Children whose parents are in conflict with the law are an invisible and often highly vulnerable group. By issuing this briefing, Penal Reform International (PRI) hopes to draw attention to the challenges they face and to encourage more effective implementation of their rights. It first considers the international and regional standards in place to protect […]
This briefing examines the key components of an effective and independent monitoring mechanism for children and explores how they can ensure that their recommendations ultimately lead to improvement in the treatment of children in conflict with the law.
The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child is the only regional treaty on the rights of the child in existence and it is the most important instrument for children’s rights within the African Union (AU) human rights system. It is based upon four key principles: the best interests of the child; […]
A summary of the media coverage of PRI in Central Asia. In Russian.
Short guide for parliamentarians around the world on positive actions they can take to further criminal justice and penal reform.
More and more states have moved towards the abolition of the death penalty over the last fifty years. However, in many countries there has at the same time been a striking increase in the use of the sanction of life imprisonment, and an increasing number of prisoners serving indefinite sentences, often without the chance of […]
More than 625,000 women and girls are held in prisons around the world. The majority are imprisoned for petty, non-violent offences, and frequently as a result, directly or indirectly, of discrimination and deprivation, often experienced at the hands of their husbands or partners, their family and the community. This briefing paper outlines the ways in […]
The African Child Policy Forum and Defence for Children International held a global conference in Kampala on 7-8 November 2011 to highlight the destructive impact on deprivation of liberty for children. The conference highlighted the critical importance of access to justice for children in Africa, whose rights are frequently denied and violated. The conference documents summarise […]
In October 2011 PRI’s Executive Director, Alison Hannah, contributed to an expert meeting in Vienna to develop a tool to assist independent monitoring groups with assessing illness and health risk in pre-trial detention. The meeting, convened by the Open Society Foundations’ Public Health Program and Open Society Justice Initiative, examined ways to support independent monitoring […]
A declaration from the participants of the London conference “Progressing toward abolition of the death penalty and alternative sanctions that respect international human rights standards” held on 19 and 20 September 2011, at the European Commission’s Representation to the United Kingdom, organised by Penal Reform International.