Transcript Guinea
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CONTENTS
Who are the prisoners?
Integrating Past Experience and Current Perspectives 48 Ways Forward Correctional Development Goals Spreading Justice and Dignity 2
Photo from Sokwanele 3
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Photo by Alan Pogue 5
They are, for the most part,
persons living in poverty, with:
poor education and
poor or no job training
Remedying this lack often is the basic requirement for recovery
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They may also likely suffer from:
addictions to alcohol or drugs which may require extensive and quality treatment
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Some others need treatment for:
learning disabilities, a degree of mental illness, or socially disabling diseases like AIDS. 8
for example, prisoners in USA:
About 60% have had an alcohol or drug problem; Have much more AIDS, TB, and Hepatitis; 9
for example, in the USA, prisoners:
At least 15% have a considerable mental illness; Have more than average learning disabilities; and Over 50% of female prisoners had been sexually or physically abused.
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Concentrations of those thus “
Socially Disabled
” are
high in
: many slums & ghettoes
very high in
: most prisons 11
Prisons and Slums
Are both breeding grounds for unrest, violence, and crime.
Feed each other in these matters.
Are major opportunities for social development 12
Magnitudes
9.8 million prisoners worldwide Hundreds of millions in our slums, a major supply for the prisons 13
Integrating Past Experience and Current Perspectives
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Utilizing the results of prior CURE actions
evaluations, in 2007, of prisons in 35 countries in the western hemisphere, resulting in 22 recommendations.
evaluations, in 2009, of prisons in 14 countries in Africa, resulting in 30 recommendations.
evaluation, in 2010, on non-compliance by the United States with ratified human rights documents. 15
Utilizing the results of six other African conferences on prison reform
at
Kampala (Uganda, 1996 and 1999),
Kadoma (Zimbabwe, 1997),
Lilongwe (Malawi, 2004),
Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, 2002),and
Robben Island (South Africa,2002)
.
“Africa’s Recommendations for Penal Reform,” Penal Reform International
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And using a recent reference, “Making Law and Policy that Work” by Penal Reform International http://www.penalreform.org/files/PUB_makinglawandpolicy_200710_FINAL.
pdf 17
The 5
th
CURE International Conference
(2011, Abuja, Nigeria) Builds further on all those preceding and assembles the 2011
48 Ways Forward to improve
justice and prison systems
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Not all of these recommendations are applicable in every country to the same degree.
Their relevance, however, is strongly suggested by the CURE surveys of justice and prison systems in 49 countries.
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ALTERNATIVES & RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROTECTION FROM ABUSE JUDICIAL REFORM/ACCESS TRANSFORM JUSTICE & PRISON SYSTEMS DISEASE & ADDICTIONS TREATMENT EDUCATION & TRAINING PROGRAMS 20
Area 1.
Judicial Operations
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Systemic weaknesses include the removability of judges, corruption, outdated legal codes, an insufficient number of courts, a lack of financial and human resources, and excessive legal costs.
Many detainees remain in prison for years without trial.
Legal advice is rarely provided to the poor. 22
Photo By Alan Pogue 23
Area 1. Key Ways Forward
regarding
Judicial Operations
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Guiding Principles
Recognition of the dignity inherent in every individual.
Recognition of the rights of every individual to fair justice.
Inclusion of everyone in the equal and prompt provision of the mechanics of justice.
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1. Provide legal and/or paralegal services ; Include a wide range of stakeholders, such as NGOs, community-based organizations, charitable organizations, professional bodies, and academic institutions. -
The Lilongwe Declaration on Accessing Legal Aid in the Criminal Justice System in Africa (2004); (26 countries); noted in ECOSOC resolution 2007/24.
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2. Reduce False Convictions Implement videotaping in interrogations; double-check eyewitness identification.
Use Jailhouse informants only after extreme scrutiny of deals made for their testimony.
Provide DNA and other forensic testing.
