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ODIHR/PRI event highlights the need for human rights protection in prisons to counter radicalisation
Protecting human rights while countering violent extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism (VERLT) in the prison context was the subject of a side event organised by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Penal Reform International (PRI) in Warsaw on 18 September 2017, during the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting […]
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Improving children’s closed institutions in Kazakhstan
At a national meeting held in Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan to discuss and develop new approaches to improving children’s closed institutions, PRI’s Central Asia office agreed to draft a plan of transformation of educational services for children deprived of their liberty in the regions of Mangystau and Kyzylorda. The plan, which will be drafted with the support […]
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PRI to participate in OSCE’s 2017 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting
Penal Reform International (PRI) will be participating in the OSCE’s Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) which will convene in Warsaw between 11 to 22 September 2017. At this year’s HDIM, PRI will be co-hosting three side-events, with a focus on the Mandela Rules, torture prevention and addressing violent extremism in prison. Details on side-events: The protection of […]
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Summer School on the UN Nelson Mandela Rules welcomed prison monitors from 20 countries
From 14–17 August 2017, PRI welcomed 21 detention monitors from 20 countries – the majority members and staff of National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) – for a Summer School on detention monitoring applying the UN Nelson Mandela Rules in Bristol, UK. The Summer School was the second training event organised by PRI and the Human Rights Implementation Centre, University of […]
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Strengthening monitoring of psychiatric institutions in South Caucasus
Last month, PRI’s South Caucasus office conducted training in Armenia for members of Armenian and Georgian National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) on the monitoring of psychiatric institutions. Independent police and prison monitoring boards operating in Armenia also attended. The training, which was led by Vladimir Ortakov, a psychiatrist and former member and Vice-President of the Committee for the […]
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A human rights-based approach to criminal justice: training for police in Algeria
PRI’s Middle East and North Africa office (MENA), in partnership with the National Council for Human Rights, last month organised a training workshop for police in Bejaia, Algeria, on the rights of accused persons in the criminal justice system. The workshop aimed to increase the participants’ skills and knowledge of international standards and good practice in […]
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Training for prison staff in Uganda on managing vulnerable prisoners
With support from the British High Commission in Uganda, last week PRI’s office in Sub-Saharan Africa conducted training for prison staff on the management of vulnerable prisoners, including the mentally ill, disabled prisoners and the elderly. The two-day workshop, which was held in Kampala, provided training for 18 prison staff. The training included an overview of […]
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PRI’s MENA office holds conference on security and human rights in Algeria
Image: Taghreed Jaber, PRI’s Regional Director in MENA, speaking at the conference. Last week, PRI’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) office and the National Council for Human Rights in Algeria organised a national conference, Security and Human Rights: the Algerian Reconciliation model. Topics discussed at the conference included the Algerian experience in countering violent extremism, including the […]
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New resources launched for implementing a gender-sensitive approach to non-custodial sentences
PRI has launched a number of new resources for implementing a gender-sensitive approach to non-custodial sentences. Typically, women are convicted of petty crimes closely linked to poverty, and gender-sensitive alternatives therefore carry a huge potential to avoid imprisonment. However, non-custodial sentences globally have been almost exclusively created for men, by men, and the differing needs and […]
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Raising awareness of the role of corrections in peace operations
On 5 and 6 June, PRI’s Policy Director Andrea Huber attended the annual meeting of the Group of Friends of Corrections in Peace Operations (GoF), which was hosted by the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations. The GoF is a United Nations Member States-driven initiative, which provides expert advice and support on correctional issues […]