Pavel Bém is former Mayor of Prague and a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Czech Republic. Here he gives his assessment of April’s UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem. The United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on “the world drug problem” was an important moment for the international […]
18th 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
The UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) took place New York on 19-21 April. Javier Sagredo is Regional Democratic Governance and Citizen Security Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean for the UN Development Programme (UNDP). In this expert blog for PRI, he examines whether the outcomes of this UNGASS meeting, as well […]
4th May 2016
To fill the gap between international norms and the relative lack of information on how to build a compliant prison in difficult circumstances, UNOPS recently developed a Technical Guidance for Prison Planning document that facilitates a human rights-based approach in the development of prison infrastructure. This blog post by Gordon Nuttall and Pedja Jurisic (UNOPS) […]
25th February 2016
Historically prison buildings have largely been designed for the majority male prisoner population. However, the growing understanding that women who offend are different from men − from their typical backgrounds and the nature of their offences, to their experience of abuse and their care-taking responsibilities is also leading architects and planners to consider how prison facilities might also be designed […]
9th December 2015
On the 50th anniversary of the de facto abolition of the death penalty in the UK, PRI’s Oliver Robertson says that while the path to abolition has varied from country to country, the UK’s swift conversion of a moratorium to abolition in five years may have lessons for some states today. This week marks 50 years […]
12th November 2015
The spread of infectious diseases is a serious problem in prison systems worldwide, with prisoners often many times more likely to be living with Tuberculosis, HIV or hepatitis than a person in the broader community. Alongside the generally poor and unsanitary conditions prevalent in prisons, one major route to infection is unsafe injecting drug use. […]
23rd October 2015
On 14 October, Alison Hannah, PRI’s Executive Director, gave a presentation at a discussion hosted by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the abolition of the death penalty and Sharia Law. The aim was to explore the role of Sharia in the death penalty and the criminal justice systems of Muslim countries in the […]
18th October 2015
بناءً على قناعات راسخه في وجداني، كنت وما زلت من المدافعين عن حق الإنسان في الحياة، وأن ينعم بالكرامة المتأصلة فيه، ولم أتوانى في يوم من الأيام عن المشاركة في الفعاليات التي تدعو إلى مناهضة عقوبة الإعدام، بل ولم أقبل كناشطة أن يبرر الحكم أو تنفيذ هذه العقوبة تحت أي ظرف من الظروف أو بأي […]
12th October 2015
The Association for the Prevention of Torture has recently launched a new database of international and regional standards, information, guidance and helpful tips to assist prison monitors as well as prison authorities and others engaged both in running and observing prisons. Here, APT’s Detention Advisor, Jean-Sébastien Blanc, explains why this resource is needed and what it offers […]
22nd April 2015