Cure’s submission to the UN UPR for the USA
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3 . Enforce a Speedy Trial Act whereby failure to hold trial within a reasonable time (through no fault of the defendant) results in freedom for the defendant.
with rules
- CURE 4 th International. Conference
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4. Pre-trial planning offender.
should include an identification of occupational, educational, and other programs needed for rehabilitation of each These should guide alternative sentencing.
Fulfillment of that plan should also serve as a guide for release or parole determination.
- NYS Coalition for Rehabilitation and Reentry (33 reform organizations)
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5 . Arrest Leeway Police officers should have some official leeway in the decision to detain or to employ sources of support and guidance for the accused. There should be clear guidelines on the extent of discretionary powers, and training in alternative responses.
Penal Reform International, “Making Law and Policy that Work.”
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6. Judicial Operations, General Provide competent legal defense assistance for indigents.
Improve the capacity and efficiency of judicial systems. Have good information management systems that can provide current, accessible information.
Eliminate confinement of political prisoners. -
CURE 3 rd International Conference recommendations, March 16, 2008, to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission:
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Area 2. Prison Operations and Alternatives to Incarceration
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Area 2. Illustrative Problems
There are often 2-4 times more prisoners than the design capacity of the prison.
Many prisoners spend 24 hours each day in the cells where there are tuberculosis and other respiratory and skin diseases.
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Area 2. Key Ways Forward:
Regarding
Prison Operations and Alternatives To Incarceration
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Guiding Principles
Treating all as human beings, rather than animals.
Recognizing all as members of the civil community.
Using methods that restore harmony within the community, rather than only brutal punishment.
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An African prison Photo from S. Kawilila 36
Photo By Alan Pogue 37
7. Prison Ops. & Alternatives, General Expand alternatives to incarceration. Avoid excessive sentences. Enforce standards on overcrowding of prisons; and provide standard sanitary facilities in all correctional institutions. Promote a culture of mutual respect among those incarcerated and prison staff. -
CURE 3 rd International Conference recommendations, March 16, 2008, to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission:
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8. Employ restorative justice approaches to restore harmony within the community as opposed to punishment by the formal justice system.
Employ wider use of family group conferencing, victim / offender mediation and sentencing circles.
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The Ouagadougou Declaration on Accelerating Prison and Penal Reform in Africa (2002) (38 countries).
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9. Determine, for restorative justice : What harm has been done?
What can be done to compensate the victim, to reduce the harm, and to hold offenders accountable?
What are the root causes?
What can be done to prevent a recurrence?
CURE 4 th International Conference 40
10. Petty offences should be dealt with by mediation and should be resolved between the parties involved without recourse to the criminal justice system.
11. Civil reparation or financial recompense should be applied, taking into account the financial capability of the offender or of his or her parents.
-
The Kampala Declaration on Prison Conditions in Africa (1996) ,
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12. Use community service African traditions of dealing with offenders and with healing the damage caused by crime within the community.
in conformity with It is a cost-effective measure to be preferred, whenever possible, to a sentence of imprisonment.
- Kadoma Declaration On Community Service, 1997; (23 Countries); Noted In ECOSOC Resolution 1998/23.
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13. Encourage NGOs, CBOs and faith-based groups to train local leaders on the law and the constitution, on the rights of women & children, and in mediation and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures. -
The Lilongwe Declaration on Accessing Legal Aid in the Criminal Justice System in Africa (2004), (26 countries); noted in ECOSOC resolution 2007/24
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Area 3. Systemic Violence and Abuse of Incarcerated Persons
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Area 3. Illustrative Problems
Security forces beat and abuse detainees and prisoners to punish them, extract confessions, or extort payments with near total impunity.
Solitary confinement is used excessively.
There are prison gangs that abuse others, and there is the “law of the strongest.” 45
Area 3. Key Ways Forward
regarding
Systemic Violence and Abuse of Incarcerated Persons
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Guiding Principles
Protection of the most vulnerable from unnecessary, unbridled, malicious abuse.
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Alan Pogue Photo by 48
14. Excessive penalties The death penalty should be abolished.
The opportunity for parole or sentence reduction, based on demonstrated rehabilitation, should be a recognized right for all prisoners, including those with a life sentence.
