Penal Reform International recipient of the Open Society Foundations 2019 New Executive Fund

Open Society Foundations has awarded Penal Reform International’s Executive Director, Florian Irminger, a New Executives Fund, which will help implement a ‘vision of catalytic organisational change’. PRI joins an impressive list of other organisations with new leadership, from those protecting people with mental disabilities in Hungary to defending rights in the digital environment, and another esteemed criminal justice reform organisation from Indonesia, the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform.

Later this month PRI will be launching a new four year strategic plan which will build on PRI’s role over the past 30 years in implementing international human rights standards to protect those in criminal justice systems who represent a complex and vulnerable part of society.

‘In many countries, criminal justice systems are unfair and discriminatory. Instead of protecting society from crime and safeguarding the rights of those accused or convicted, they can cause, drive and deepen poverty and hinder social and economic progress. We believe that fairer criminal justice goes hand-in-hand with more social cohesion, because the treatment of those at the hands of law enforcement is at the heart of all policies of any state. In fact, the treatment of those confronted with the criminal system is a good indicator of the overall respect for human rights in any country. This is what makes PRI as needed as ever, particularly in a context of ‘a global backlash against human rights’ – as Andrew Gilmour, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, recently described it.’  wrote Florian upon joining PRI. 

Over 30 years, we have had many successes, working in more than 90 countries. We are proud of our past achievements and look forward to the years ahead. Watch this video on what we have achieved.