News
PRI at the Crime Commission 2014
Next week the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice will convene in Vienna (12-16 May). Held annually it is the principal policy-making body of the UN in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice and is therefore of key relevance to PRI’s mission. The Commission is the preparatory body for and implements […]
News
PRI celebrates its 25th anniversary with a debate on: “If prison doesn’t work, what does?”
“A lot of the solutions to criminal justice problems don’t lie within prison walls. They are out there in public health, in housing, in social justice, in the relationships between people and in restorative justice,” said Juliet Lyon, PRI’s Secretary-General, kicking off the panel discussion held in celebration of PRI’s 25th anniversary in London last […]
News
PRI launches Investigative International Journalism Competition
Penal Reform International is launching a competition for the best journalism investigating the death penalty and life (or long-term) imprisonment. The death penalty remains in many parts of the globe, while around the world people are imprisoned for decades at a time. While trials, sentences and executions often make the headlines, other features of the death […]
News
Damage Limitation: An update from the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
The 23rd Session of the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) was held in mid-April in the African Union’s new and shiny headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Committee has a mandate to monitor the implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child which has […]
News
Revision of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners: Report of the 3rd Intergovernmental Expert Group Meeting
The advanced copy of the report of the third Intergovernmental Expert Group Meeting held in Vienna on 25-28 March 2014 on the revision of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners is now available. It has been tabled at the 23rd session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (Crime Commission) […]
Press release
Launch of the call for a global study on children deprived of liberty
Defence for Children International, together with partner NGOs, including Penal Reform International, are launching a Call for a Global Study on Children Deprived of their Liberty today at the United Nations Office in Geneva. Press release, 13 March 2014 Today at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Defence for Children International (DCI), in collaboration with partner NGOs*, […]
News
PRI’s priorities at the March 2014 Human Rights Council
Next week will see the start of the 25th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council (3-28 March 2014 in Geneva) and PRI will be participating on three key issues: the abolition of the death penalty, justice for children and the revision of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. PRI’s statement within the […]
News
PRI and IPJJ publish new resource addressing the needs of girls in criminal justice systems
Age, gender and their small numbers make girls one of the most vulnerable and neglected groups involved in criminal justice systems. While far from being a homogenous group with characteristics and needs that vary between countries, we know that there are many issues that they face in common. These include the fact that they may […]
News
Kazakhstan prison Ombudsman visits Slovenian counterparts
This week, PRI facilitated a visit to the Slovenian Ombudsman by a delegation from the Ombudsman’s office in Kazakhstan, including the Askar Shakirov, Ombudsman of Kazakhstan and Rustam Kypshakbayev, a specialist from the Ombudsman office. This visit was undertaken as part of a new 10-month PRI Central Asia project funded by the Organisation for Security and […]
News
PRI discusses priorities for prison reform at regional and national fora in India
Over the last week PRI and the Penal Reform and Justice Association (PRAJA) have been running a series of training of trainer workshops high-level seminars for prison officials highlighting the need for professionalisation of the prison service and wider penal and criminal justice reform in India. On the 22nd February, PRI will hold a high-level national seminar […]