Our work in the Central African Republic has centred upon the demilitarisation of prisons.
In the Central African Republic, we have been working with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSCA) on prison reform.
It is a challenging context owing to the lack of financial, material, human and institutional resources, as well as the volatility of the security situation. Nonetheless, PRI has successfully supported the government in developing a national strategy, which has now been adopted, to demilitarise the prison service, and is currently supporting implementation of the strategy. Previously the prison service was comprised of armed and security forces; prison management will now be transferred to professionally qualified civilian staff.