Although efforts are being made across North Africa and the Middle East to ensure criminal justice systems reflect international standards and comply with human rights law, there are some significant challenges for reform.
These include prison overcrowding, delays in the trial process, poor coordination between criminal justice agencies, lack of resources and, in some countries of political will, and a lack of reliable data about prison systems.
PRI has been working in the region since 1991. Our regional office in Amman, Jordan, opened in 2005 and its team currently operates in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Kuwait.
Current work focuses on:
- developing gender-sensitive and child-friendly justice systems
- promoting non-custodial sanctions, particularly for vulnerable groups
- supporting countries to adopt national and integrated plans for reform
- building regional human resource capacity through networks of expertise
- promoting the abolition of the death penalty.
Latest updates
Briefing
Coronavirus: Healthcare and human rights of people in prison
PRI briefing note issued on 16 March 2020 on the situation of the outbreak of a novel form of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and prevention measures in prisons and wider impacts of responses to governments on people in criminal justice systems.
Languages: Arabic, English, Russian, Spanish
Blog post
Women’s rights matter more than ever for the future of criminal justice systems, and for PRI’s
In this blog to mark International Women’s Day celebrated on Sunday 8 March 2020, Penal Reform International’s Executive Director, Florian Irminger, reflects on the reasons for women who find themselves in prisons from Central African Republic to Costa Rica.
10th March 2020