News
Final report from the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations Corrections conference now available
This is the final report from the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UN DPKO) Corrections conference held in Berlin in June 2012. The conference, hosted by the German Federal Foreign Office and the Center for International Peace Operations, brought together high level correctional staff, members of relevant intergovernmental agencies and some select NGOs to discuss ‘The role of […]
Press release
Press release: Kazakhstan prison monitoring
PRESS RELEASE There have been recent media comments on the report from the Public Monitoring Commissions’ (PMCs) visit to Zhanaozen with the assistance of Penal Reform International (PRI)’s Central Asia office. PRI considers some clarification necessary in light of these comments, and confirms the following points: 1. At the end of December 2011 the Public Monitoring […]
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PRI’s MENA office workshops promote restorative justice for young people in Egypt this week
PRI’s Middle East and North Africa office are organising two workshops this week on the juvenile criminal system in Egypt. The sessions are part of a project funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The training, carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, will focus on raising awareness of international standards and […]
News
55 years on: Time to upgrade UN Rules for treatment of prisoners
The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners are currently going through a review process which will bring them up to date with modern human rights standards. In an article for IDN – InDepthNews Viewpoints, PRI’s Policy Director, Andrea Huber, explains why this initiative is so important. More about the Standard Minimum Rules review process
News
UN General Assembly adopt 4th resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty
The UN General Assembly today adopted a fourth resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty. 111 states in favour, 41 against and 34 abstentions. New votes in favour included Central African Republic, Chad, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Tunisia. Papua New Guinea and Indonesia moved from opposition to abstention. Regrettably, Bahrain, Dominica and Oman […]
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PRI starts new project to bring an end to the use of the death penalty worldwide
This new programme of work is being carried out in four regions: the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and East Africa Funded under the European Union’s Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the programme started in November 2012 and will run for two years. […]
News
PRI granted Observer Status to the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
PRI is delighted to have received Observer Status to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), which is mandated to protect the rights of children enshrined in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Representatives of PRI attended the current session of the Committee in […]
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PRI’s Programme Development Director to speak at Association of Members of Independent Monitoring Boards conference today
PRI’s Programme Development Director Nikhil Roy will be speaking later today at the conference at this year’s AGM/Conference of the Association of Independent Monitoring Boards (AMIMB), ‘Ready for Release’, which focuses on prisoner reintegration and rehabilitation. Nikhil will add an international perspective with a presentation on how other countries prepare prisoners for release. His presentation […]
News
Is there an emerging trend to see the death penalty as torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment?
Yesterday the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Juan Mendéz, presented his interim report to the 3rd Committee of the UN General Assembly in New York. Key among his conclusions was that “… the trend to abolish and the trend to restrict are both informed by a stated conviction […]
News
Another step closer for the Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid
The 3rd Committee of UN General Assembly adopted the draft Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems last week. The Committee had before it a draft resolution, recommended for adoption by the Economic and Social Council. It adopted the draft resolution and recommended it for final approval by the General […]