Cure’s submission to the UN UPR for the USA
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15 . Control Units Current practice of prolonged isolation should be abolished.
Placement in a control unit should be the last resort and may never be made for prisoners with serious psychiatric problems.
The mental health of prisoners in control units should be regularly reviewed by certified mental health professionals, and given treatment, in a psychiatric setting if necessary.
Cure’s submission to the UN UPR of the USA
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16 . Under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture Subcommittee on Prevention, should be empowered to visit any place in the country where persons are or may be deprived of their liberty.
(UNCAT), the -
Gerard de Jorge
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17. Systemic violence, General Eliminate all forms of torture and cruel or inhumane treatment.
Reduce the effects of racial and ethnic bias in criminal justice systems. Set humane limitations on the use of solitary confinement. Strengthen inmate grievance procedures, and ensure fair investigation of complaints.
Provide sexual security for all prisoners.
- CURE 3 rd International Conference recommendations, March 16, 2008, to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission:
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18. Youthful Offenders Abolish the practice of sentencing people under age 18 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Provide meaningful review of the sentences after they have served 10 years, and every three years thereafter, to determine whether they have been rehabilitated and may return to the community.
- Submitted in the 2010 UN UPR of the USA by Justice Now, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, Drug Policy Alliance, and The Sentencing Project
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19. Employ 3 fundamental safeguards : the right to have the fact of detention
notified to a third party
of the defendant’s choice, the right of access to a
lawyer
, and the right to request a
medical examination
doctor.
by a -
Gerard de Jonge, Report on the Visits to Ethiopia , 2003, Univ.of
Mmaastricht -the Netherlands. Acting for the Dutch Centre for International Legal Co-operation (CILC).
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20. Prisoner Complaints Prisoners must have the possibility to start criminal proceedings, and to register complaints and have them heard and resolved, regarding their treatment in prison. Penal Reform International, “Making Law and Policy that Work.” 55
21. Every penal institution should be supervised by an independent that :
Board of visitors
Is made up by members from the civil society, have no restrictions on access to any part of the prison facility - without prior warning, can speak freely with the persons in detention, and have access to the prison management.
-Gerard de Jorge
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22. Properly recruited and trained prison staff is the cornerstone of a humane prison system, including education on human rights matters. During training, considerable emphasis should be placed on developing
interpersonal communication skills
, based on respect for human dignity.
-Gerard de Jorge
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23. Correctional Officers should also be trained to support the rehabilitation of incarcerated persons through instruction in, and practice of: Mediation, Non violent communication, and other Problem solving techniques, CURE’s 5 th International. Conference 58
24. Systemic Violence Against Women The forced, coerced, and uninformed sterilization of women prisoners must cease. Aggressive, medically unnecessary sterilization of women, including nonconsensual tubal ligation after birth and coerced partial and complete hysterectomies and oopherectomies have been practiced. - Submitted in the 2010 UN UPR of the USA by Justice Now, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, Drug Policy Alliance, and The Sentencing Project 59
Area 4. Prisoner Health
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Area 4. Illustrative Problems
AIDS remained a very serious killer among the imprisoned. Poor sanitation, inadequate medical facilities, meager food supplies, and lack of potable water resulted in serious outbreaks of dysentery, cholera, and tuberculosis, which were exacerbated by overcrowding.
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Area 4. Key Ways Forward
regarding
Health Care for Incarcerated Persons
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Guiding Principles
Including the least in society with a standard of medical care.
Limiting the spread of communicable diseases among the poorest and least resistant, due to over-incarceration, over-crowding, lack of sanitation, and medical neglect.
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Photo from Sokwanele 64
25. The Ministry of Health over the responsibility of health in prison; and prisons should be included in public health programmes, including education, prevention, testing, and counseling on communicable diseases. should take Health programs in slums should be similarly upgraded to help reduce entry to prison.
- CURE 5 th International Conference
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26. Health, General Provide treatment for drug addiction, instead of incarceration. Support both in-prison and post-prison treatment for alcohol and drug addictions.
