INTERSESSION ACTIVITY REPORT THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON PRISONS AND PLACES OF DETENTION IN AFRICA COMMISSIONER CATHERINE DUPE ATOKI

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1 INTERSESSION ACTIVITY REPORT OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON PRISONS AND PLACES OF DETENTION IN AFRICA COMMISSIONER CATHERINE DUPE ATOKI Presented to the 49 th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights 28 April 12 May 2011 Banjul, The Gambia 1

2 Introduction Prison populations on the African continent continue to increase rapidly. Many observers have attributed this rapid increase to the increasing use of imprisonment for crimes such as disturbing children, elopement, fouling the air, being idle and disorderly, vagrancy adultery and a host of other offences that could effectively be sanctioned by other methods other than imprisonment. Rapid urbanization with its attendant consequences on the upsurge of crime, demographic changes and the desire of governments to heed to increasing public calls for criminals to be put behind bars have also contributed to an increase in the prison populations. Unfortunately, this rapid increase has not been matched by a corresponding increase in prison infrastructure to harbor this increasing number of inmates. This unfortunate situation has resulted in the inhuman and degrading conditions under which most inmates live on the continent. Unacceptable levels of overcrowding, disease, physical and psychological abuse by officials and inmates alike, violence, malnutrition, poor hygienic conditions, old dilapidated facilities, inadequate medical care for inmates and high mortality rates among inmates are still prevalent in most of our prisons. Overcrowding in particular not only leads to a myriad of abuses of the rights of inmates, but also further strains already overworked staff and further complicates the management of prisons. Recommendations I must admit that considerable efforts are been made to reform prisons in Africa. However, these efforts have remained largely inadequate and unresponsive in some cases. Governments must therefore make more concerted efforts aimed at reforming the criminal justice system and aim to make penal policy, primarily rehabilitative rather than punitive. In this wise, it is imperative that African governments consider alternative sentences to imprisonment such as community service and affordable fines and other non custodial sentences which would have the positive effect of reducing 2

3 prison populations. In this wise, I commend the Lagos State (Nigeria) and the Republic of Zambia for commencing community service schemes. Governments need to give priority to prisons in their national budgets in order to boost their performance. More efforts must also be put into building new prison facilities especially production prisons for inmates serving short sentences. Production prisons can serve a very important rehabilitative function by helping inmates to acquire new skills and also reduce the financial burden of providing for the daily needs of prisoners for the state. The Special Rapporteur and partners continue to find ways and means of helping African governments to make prison conditions more humane and adhere to the requisite international standards by providing training to relevant stakeholders, organizing seminars for peer learning and exchange and visiting prisons and places of detention, in order to have first-hand experience of the situation of these places and proffer appropriate recommendations. The following are activities I undertook as Special Rapporteur of the African Commission on Prisons and Places of Detention in Africa: 1. From the December 2010, I undertook a promotion mission to the Republic of Algeria alongside Commissioners Maiga and Kayitesithe. I visited prisons and police holding cells in the country with a view to assessing their compliance with international standards and made recommendations on lapses noticed. During my visit I also held talks with high ranking officials including the Government officials responsible for the relevant portfolios dealing with prisons in particular and detention in general. I also held consultations with relevant civil society organizations. The full report of this Mission will be considered and adopted during the 49 th Ordinary Session. 3

4 2. On 18 April I attended a one day conference in Washington DC on detention visits. The conference was organized by the American University Washington College of Law and the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and was aimed at addressing the crucial role of visits to detention facilities around the world in ensuring that safeguards for detainees are enforced. The conference convened top experts including mandate holders, policymakers, lawyers, NGOs, scholars, and practitioners from around the world to analyze key challenges confronting detention visits today and establish channels for enhancing collaboration. I was invited in my dual capacity as the Chairperson of the CPTA and the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Places of Detention in Africa to present the African perspective on detention visits and vulnerable 3. From 1-9 April 2011, I participated in a joint Promotional Mission of the African Commission to the Democratic Republic of Congo in my capacity as Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Places of Detention in Africa. During the Mission, I held consultations with the Minister of Justice and the administrative staff of prisons and others detention centers in the DRC. I visited the central prison of Makala, the biggest in Kinshasa, as well as the military prison of Ndolo. In these two prisons I addressed my concerns to the authorities regarding the issues of overpopulation, malnutrition, and the lengthy periods of incarceration of pretrial detainees. I also visited two police detentions centers in the districts of Lingwala and Kintambo in Kinshasa where I formulated recommendations regarding the strict observance by police officers of the 48 hour limit of detention pending investigations and secured the release of detainees who had been held beyond the limit. The Special Rapporteur also congratulated the government of DRC for the adoption of the anti torture bill, as well as the law on the abolition of forced labour, which were recently passed in the Parliament. 4

5 The Prison Reform Intervention in Africa Project (PRIA) 4. On 26 April, I chaired a workshop on the management of prison populations in Africa and a strategic planning meeting on prison reform interventions in Africa. The workshop was organized in the context of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between PRAWA and the African Commission on the Prison Reform Intervention in Africa (PRIA) an initiative supported by the Dutch Prison Service to carry out relevant, effective and sustainable interventions in penal reform. The workshop was organized following completion of the first part of the project involving a baseline assessment of practices and situations in six selected pilot countries namely: Zambia, Nigeria Kenya, Burundi, DRC and Rwanda. 5. The meeting brought together prison commissioners from the above named pilot countries, representatives of the International Correctional Services Association, United Nations Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, the Dutch Prison Service and the African Correctional Services Association. The workshop was aimed among other things, at training and building the capacity of participants on management of prison populations and sharing country experiences. Prison conditions in the target countries were reviewed as well a, the challenges faced and the reform approaches adopted by the governments and correctional services in managing their prison populations; this, in a bit to identify common problems and best practices which could be adopted by the target countries. During the workshop, I outlined the work of the African Commission as a whole and that of the special Rapporteur in particular, in helping states parties to improve prison and detention conditions. 6. Further to the collaborative efforts of the SRPPDA and PRAWA, under the PRIA, a Compendium on best practices management of prison population in Africa is currently being developed. A questionnaire in this regard has been developed 5

6 and relevant officials of State Parties are encouraged to fill and return same to the Secretariat of the African Commission. 6