Africa’s Recommendations for Penal Reform

(Press Release)--Penal Reform International (PRI) launches a new publication: ‘Africa’s Recommendations for Penal Reform’ at the 44^thSession of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights.

PRI is presenting a new publication on the occasion of the 44^thsession of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, opening this week in Abuja,Nigeria. The book brings together the results of a number of pan-African conferences organised by Penal Reform International and others over the past ten years and endorsed by the African Commission.

The Declarations, Plans of action and Recommendations aim at logical, practical, humane and cost-effective reforms. Where implemented, these can reduce the unnecessary use of imprisonment and improve access to justice, while responding to the special needs of those prisoners who are particularly vulnerable - children, women, the old, the physically and mentally sick, the poor - and respecting the rights of victims.

In her foreword to the book, Deputy Chairperson of the African Commission Angela Melo refers to the fact that many of the texts have subsequently been adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council. She points to this as a sign that there are Africans with the energy and commitment to improve the serious situation not only on their continent but beyond. The problems experienced byAfricain achieving dignity and justice for those who come into conflict with the law are not unique; ‘Prison overcrowding has become a global scourge, and the low priority attached to alternative sentencing practices is international.’

Speaking inAbuja, PRI’s Executive DirectorAlison Hannahcalled for the Commission to refer to the materials when examining states’ reports on their performance against the national, regional and international obligations in the criminal justice field. Speaking of the way forward, she said, ‘Technical and other assistance can only be effective when states are prepared to analyse the root causes of problems such as overcrowding, honestly admit the shortcomings in their system and express willingness to change.’ Policy DirectorMaryMurphyspoke also of a number of practical tools developed by PRI to guide states and civil society partners in specific areas of reform, including manuals on juvenile justice, prisoner file management, and para-legal services. These have emerged from the organisation’s work on the ground in Africa, inRwandaandBurundi,Malawiand the North African states.

The African Commission received over 30 draft resolutions from a three-day meeting of civil society activists that preceded it and in which PRI participated. Topics discussed at that meeting included: freedom of religion and belief, freedom of expression, women human rights defenders, indigenous people, refugees and IDPs, the death penalty, trafficking and sexual exploitation, access to medicines and healthcare; Slavery; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered people; forced disappearances, impunity, national human rights institutions, children, torture, prisons and penal reform, the African Court, the environment, disability, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Mauritania, North Kivu, Congo, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Sudan… During its 44th session the Commission will examine the report ofGovernment of Nigeria on implementation of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, and Nigerian civil society was heavily represented.

Penal Reform International, founded in 1989, is an international non-governmental organisation promoting penal reform worldwide. The organisation currently has regional programmes in the Great Lakes, Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the South Caucasus andNorth America. It has consultative status with the United Nations (ECOSOC) and the Council of Europe and observer status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

For further information, please contact: Dena Fisher (+44 (0)20 7924 9575) at PRI’s Secretariat inLondon,UK. The book is available to download in English and French atwww.penalrefrom.org

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