Ensure proper treatment and alternate facilities for those who are mentally ill. Provide timely medical service; test for and treat infectious diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. Provide nutritious food, and clean water for consumption and hygiene.
- CURE 3 rd International Conference recommendations, March 16, 2008, to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission:
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27. Prisons should be open to independent inspectors who should report to a high authority.
28. Access to prisons by the public be facilitated to enhance transparency. Open door visits could be organised on a regular basis to sensitise and educate the community about prison.
should -
The Kampala Declaration on Prison Health in Africa (1999).
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29. Adequate finance should be made available for health care; and budgeting for prison health care should be a separate line item.
-
The Kampala Declaration on Prison Health in Africa (1999).
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30. Priority must be given to communicable diseases , including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis,, and local epidemics, as prisons can be breeding grounds with later community infections.
4 th CURE International Conference 69
31. Alcohol and drug addictions, and mental illness
require increased medical and psychological attention.
All inmates with substance use disorders should be provided evidence based treatment and aftercare.
Cure’s submission to the UN UPR re the USA
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32. Infant Care The bonding of infants with their primary care provider is essential for long term emotional development. Therefore, mother and child should be in a unit where they can live together on a continuous basis and under normal conditions as possible.
Penal Reform International, “Making Law and Policy that Work.”
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Area 5. Rehabilitation and Reentry
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Area 5. Illustrative Problems
Programs for work, education, sports, literacy, and vocational training are inadequate for the high demand which is linked to prison overcrowding. There are too few programs for pre-release or re-entry assistance for incarcerated persons. 73
Area 5. Key Ways Forward
regarding
Rehabilitation and Re-Entry Programs
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Guiding Principles
Recognize that the majority of the many millions of excluded, abandoned, and ostracized persons in the world’s prisons are redeemable as productive citizens, if given a measure of social development.
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Photo by Alan Pogue 76
33. Rehabilitation, General Provide rehabilitation and re-entry planning beginning during the first days of incarceration. Fund programs to fulfill that plan to enable services both during incarceration and after release.
Invest in programs that develop marketable job skills. Set a goal of decent work with decent living for all.
Help incarcerated persons to maintain contact with family and friends through supportive policies concerning visitation, mail, and telephones. -
CURE 3 rd International Conference recommendations, March 16, 2008, to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission:
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34. Make available to all detainees, whether sentenced or in remand, education programs curriculum of compulsory education at the primary and, if possible, at the secondary level also.
that would cover at least the
- The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education of Persons in Detention, 2 April 2009
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35. Vocational Training Should be linked to local job-market needs.
Should span agribusiness and industry potentials Should include both basic skills and small business entrepreneurship and practice.
- CURE 5 th International Conference
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36. Social education options should include topics of alcohol and drug management, anger management, alternatives to violence, and sub-topics of non-violent communication, civic responsibility, and conflict resolution.
- NYS Coalition for Rehabilitation and Reentry (33 organizations)
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37. Education should be aimed at the full development of the whole person education.
requiring prisoner access to formal and informal education, literacy programs, basic education, vocational training, and social -
The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education of Persons in Detention
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38. Education programs in prisons should be integrated with the public system so as to allow for continuation of education upon release.
Education programs in slums should be similarly upgraded to reduce prison entry. -
CURE 5 th International Conference
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39. Correctional Education Support
a.) Federal and state laws and regulations should generally include correctional education as beneficiaries on a par with public education.
b.) Federal funding of financial aid for post secondary education in prisons (in the USA, PELL Grants for prisoners) should be restored, on a par with federal aid in public education.
CURE’s submission to the UN UPR re the USA
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40. The use of lower cost technologies standard education delivery.
such as distance learning and online video should be encouraged and funded, as supplements to
Cure’s submission to the UN UPR re the USA
Programs for controlled use of computers in cells should be encouraged 84
41. Earlier release programs.
should be offered to most incarcerated persons, conditioned upon their successful completion of major rehabilitation 42. Parole boards should be staffed with members who have a background in criminology and relevant social services in order to best assess suitability for release.
