Resources listing

Model for Reform

Ten-point plan on reforming criminal justice responses to drugs

Ten steps to guide countries interested in moving away from solely punitive responses to drugs and in developing health and human rights-based approaches. This Plan was developed in partnership with the International Drug Policy Consortium.  

Languages: English

Multimedia

Podcast: How to build a prison compliant with human rights norms

To fill the gap between international norms and the relative lack of information on how to build a compliant prison in difficult circumstances, UNOPS recently developed a Technical Guidance for Prison Planning document that facilitates a human rights-based approach in the development of prison infrastructure. This blog post by Gordon Nuttall and Pedja Jurisic (UNOPS) […]

Languages: English

Report

Preventing radicalisation in prisons – developing a coordinated and effective approach

In December 2015, PRI organised an international roundtable on ‘Preventing Radicalisation in Prisons: Developing a Coordinated and Effective Approach’ hosted by PRI’s MENA regional office in Amman, bringing together 30 participants from 15 countries representing the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Central and South Asia. This report summarises the discussions, covering: drivers for radicalisation in (and […]

Languages: English

Report

Evaluation: Excellence in Training on Rehabilitation in Africa (ExTRA) Project (mid-term)

This mid-term evaluation reports on progress achieved in PRI’s two-year UKAid-sponsored ExTRA Project – Excellence in Training on Rehabilitation in Africa. The ExTRA project is a pilot initiative, which focuses on developing community service as an alternative to short-term prison sentences for petty offences in three countries – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The evaluation was […]

Languages: English

Briefing

Short Guide to the Nelson Mandela Rules (revised Standard Minimum Rules)

This Short Guide summarises the 122 Rules of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners which were revised by the UN in 2015. The Guide, which outlines the minimum standards that should be applied in prisons from admission to release, will be useful for policy-makers developing national prison management standards and guidelines and […]

Languages: Amharic, English, French, Georgian, Haitian Creole, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Thai

Multimedia

The Nelson Mandela Rules: an animated introduction

In this two-minute animation, we explain the revised UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), what they include, and what they mean for prison management. Watch the animation in: Arabic Armenian: Правила Манделы -Краткое введение (Армянский) Georgian: მანდელას წესები – ანიმაციური მიმოხილვა Portuguese: As Regras de Nelson Mandela: uma introdução – with thanks […]

Languages: English

Multimedia

Podcast: No prison is an island – the role of civil society in post-conflict penal reform

Restoring the justice and prison systems back to working order is an essential and often urgent task for post-conflict states. In this expert blog for PRI, Terry Hackett, Warden of Pacific Institution in British Columbia (BC), Canada, draws on his recent research into civil society action in justice and correctional reform in Rwanda after the […]

Languages: English

Report

A shared sentence: children of imprisoned parents in Uganda

It is estimated that 200,000 children in Uganda have a parent in prison at any one time. Children of prisoners in Uganda and across Africa face many violations of their rights when their parents or primary caregivers are arrested and detained. They are confronted with the trauma of separation but also have to contend with subtle and not so subtle stigma […]

Languages: English, French

Report

Impact evaluation: Abolition of the death penalty and implementation of alternative sanctions, 2012–2015

This 29-month project (2012–2015) to campaign for the progressive abolition of the death penalty and its replacement with humane alternative sanctions was implemented in 10 countries in four regions: the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and East Africa. It was funded under the European Union’s Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), and by […]

Languages: English

Report

The Death Penalty: Myths & Realities

Myths and Realities provides ‘quick answers to common questions’ about the death penalty. The ‘myths’ covered, for example, include: ‘The death penalty keeps societies safer’, ‘the death penalty is applied fairly’, ‘there is nothing in international law to stop countries using the death penalty’, and ‘victims and relatives are in favour’. The booklet is interactive […]

Languages: English