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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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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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First group to monitor closed institutions for children launched in Kazakhstan

For the first time in Kazakhstan, a monitoring group has been established to carry out permanent and independent public monitoring of penitentiary institutions for children. The group, which sits under the Commissioner for the Rights of the Child in the Republic of Kazakhstan, was created with the support of PRI and UNICEF. The monitoring group was […]

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National Forum on radicalisation of prisoners in Kazakhstan

On 30 May 2017, PRI’s Central Asia office (PRI CA) hosted the National Forum on preventing the radicalisation of prisoners and countering violent extremism in prisons in Kazakhstan in Astana, Kazakhstan. The aim of the dialogue was to create a constructive platform to discuss methods of countering radicalisation in prisoners and preventing violent extremism. As a basis […]

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PRI hosts roundtable on access to justice for vulnerable groups in Kazakhstan

On May 23 2017, PRI’s Central Asia office (PRI CA), along with the European Union and several national and international organisations, co-hosted a national roundtable, Access to justice for vulnerable groups in places of deprivation and limitation of liberty: special focus on women and children’s rights, in Astana, Kazakhstan. The roundtable, which was dedicated to […]

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PRI launches new report: Global Prison Trends 2017

Today, PRI launches its annual flagship publication, Global Prison Trends 2017, at the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Global Prison Trends 2017 identifies the topical developments and challenges in criminal justice and prison policy and practice over the past 12 months, and highlights some significant reports and jurisprudence. It is the third edition […]

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First Penitentiary Forum takes place in Kyrgyzstan

Penal Reform International (PRI), Kyrgyzstan’s State Service of Execution of Punishments and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) last month jointly organised the country’s first international Penitentiary Forum. The aim of the forum, which took place in Bishkek from 28-29 March 2017 and which was supported by the British Embassy, was to create […]

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Press conference held in Kazakhstan on prison reform: expectations and reality

On 23 February 2017, Penal Reform International Central Asia, convened a press conference on ‘Prison reform in Kazakhstan: expectations and reality’. It coincided with the 10th anniversary of the UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture, the UN detention monitoring body. PRI presented some trends in prison reform globally, and developments in Kazakhstan over the […]