Archive

PRI publishes new research into violence against children in juvenile justice settings in eight countries

PRI has published new research examining law and policy in relation to violence against children in particular during arrest and in pre-trial detention in eight countries (Bangladesh, Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Tanzania and Uganda). There are estimated to be over one million children in detention around the world, the vast majority detained for non-violent offences, […]

PRI will give an oral statement on the question of the death penalty to the 21st Session of the Human Rights Council later today

The proceedings are being streamed live by the UN. Click here to watch. The statement will call on all states that retain the death penalty to ensure that it is not imposed on those who were under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged offence, or on those who have mental or intellectual disabilities. […]

PRI’s Programme Development Director takes part in a panel on indefinite prison sentences and human rights for Voice of Russia

PRI’s Programme Development Director, Nikhil Roy, took part in a panel discussion on indefinite prison sentences (IPPs) on Voice of Russia today. The discussion follows last week’s judgment by the European Court of Human Rights that imprisoning people indefinitely without providing timely access to rehabilitation programmes to progress their sentences is a breach of human […]

PRI launches new resource on developing community service as an alternative to imprisonment

PRI has today published a new resource – Making Community Service Work: A Resource Pack from East Africa – which provides information and material about how community service has developed as an alternative to imprisonment in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Sentencing offenders to do unpaid work of public benefit has many advantages. It is cheaper and less harmful […]

Opinion piece in New York Times highlights devastating impact of solitary confinement on mental health

In her article, The Living Death of Solitary Confinement, Lisa Guenther, an associate professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University (Tennessee), argues it is profoundly harmful for both prisoners and society to isolate people in units where they are neither allowed nor obliged to create and sustain meaningful, supportive relationships with others. The article trails Professor Guenther’s forthcoming book Social […]

Public Monitoring Commissions in Kazakhstan: Public Statement

(8 August 2012) A recent workshop of Public Monitoring Commissions in Kazakhstan facilitated by Penal Reform International (PRI) on 24-26 July has prompted an agitated debate in Kazakhstan about the role of these Commissions and the nature of an association coordinating their work. In the light of this discussion and criticism, which has also affected our organisation, […]

Armenia: PRI’s concerns reflected by UN Human Rights Committee

The United Nations Human Rights Committee held its 105th session in July and has made concluding observations that pre-trial detention is used too frequently, detainees are not informed of their rights or given quick enough access to doctors, lawyers or judges, and that prisons are overcrowded and understaffed. Our submission to the Country Report Task Force […]

Kazakhstan: Coalition of prison monitors launched

On 24th to 26th July 2012, a meeting of Kazakhstan human rights defenders who specialise in monitoring prisons was hosted by Penal Reform International (PRI) at the Kegok Centre, near Astana. There are currently 13 public monitoring commissions in Kazakhstan with each group made up of human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers and academics. The Penal […]

PRI has drafted two new working documents to support and facilitate the implementation of the UN Bangkok Rules

Penal Reform International (PRI) has drafted two new working documents to support and facilitate the implementation of the UN Bangkok Rules. Until their adoption, standards had not properly reflected the specific needs of girls and women, with regard to both conditions of detention and alternatives to imprisonment. Since their adoption, a number of states have […]

PRI launches two books on women in the criminal justice system at the House of Lords

On 2 July 2012, over 40 attendees representing parliament, NGOs, donors and partners gathered to celebrate the launch of two books by Dr Rani Dhavan Shankardass, Penal Reform International’s Honorary President and Secretary General of Penal Reform and Justice Association (PRAJA), India: Of Women ‘Inside’: Prison Voices from India and In Conflict and Custody: Therapeutic Counselling for […]