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If anything, this pandemic has clearly demonstrated the urgent need for reform

In this expert blog for PRI, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris says COVID-19 has exposed the urgent need for long-term societal and institutional reform and that human rights must be front and centre of the global response to the pandemic. This blog draws on the remarks made by the Assistant-Secretary General at the launch of Global Prison Trends 2020. 

Expert guest for PRIIlze Brands Kehris11th May 2020

Less lethal equipment used in places of detention

The usage and types of equipment in prisons and other places of detention is wide ranging and varies from country to country. In this blog, the Omega Research Foundation reflects on the growth of less lethal weapons available to officers and ongoing efforts for transparency.

The Omega Research Foundation18th March 2020

We are 30: Looking forward to the next decade

30 years ago, Vivien Stern, Ahmed Othmani and Hans Tulkens created Penal Reform International. In the footsteps of our founders, and proud of all we have accomplished over the last 30 years, we now look forward and launch a new strategy, setting the tone of PRI’s evolution.

Florian Irminger21st November 2019

UN reports mortality rates for people in prison as much as 50 percent higher than wider community

In this blog, Aldyen Krieger, PRI’s Policy Intern, evaluates the primary drivers behind the high exposure to violence and increased mortality rate of persons deprived of liberty in reference to the report’s findings. She continues to link the report’s findings to the responsibilities enumerated in the Nelson Mandela Rules and specifically highlights Penal Reform International’s (PRI) contribution to discussions of self-harm and life sentences.

Aldyen Krieger18th November 2019

Women in Cambodian prisons: The challenges of caring for their children

In this blog, Billy Gorter from the organisation, This Life Cambodia, shares the findings of research undertaken on Why Children Accompany Women into Prison. It is particularly timely as the Global Study on Children Deprived of their Liberty is soon to be published in full, in the same week that the international community will mark the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. From data gathered from a range of official statistics, the Global Study estimated that the number of children living in prisons with their primary caregivers is 19,000 children per year.

Expert guest for PRIBilly Gorter4th November 2019

What happens to the child whose parent is sentenced to death?

To mark the 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October 2019, this expert blog by Oliver Robertson, an expert on abolition of the death penalty and rights of children whose parents are in prison, reflects on the impacts of having a parent sentenced to death or executed. The World Day 2019 is dedicated to raising awareness on the rights of children whose parents have been sentenced to death or executed.

Oliver Robertson9th October 2019

UN reports that gendered stereotypes, economic deprivation, and experiences of violence and conflict are among underlying causes for women’s imprisonment

On 15 May 2019, the United Nations Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice published a new report evaluating the root causes of women’s deprivation of liberty. In this blog, Aldyen Krieger, a member of PRI’s policy programme, reflects on the unique path of victimisation and criminalisation many women offenders in criminal justice systems face and the continued importance of effective gender-specific penal reform in the wake of the report’s findings.

Aldyen Krieger24th September 2019

Niñez que Cuenta: La cara invisibilizada de las políticas de drogas y el encarcelamiento

Es así, que las voces de 70 NNAPES de entre 7 y 17 años de ocho países de la región -Brasil, Panamá, México, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia y República Dominicana- han sido el principal insumo y la base sobre la que se produjo Niñez que Cuenta. El impacto de las políticas de drogas sobre niños, niñas y adolescentes con madres y padres encarcelados en América Latina y el Caribe, el estudio regional producido por Church World Service (Oficina Regional para América Latina y el Caribe) con la colaboración de Gurises Unidos (Uruguay).

Expert guest for PRICorina Giacomello and Luciano Cadoni24th September 2019