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.
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In this month's edition:
Spotlight: PRI signs an agreement to support demilitarisation of the prison service in the Central African Republic
In December 2017, PRI signed an agreement with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) to provide support in developing a strategy for demilitarisation of the prison service. As part of the project, PRI will help develop a national strategy, backed up with an implementation plan, for demilitarisation of the prison service, and will help to draft standard operating procedures in line with national legislation and international standards.
An introductory visit to the Central African Republic took place in January. PRI's Executive Director Alison Hannah and Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Haitham Shibli met with a number of national and international decision-makers, accompanied by two independent international experts in penitentiary systems, Jean Charles Paras and Franck Gorsch-Chacou. PRI visited the Ngaragba Central Prison in Bambui and the women's prison in Bimbo, and held discussions with the MINUSCA Corrections Unit, the Minister of Justice, the Ministry of Defence, the Director General of the Prison service, and international donors and experts.
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We won! In a landmark moment for prison justice in Canada, the BC Supreme Court ends indefinite solitary confinement in federal prisons across Canada. Read our press release for more: https://buff.ly/2FNthba 17 December 2017
In this expert blog for PRI, Nina Champion, Head of Policy at Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET) in England, looks at the importance of prison education and the increase in prison university partnerships around the world. Educational programmes are recognised as having an impact on recidivism and reintegration by the Special Rapporteur on the right to education.
On 23 January, PRI held an expert meeting at its Head Office in London to discuss mental health in prisons. The event gathered a number of experts from around the world to provide input into a publication that will give practical guidance to front-line prison staff to identify and support prisoners' mental health needs. The publication will be launched by PRI this April, and will adopt a human rights-based and holistic approach to applying international standards, including the UN Nelson Mandela Rules.
This mid-term evaluation reports on progress achieved by PRI's project in the South Caucasus on strengthening preventive monitoring mechanisms in Georgia and Armenia, which is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands. The evaluation explains that training and tools on monitoring mental healthcare institutions fill a gap for the region's National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs). A summary of the evaluation can be viewed here.
On 17 January, a British Columbia Supreme Court judge found that the laws governing solitary confinement as an administrative measure in Canada’s federal prisons contravened the country’s charter of rights and freedoms. The judgment itself referenced the Nelson Mandela Rules in depth, noting that Rule 43 prohibits both indefinite solitary confinement, and prolonged solitary confinement (which is defined as confinement in excess of 15 days by Rule 44).
While the Correctional Service of Canada disagreed with the definition of solitary confinement in the Nelson Mandela Rules, maintaining that administrative segregation as practised in Canada did not constitute solitary confinement, Justice Peter Leask disagreed. He found that such segregation 'conform[ed] specifically to the definition of solitary confinement found in the Mandela Rules'. In his conclusion, he noted that 'The 15-day maximum prescribed by the Mandela Rules is a generous standard given the overwhelming evidence that even within that space of time an individual can suffer severe psychological harm.' He found that, nonetheless, it was a 'defensible standard'.
The decision has been hailed as 'the most significant trial court decision in the prison context that we’ve ever seen in Canadian history', and gives the federal government one year to bring its laws in line with the charter. It follows a similar judgment made by an Ontario court last month.
On 2 February, the Irish Penal Reform Trust launched its latest report, Behind the Door: Solitary Confinement in the Irish Penal System, at an event in Dublin. The report contains 25 key recommendations on the use of solitary confinement and restricted regimes in Ireland, with the ambitious goal of abolition of solitary confinement in the short term and the ultimate target of 12 hours out-of-cell time daily for all prisoners.
On Wednesday 17 January, PRI’s Central Asia Regional Director Azamat Shambilov took part in a US Congress hearing, organised by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, on ‘Advancing Human Rights through International Prison Reform’. Azamat spoke about concerns regarding the excessive use of solitary confinement in prisons around the world, as well as the damaging impact of placing children in detention and the need for a distinct approach for young adults who have not reached full maturity. The full hearing can be viewed on the Commission's website here, and Azamat's written testimony can be viewed here.
The World Justice Project (WJP) has released its latest Rule of Law Index, which measures countries' rule of law performance based on more than 110,000 household and 3,000 expert surveys. The measurements are recorded on eight factors, including criminal justice.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) held a meeting in Vienna to explore its options for supporting a global scheme of prison products, made by prisoners in the context of rehabilitation programmes. The meeting was attended by Irena Gabunia from PRI's South Caucasus office.
