Latest resources

Table ronde sur les prisons du Benin (Round table on the prisons of Benin)

"Du jeudi 26 au vendredi 27 avril 2012, a eu lieu à l’hôtel Millenium Popo Beach d’Agoué, la table ronde sur les conditions de vie et de détention dans les prisons du Bénin."

From Rule of Law to Human Rights-Based Approaches to Criminal Justice Reform in Mozambique: The case of Pre-trial Detention

By Concetta Lorizzo. Research dissertation presented for the approval of Senate in fulfilment of part of the requirements for the Master in Criminal Justice in approved courses and a minor dissertation, University of Cape Town.

Report on Children in Prison in South Africa

This report is an update to the situational analysis of children in prison in South Africa prepared by the Community Law Centre in 1997. The Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 (Child Justice Act), promulgated on 1 April 2010, introduced a markedly different child justice regime than that which was previously regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 and the common law. This development, along with various others which have emerged since 1997 (e.g. child justice jurisprudence and government’s renewed focus on children in conflict with the law), has changed the way in which South Africa’s courts and correctional system deal with children in conflict with the law. Accordingly, an updated analysis on children in prison became necessary.

Report on Children in Prison in South Africa

"An important finding is that the policies in respect of the services and activities available to children are varied and inconsistent. Inconsistencies exist in relation to information provided at admission, orientation of new admissions, conditions of detention, the segregation of children from adults, access to education, access to recreation and preparation for release. ... Based on snapshot data, children remain awaiting trial in DCS facilities for an average of 70 days."

Children's Act, No 38 of 2005

This Act is the new law governing children in South Africa.

US Department of State Human Rights Report Central African Republic 2011

"Prison conditions were rudimentary, harsh, and substantially below international standards. Prison conditions outside Bangui generally were worse than those in the capital. Police, gendarme investigators, and presidential guards assigned as prison wardens continued to subject prison inmates to torture and other forms of inhuman, cruel, and degrading treatment. Most prisons lacked basic sanitation and ventilation, electric lighting, basic and emergency medical care, and sufficient access to potable water....According to BINUCA arbitrary arrest was a serious problem and was the most common human rights abuse committed by security forces during the year. Authorities continued to arrest individuals, particularly women, and charge them with witchcraft, an offense punishable by execution, although no one received the death penalty during the year. Prison officials at Bimbo Central Prison for women stated that accused witches were detained for their own safety, since village mobs sometimes killed suspected witches...Prolonged pretrial detention was a serious problem. For example, in November pretrial detainees constituted approximately 70 percent of Ngaragba Prison’s population and an estimated 60 percent of Bimbo Central Prison’s population. Detainees usually were informed of the charges against them; however, many waited in prison for several months before seeing a judge. Judicial inefficiency and corruption, as well as a shortage of judges and severe financial constraints on the judicial system, contributed to pretrial delays. Some detainees remained in prison for years because of lost files and bureaucratic obstacles."

Ending Corporal And Other Forms Of Humiliating Punishment Of Children - French

Below is a submission to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child made by a wide range of NGOs from across the African continent on the particular issue of protecting children from all forms of corporal and other forms of humiliating punishment. The submission is available in English AND French.

Ending Corporal And Other Forms Of Humiliating Punishment Of Children - English

Below is a submission to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child made by a wide range of NGOs from across the African continent on the particular issue of protecting children from all forms of corporal and other forms of humiliating punishment. The submission is available in English AND French.

Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS): Quarterly report: 1 January to 31 March 2012

The Judicial Inspectorate Quarterly Report for the period 01 January – 31 March 2012 articulates the activities within the three core programmes of the Judicial Inspectorate, namely: (1) Administration; (2) Complaints processing, monitoring, and investigations; and (3) Community Oversight and Stakeholder engagement.

30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku April 2012

This month's edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers issues of governance and corruption, sentencing and parole, prison conditions, unsentenced prisoners, South Africans imprisoned abroad, as well as prison related news from other African countries.

Prisoners are bottom of the pile: The human rights of inmates in Ghana

"Overcrowding is severe in many of the country’s prisons; food and medical care are inadequate and many prisoners rely on family members and outside organizations for additional food, medicines and other necessities. Skin diseases are common; and tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis and pneumonia are also prevalent but the prison health system is unable to guarantee adequate medical care within the prisons."