International Commission of Jurists
COVID-19: urgent measures must be taken by MENA governments to protect the prison population

COVID-19: urgent measures must be taken by MENA governments to protect the prison population

Mar 24, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions

In light of the global COVID-19 pandemic outbreak—qualified as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization (WHO)—the ICJ, together with 39 other organizations, today expressed grave concern over the situation of detainees and prisoners across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and called on governments in the MENA region to:

  1. Make known to the public their country-specific, and if relevant, facility-specific policies and guidelines in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in detention centers, prisons, and police stations.
  2. Share their emergency preparedness plans and provide specific training to relevant staff and authorities to ensure sufficient and sustained access to healthcare and hygiene provision.
  3. Conduct a thorough review of the prison population and in turn, reduce their prison populations by ordering the immediate release of:
    1. “Low-risk” detainees and prisoners, including those convicted or held in pretrial detention (remand) for nonviolent offences; administrative detainees; and those whose continued detention is not justified;
    2. Detainees and prisoners particularly vulnerable to the virus, including the elderly, and individuals with serious underlying conditions including lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases.
  1. Allow individuals serving probation and probationary measures to fulfill their probation and probationary measures in their homes.
  2. Guarantee that individuals who remain in detention:
    1. Have their right to health effectively upheld by being granted full access to medical care as required;
    2. Access COVID-19 testing and treatment on a standard equal to that governing the general population;
    3. Are provided with means of communication and opportunities to access the outside world when in-person visits are suspended;
    4. Continue to enjoy their right to due process, including but not limited to the right to challenge the lawfulness of their detention, and their right not to experience delays that would render their detention arbitrary.

Full English language joint statement (in PDF): MENA-Covid-19-Prisons-Advocacy-2020-ENG

Full Arabic language joint statement (in PDF): MENA-Covid-19-Prisons-Advocacy-2020-ARA

 

Safeguarding prisoners’ dignity on the long walk to freedom (event)

Safeguarding prisoners’ dignity on the long walk to freedom (event)

Jun 27, 2018 | Events, News

ICJ Senior Legal Adviser Matt Pollard will speak at an ICRC event on 18 July, marking Nelson Mandela International Day.The event, 18 July 2018, 13:00 – 14:30, will take place at the ICRC Humanitarium, 17 avenue de la paix, in Geneva.

On 18 July, the ICRC is marking Nelson Mandela International Day with the launch of a new edition of ‘A Human Rights Approach to Prison Management’ by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research. This Handbook, which has been translated into 19 languages, is used by the ICRC and many others around the world.

During the launch, author Professor Andrew Coyle will reflect on developments in the use of imprisonment worldwide over the last 20 years, focusing on topical issues such as the use of highly restrictive forms of detention for certain categories of prisoner, including solitary confinement. Detention experts from the ICRC and Geneva-based international organizations, the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) will respond, and there will be space for questions and discussion.

In December 2015 the UN General Assembly adopted revised United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, to be known as the Nelson Mandela Rules in honour of the contribution of South Africa to the Rules’ development and of the legacy of the late President of South Africa, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison. In the accompanying resolution, the General Assembly decided to extend the scope of Nelson Mandela International Day as an opportunity to promote humane conditions of imprisonment, raise awareness about prisoners being a continuous part of society and to value the work of prison staff as a social service of particular importance.

Speakers:

  • Andrew Coyle, Emeritus Professor of Prison Studies at Kings College, University of London
  • Barbara Bernath, Secretary General of the Association for the Prevention of Torture
  • Matt Pollard, Senior Legal Adviser to the International Commission of Jurists
  • Sara Snell, Prison System Adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross
  • Valérie Belchior-Bellino Captier, Detention Nutrition Adviser to the ICRC

For more information and to register, click here.

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