4 th CURE International Conference 85
43. Work release community.
should enable incarcerated persons, who have completed major rehabilitation programs, to leave a correctional facility each day to work productively in the - 4 th CURE International Conference 86
44. Work in Prison Respecting the right of incarcerated persons to access to remunerative employment sufficient to human dignity and at least partial support of oneself and family.
Preserving and propelling, wherever possible, offenders’ access to the legal labor force, normal investment in social security and health insurance programs, and participation in workplace trade unions.
Cure’s submission to the UN UPR re the USA
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45. Incarcerated individuals should retain the voting rights held by all other citizens within their country.
- CURE 4 th International Conference 2009 (20 countries) Letter to Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, June 25, 2009.
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46. Non Violent Environment Prisons must offer an environment that facilitates rehabilitation. Rehabilitative activities will not be productive in a prison climate dominated by violence, threats, hostile prisoner-staff relations, and the circulation of drugs, alcohol, and weapons.
Penal Reform International, “Making Law and Policy that Work.”
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47: Correctional Staff All correctional staff should be trained to be aware that rehabilitation is a primary role of incarceration, and that they individually play a role in the rehabilitation of each prisoner. A non-violent, educational environment, promoted by correctional staff, should encourage personal development, particularly in cooperative social relationships and job capabilities.
CURE’s 5 th International Conference
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48 Visitation Prisoners should be sent to prisons near to their homes and families, so that they can have family visits in a confidential manner.
Penal Reform International, “Making Law and Policy that Work.”
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Photo From Sokwanele 92
CURE’s Five-Year Correctional Development Goals
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Goal #1. Reduce the annual admissions to prisons
1a. Increase use of alternatives to prison.
* Community service * Mediation * Family Group Counseling 1b. Protect defendant’s rights * Improve defendant’s legal counsel * Guard against coerced confessions 94
1c.Provide quality treatment instead of incarceration for offenses due to alcohol or drug addiction.
1d. Increase Training in Conflict Resolution: understanding the needs of others, seeking common ground, and finding win-win solutions.
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Goal # 2. Control Pre-Trial Detention and Overcrowding .
2a. Eliminate unnecessary pre trial detention, and set a maximum allowable time of pre-trial detention.
2b. Enforce a prison occupancy limit that approaches a limit of design capacity.
2c. Set a moratorium on new prison construction until alternative punishments have been implemented.
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Goal #3. Reduce abuse of children and women.
3a. Increase awareness of human trafficking and increase enforcement of laws against it.
3b. Broaden laws against domestic violence and enforce them.
3c. Ensure that confinement of children is a last resort and that juveniles in conflict with the law are treated as children, not as adults.
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3d. Establish and enforce standards for humane treatment of women in prisons.
3e. Upgrade laws and customs giving equal rights to women in subjects like inheritance and ownership of land and property.
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Goal #4. Expand rehabilitation; and reduce recidivism rates.
4a. Make decent work and rehabilitation reentry the prime purposes of most correctional facilities.
4b. Provide at least primary education. in all prisons.
4c. Provide Job training programs that develop marketable job skills.
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4d. Include training in microfinance, small-business management, and small farm management.
4e. Include apprenticeship and intern programs.
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Correctional Development Objectives
:
Better social health
,
More national productivity,
Less unrest and crime
,
Lower total costs
for:
- police, judiciary, - jails, prisons, - welfare, medical, - and other after-effects
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Restorative Justice &
Dignity by the social development and social integration of many millions of excluded and ostracized persons in the world’s prisons and in the world’s slums.
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Invest near the bottom in prisons and slums
Promote recovery, rehabilitation, and productive reentry
Reduce economic drains on society
Grow the economy upwards
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ALTERNATIVES & RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROTECTION FROM ABUSE DISEASE & ADDICTION TREATMENT JUDICIAL REFORM/ACCESS TRANSFORM JUSTICE & PRISON SYSTEMS EDUCATION & TRAINING 104