Featured Blog
The blog argues that pandemic preparedness is fundamentally a governance issue, showing how the suspension of independent monitoring during the crisis delayed detection of harm and weakened accountability.
21st July 2026
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons in detention – or persons perceived as belonging to this group – are in a situation of particular vulnerability and at risk of human rights violations and abuses, including by fellow detainees, throughout the entire criminal justice system. In this blog, Jean-Sébastien Blanc of the Association for the Prevention […]
4th December 2018
PRI has launched its annual flagship publication, Global Prison Trends 2018. Here we publish the foreword to the report, written by the Rt Hon Helen Clark, a Member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Former Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. Every year, Global Prison Trends by […]
15th May 2018
Photo: The terrorist suspect being interviewed by Norwegian police. Provided with kind permission by the author. In 2011, ten years after a new approach of questioning criminal suspects was introduced in Norway called ‘Investigative Interviewing’, the country was struck by a terrorist attack which killed 77 people. In the aftermath of the attack, Asbjørn Rachlew, […]
14th March 2017
Following the adoption of the revised UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners – the Nelson Mandela Rules in December, consultations are being held around the world to raise awareness and to seek the views of national policy-makers and prison authorities on implementation. PRI has hosted consultations in Uganda and in India. Last week, it […]
17th August 2016
Last week at the UN Crime Commission, delegates and experts gathered at a side-event to discuss how to address the HIV epidemic in prisons. The panel all agreed – to achieve the target under Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Agenda to end the HIV epidemic by 2030 – strong support (including political will and financial […]
2nd June 2016
Security, prisoner welfare and successful rehabilitation depend to a large degree on well trained prison staff. However, in many countries, the job is low status, badly paid, and recruits receive little training. Prison staffing is the subject of a special feature in PRI’s new Global Prison Trends report. Rob Allen sets out the main points for consideration […]
26th May 2016
Rob Allen highlights some of the findings from the 2016 edition of PRI’s Global Prison Trends. With prison reform the centrepiece of the UK government’s legislative programme over the next year, a timely new report from Penal Reform International (PRI) provides an international context in which to consider the plans for England and Wales. Global Prison […]
24th May 2016
Harm Reduction International has published a new tool for use by prison monitoring mechanisms (national, regional and international) to monitor the management of communicable diseases and harm reduction in prisons and prevent human rights violations in this context. Gen Sander, Human Rights Analyst at Harm Reduction International, introduces the tool here. Last October, I wrote […]
11th May 2016
On 10 March 2016, PRI’s new Africa Office held a round table discussion in Kampala, Uganda on the implementation of the Revised UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules). Omar Phoenix Khan, Project Coordinator EXTRA (Excellence in Training on Rehabilitation in Africa) Project Coordinator attended the discussions, along with PRI’s Executive Director, Alison Hannah and […]
11th April 2016
PRI’s Policy Director reports on a Hearing of the Inter-Parliamentary Union on world drug policies, part of a preparations for the forthcoming UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) in April. When discussions about the international drug control regime were still relatively ‘tame’ in international fora, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) included in the agenda of its 128th Assembly […]
15th February 2016