Denis Angeri of Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI) Uganda, praises the commitment of the Ugandan government to children’s rights but says that much more needs to be done to protect children in conflict with the law. In particular, stronger measures are needed to protect the growing number of street children who should be protected but are frequently rounded […]
3rd October 2014
Oliver Robertson, PRI’s death penalty and alternatives project manager, was in Africa from late June to meet with our partners Foundation for Human Rights Initiative in Uganda and to attend a Continental Conference in Benin on death penalty abolition in Africa. The death penalty is often handed down in situations where trial procedures are certainly […]
24th July 2014
PRI has been working with the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children, Marta Santos Pais, to raise awareness and bring about changes in the treatment of girls in the criminal justice system. In this blog she explains how the new Model Strategies and Practical Measures for the Elimination of Violence against […]
15th July 2014
In the second blog in our anniversary series, Dr Shane Bryans, a former UK prison governor and criminal justice expert, who has worked on prison-based de-radicalisation programmes in a number of countries, examines how prison administrations can manage violent extremist offenders. Countries on every continent are facing the challenge of managing Violent Extremist Offenders (VEOs) within their prison systems. Preventing them […]
25th June 2014
Every day about 20 news stories pop in my email inbox, giving the latest headlines from around the world on prison and penal issues. Over the past couple of days, these include: ‘Epidemic of self-mutilation’ in women’s prisons in England and Wales’ ‘Inmates need needle-exchange programs and better access to HIV treatment: study’ (Canada) ‘Anti-torture […]
18th December 2013
While the focus of last week’s conference on Alternatives to Imprisonment was on sentencing practice, the third day included a preview of the UNODC’s new handbook: Early access to legal aid in criminal investigations and proceedings: a handbook and training curriculum for policy makers and practitioners. Most of the countries at the conference – eight […]
12th November 2013
‘Imprisonment is appropriate, fair and just for certain offenders; it is not for others, particularly first and non violent offenders involved in petty or victimless crimes.’ These are not the words of a prison reformer but of Tanzania’s Chief Justice, the Hon. Mohamed Chande Othman, who opened a PRI sponsored international conference in Dar es […]
7th November 2013
According to the World Prison Brief, Uganda’s prisons are currently operating at over 200% of their official capacity. Overcrowding in prisons is one of the most serious challenges facing prison systems across Africa and in many other countries. Its effects can be life-threatening – contributing to the spread of infectious disease, increasing violence and levels of […]
6th November 2013
On 9-10 October, three representatives of PRI – Nikhil Roy, Jenny Clarkin and myself – attended the first ever World Congress on Probation. Organised by the European Organisation for Probation (CEP) and hosted in London, the Congress welcomed over 300 delegates from 50 countries. It was a packed agenda and even documenting the highlights here […]
11th October 2013
A national strike by Kenya’s teachers has not prevented more than fifteen school heads and deputy heads taking part in PRI’s latest training seminars designed to promote alternatives to prison in East Africa. Schools are among the wide range of institutions where offenders sentenced to Community Service Orders (CSOs) undertake unpaid work for the benefit […]
3rd July 2013