Diagnóstico LGBTI: New report by ILANUD
The United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD) has produced a new report, which aims to identify the challenges faced by the Costa Rican Penitentiary System in guaranteeing the fundamental human rights of all people deprived of their liberty, and to identify the conditions that LGBTI prisoners experience. The report is not currently unavailable online, and only available in Spanish. If you would like more information on this report, please contact Selene Pineda at selene@ilanud.or.cr
A partnership between UK charity Prison Reform Trust, the Economic and Social Research Council and Oxford University has produced a variety of new resources, including films and briefings, for criminal justice professionals to help improve their understanding of the impacts of maternal imprisonment. 17,000 children every year are affected by maternal imprisonment in England and Wales – 16,000 of whom are forced to leave their homes as they are left without an adult to care for them.
This video for BBC Stories centres on the story of Evelyn Hernandez, a Salvadoran teenager raped by a gang member aged 19 and then jailed for 30 years for what her supporters say was a miscarriage. In the video, Evelyn's lawyer discusses how women are often reported to the police, with miscarriages being framed as abortions.
This series of short films by the Washington Office on Latin America and EQUIS Justicia para las Mujeres, in collaboration with -Scopio, focuses on women imprisoned for drug offences in Mexico, and details the human cost of current drug policies and the specific conditions by which these laws disproportionately impact women and their families.
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published a factsheet on women prisoners. Acknowledging that prison rules and facilities have been developed for a prison population in which the male prisoner is considered to be the norm, the resource covers areas including gender-sensitive prison management, staffing and training, gender-sensitive personal searches, and equal access to activities.
On 9 January, the Global Commission on Drug Policy launched their 2017 report, The World Drug Perception Problem. The report analyses the most common perceptions and fears with regard to drug use, contrasted with the available evidence on drugs and the people who use them, and provides recommendations on changes that must be enacted to support reforms toward more effective drug policies.
This piece by the Washington Office on Latin America analyses the report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Measures to reduce pretrial detention. In particular, the report highlights the role of harsh drug laws in fuelling prison overcrowding, and the particularly dire consequences this has for women.
On 5 March, the International Drug Policy Consortium will be hosting a webinar focusing on the 61st session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which will take place from 12–16 March. The webinar will shed light on the contentious issues that are likely to structure the debates, discuss tabled resolutions and opportunities for engagement, and showcase the experience of IDPC network members in navigating and leveraging this forum for political advocacy.
Online platform Talking Drugs has produced an interactive map of drug policy developments in 2017. Both positive and negative developments from around the world are recorded and explained.
'When the judge told me my bill, I almost fainted'
This animation by the American Civil Liberties Union tells the story of Lavette Myers, a single mother arrested after a fight with her mother-in-law. To stay out of jail, she was asked to pay a cash bail she could not afford. Because she couldn't afford bail, she was imprisoned for 14 months while waiting for her court date.
On 9 January, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously held that a prisoner whose detention had been extended following an order of an institutional therapeutic measure had suffered a violation of his human rights, including his right to liberty and security. A link to the press summary in English is available here, while the full case is available in French only.
In this article by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, PRI's Regional Director for Central Asia, Azamat Shambilov, explains that detention creates isolation, marginalisation and life-long stigmatisation of children. He stressed the need to see children as victims in need of care rather than criminals to be punished as, very often, the children who commit crimes have themselves been victims of crime.
2018 World Congress on Justice For Children
Don't forget that PRI is co-organising the 2018 World Congress on Justice For Children in May 2018! The event will focus on the issues of children's involvement in violent extremism, the need for more effective ways to reduce juvenile offending, and the question of how to improve protection mechanisms for vulnerable children. It plans to have over 100 speakers, 26 workshops and 600 participants, involving professionals and stakeholders from around the world in discussing issues related to the best interests of the child in the contexts of youth and family justice and the prevention of offending and violent extremism.
The Death Penalty Project and Forensic Psychiatry Chambers have published two new papers providing an authoritative guide on the application of mental health law in capital cases. The publications provide practical advice and assistance not only to mental health professionals but also instructing lawyers, prosecutors, presiding judges and others working within the criminal justice system.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights is requesting relevant information covering developments (since 1 April 2016) with regard to the question of the death penalty, to inform the Secretary General’s report to the Human Rights Council. Information should be sent in word format and be no longer than 1,500 words, before 15 April 2018. See more information here.
