Systems of scrutiny for prisons and other places of detention are expanding, with the number and models of internal and external inspection and monitoring bodies increasing. The international system of National Preventive Mechanisms under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), marked 20 years of existence in 2023. As of early 2023, 77 countries had established or designated an existing body as a National Preventive Mechanism under OPCAT. The most recent countries to sign up to the system were Cote d’Ivoire and Latvia.
International standards have long recognised the key role of external monitoring and inspections in improving prison conditions and preventing ill-treatment. There is, however, ‘surprisingly’ little empirical assessment of the activities, impact and value of prison inspection and monitoring in practice, according to a 2021 study on prison inspection and monitoring. There are, nevertheless, country-specific examples documented that monitoring and inspections have borne fruit, particularly in countries with greater levels of good governance. For example, prison inspectors in Canada and New Zealand have triggered new strategies and approaches to meet the needs of Indigenous women.
Another area that remains under researched is the perspectives and viewpoints of both people in prison and authorities on the role of monitoring and inspection.
Research from Scotland and Norway on the perspectives of people in prison and prison staff on the effectiveness of the Council of Europe’s torture prevention monitoring body found that its effectiveness should not be evaluated solely on the implementation of recommendations but should include how people in prison see its work, its power to persuade and that the very existence of the body was valued by those detained in facilities it monitored. Another recent study that looked at the perspectives of prison managers in Ireland of inspections showed that they were not seen as a tool for improving human rights in prisons. Rather in many cases, participants likened inspections to audits and described them as a technical process of evaluation against standards.
Several developments point to a reluctance of some governments and authorities to have places of detention monitored and put under scrutiny. In early 2023, the UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture (SPT) decided to terminate their visit to Australia, representing only the second time in their 17- year history to make such a move. It followed the suspension of a visit in 2022 on the grounds that two of the country’s states would not provide assurances of access to all places of deprivation of liberty. A lack of cooperation by the Nicaraguan government with both UN anti-torture committees led to unprecedent publication of a previous confidential report on the SPT’s 2014 mission to the country.
An indicator of the de-prioritisation in external monitoring is the decreasing amount of investment.
In general, a lack of budgetary support to monitoring bodies has become a common trend, particularly where such bodies are in their infancy. For instance, in South Africa, the NPM reported in its 2020–21 annual report that the Human Rights Commission, which has acted as the coordinating body of the NPM since 2019, received an increasing allocation of budget for three years ending March 2022; however, the funds were insufficient for coordination, let alone supporting monitoring visits. In Peru, the 2022 institutional budget of the Ombudsman’s Office was reduced, affecting the NPM’s ability to carry out their mandate. There have also been additional unforeseen costs incurred by NPMs to monitor during the pandemic.
In Brazil, the Supreme Court took action in March 2023 to protect the existence and independence of the country’s NPM. It ruled unanimously that a Presidential Decree to defund the body in 2019 was unconstitutional, referencing the fact that the establishment and conditions to ensure its functionality were obligations Brazil committed to under international law. The decision was lauded by the UN and civil society.
A similar position was taken by the Constitutional Court in South Africa in December 2020, which ordered legal changes and action to protect the statutory oversight and accountability organ of prisons from political interference and influence. While amendments to the relevant laws are expected to be adopted, the underlying issues have not been resolved.