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Spotlight:
PRI (re)launches its Europe Programme
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PRI and partners discuss the main needs of Europe's penitentiary systems, including the need for alternatives to detention, the rising use of life imprisonment and long sentences, and the benefits of technology and artificial intelligence.
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PRI has been present in European countries in various ways over the past 30 years: we are registered in The Netherlands and formerly had a secondary head office in Paris. In the early 1990s, we developed country programmes in Hungary, with an office in Budapest; in Poland, with an office in Warsaw; and in Romania, with an office in Bucharest. PRI also engages at the European Union and Council of Europe levels.
In the framework of our 2020-23 strategy, we are now getting ready to start developing European practical projects again, which will include:
- Promoting non-custodial alternatives to detention to support better conditions of detention, greater possibilities of rehabilitation, and better management of minority groups in the criminal justice systems whose specific needs are too often ignored.
- Challenging life sentences to ensure European sentencing is fair and effective, and remains focused on rehabilitation.
- Promoting a use of technology and artificial intelligence in criminal justice procedures, law enforcement and prison management, that does not harm the human rights of people in places of detention and supports their reintegration into wider society upon release.
- Advocating for greater respect and use of European standards alongside our many European partners and colleagues.
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National conference on the advancement of penal reform in Central African Republic held in Bangui
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Starting today, a two-day national conference on the advancement of penal reform in Central African Republic is being organised by PRI in partnership with MINUSCA in Bangui. The purpose of the conference is to discuss steps undertaken so far towards the implementation of the National Demilitarization Strategy, drafted by PRI and adopted by the government in January 2019. The conference gathers high-level state representatives as well as experts from PRI, MINUSCA, and national civil society. International agencies are also present and involved in the implementation of the strategy in the country, which has so far resulted in training sessions in partnership with the Burkinabe Penitentiary Administration for existing prison staff, the creation of a civil society platform, and the development of rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for detainees. |
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PRI and partners call for greater action to be taken for people in detention at the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council
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PRI's Director of Policy and International Advocacy, Olivia Rope, reminds the Council that people in prison continue to be in restricted regimes, in lockdowns, and stuck in overburdened justice systems.
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As the 45th regular session of the Human Rights Council is being held from 14 September to 7 October 2020, PRI gave an update on the ongoing human rights violations suffered by people in places of detention in times of Covid-19. Colleagues at the World Health Organization have called for pre-trial detention to be used as a last resort in an effort to decongest places of detention in light of the pandemic, and for PPE to be available for all prison staff - issues raised by PRI in the past. Concerns were also raised by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, who called for implementation of the Bangkok Rules in places of detention, independence of the legal profession and use of modern technologies to reduce reliance on deprivation of liberty.
Watch the session live. |
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Book on Life Imprisonment wins the 2020 European Society of Criminology Book Award
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PRI congratulates our Chair, Dirk van Zyl Smit and PRI's Board member Catherine Appleton on the award for their ground-breaking book on life imprisonment. The book presents the first global survey of people serving life sentences, and argues for a human-rights-based reappraisal of such punishment. Part of the research that underpins the publication formed the basis of this policy briefing co-published by PRI and the University of Nottingham. |
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Covid-19 and detention: rights and accountability - watch the webinar
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Earlier this month, PRI's Policy and International Advocacy Manager, Tríona Lenihan, took part in the third webinar of a series six on the theme of "Building a sustainable, comprehensive response to COVID-19 in relation to detention.", organised by the Justice Health Unit of the University of Melbourne.
Building on PRI's latest Covid-19 briefing note, Coronavirus: Preventing harm and human rights violations in criminal justice systems, Tríona raises several key concerns regarding measures in place to prevent the spread of the virus ; such as: the negative effects of lockdown on prison populations, the lack of reliable data, too often resulting in an inaccuracy of figures, and the lack of testing for prison staff whom we fail to recognise as essential workers.
For more information on the webinar series and to register for upcoming events, click here. |
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Expert blog: Prisons and COVID-19: how is the pandemic complicating how other emergencies are mitigated or prevented
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In this fourth expert blog of our Global Prison Trends series, J. Carlee Purdum, an expert on hazards, disasters and prisons, reflects on how plans need to be developed and adapted in times of COVID-19, drawing on her experience in disaster risk reduction in the United States. As places of detention face emergencies from environmental and technological hazards, such as tornados or earthquakes, she argues that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is " complicating efforts to prepare for, respond to, and recover from such emergencies and disasters in prison settings". She argues:
"As much as we would like to focus all of our attention on solving [the COVID-19] crisis, the vulnerability of prisons and incarcerated persons to other hazards has not ceased. Instead, they are more vulnerable than ever facing compounding disaster impacts. In response, the best immediate strategy to mitigate the risk of such harm is to drastically reduce the size of incarcerated populations. (...) Yet, at a time where advocates and policy makers have called for the release of incarcerated populations, many governments have either failed or refused to implement such policies in a significant way." |
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PRI needs your support
In these difficult times for organisations everywhere, we are doing our best to keep providing you with quality, informative materials on criminal justice systems worldwide and on how they respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Around the world, our dedicated staff are pushing for governmental reforms, providing emergency response, and fighting for the human rights of the millions of people in places of detention worldwide. We hope that you find our regular updates informative and interesting, and we are thankful for our ever growing audience. We are proud to be part of a fast-thinking, engaged community. Please support our hard work even further by making a donation today.
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