project, highlighting the effective use of non-custodial and early release measures in the region as a way of challenging the overuse of imprisonment.
The documentary is in Georgian with English subtitles.
