PRI Policy Director Mary Murphy attended the 4th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Geneva on 24-26 February 2010. After three days of working sessions, the participants called on abolitionist states and international institutions to support their efforts towards abolition of the death penalty.
The purpose of this briefing is to highlight the dangers associated with funding drug control activities in countries with capital drug laws, as detailed in ‘IHRA’s report Complicity or Abolition?’ The death penalty for drug-related crimes is a violation of international human rights law according to UN human rights monitors and treaty bodies. Such laws […]
This declaration was issued at the end of a conference held in Algiers from 12-13 January 2009 within the framework of PRI’s anti-death penalty campaign.
Over half a million women and girls are held in penal institutions around the world, the largest populations being in the United States, the Russian Federation and Thailand. Everywhere, women are a minority in national prison populations but their numbers are increasing in many countries. The increase in women’s imprisonment is fuelling the global trend […]
The prevalence of disease, malnutrition, mental illness and general ill health among the global prison population provides overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence that prisons are bad for your health. For many, imprisonment is marked by the deterioration in health and well-being– in some cases it is tantamount to a death sentence. The causes of poor prisoner […]
This briefing examines the use of life imprisonment worldwide, including the increasing trend of life imprisonment without the possibility of release, or life without parole (LWOP). Emerging trends indicate an increase in the number of offences carrying the sanction of life imprisonment, a greater prevalence of indeterminate sentencing, a reduction in the use of parole, […]
The Dublin Declaration was developed during the conference, ‘Breaking the Barriers: Partnership in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Europe and Central Asia’, which was held in Dublin, Ireland, in February 2004. The declaration provides a framework for mounting an effective response to HIV/AIDS in the prisons of Europe and Central Asia. The principles and articles […]
In an important step towards reforming prison policies in Kenya, a Roundtable Conference on Prison Policy was held in Nyeri, Kenya, from 14-16 October 2001, organised by the Government of Kenya and PRI with the support of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom. This briefing provides a summary of the conference proceedings […]
An international conference, Alternatives to imprisonment in Kazakhstan, was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 27-30 October 1999. The conference focused on implementing and improving the effectiveness of criminal sanctions that do not involve imprisonment. Subjects discussed included alternatives to pre-trial detention and custodial sentences, conditional early release, restorative justice and alternatives in relation to minors. The conference […]
On 27 February 1999, Prison Services in Central, Eastern and Southern Africa (CESCA) met in Arusha, Tanzania, and agreed upon eight principles to promote good prison administration. These principles make up the Arusha Declaration on Good Prison Practice. Available in English and French.