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A Manual on Human Rights Training for Prison Officials

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A Manual on Human Rights Training for Prison Officials HUMAN RIGHTS AND PRISONS Manual on Human Rights Training for Prison Officials Human Rights Professional Training Series No. UNITED NATIONS New York and Geneva, 2005 11 NOTE The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Material contained in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, provided credit is given and a copy of the publication containing the reprinted material is sent to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais des Nations, 8-14 avenue de la Paix, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. HR/P/PT/11 UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No. E.04.XIV.1 ISBN 92-1-154154-9 ISSN 1020-1688 Cover photographs: United Nations, Department of Public Information; Sylvie Fraissard (Penal Reform International); Jérômine Derigny; Pieter Boersma (Penal Reform International); Peter Frischmuth (Still Pictures) NOTE TO USERS OF THE MANUAL This Manual is one component of the four-part publication Human Rights and Prisons—a human rights training package for prison officials. The four components are designed to complement each other and, taken together, provide all necessary elements for the conduct of human rights training programmes for prison officials, under the training approach developed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. This Manual (component one of the package) provides in-depth information on sources, systems and standards for human rights relating to the work of prison officials, practical recommendations, topics for discussion, case studies and checklists. The Compilation (component two of the package) includes excerpts from and full texts of selected international human rights instruments concerning the administration of justice. The Trainer's Guide (component three of the package) provides instructions and tips for trainers to be used together with the Manual in conducting training courses for prison officials. The Pocketbook of international human rights standards (component four of the package) is designed to be a readily accessible and portable reference for prison officials, containing a comprehensive collection of point-form standards organized according to prison officials' duties and functions, and topics, and referenced with detailed footnotes. Copies of the Compilation, the Trainer's Guide, the Pocketbook and this Manual may be obtained from: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Palais des Nations 8-14 avenue de la Paix CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland web site: www.ohchr.org e-mail: [email protected] iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) wishes to express its gratitude for the invaluable contribution of the various organizations and individuals who participated in the elaboration of its publication Human Rights and Prisons—a human rights training package for prison officials. The two main organizations responsible for drafting the text, under OHCHR's guidance, were Penal Reform International, a London-based international non-governmental organization concerned with prison conditions and penal reform, and the International Centre for Prison Studies (located within the School of Law at King's College, University of London), which aims at assisting Governments and relevant agencies in developing appropriate policies on prisons and the use of imprisonment. A draft version of Human Rights and Prisons was reviewed during an experts meeting organized by OHCHR in Geneva (9-12 March 1998). Practitioners and experts in the field participating in the meeting included Mr. Andrew Coyle from the International Centre for Prison Studies (United Kingdom); Mr. Joseph Etima, Commissioner of Prisons (Uganda); Mr. Henk Greven, former Director-General of Prison Administration and Child Care Probation (the Netherlands); Mr. Yuichi Kaido from the Centre for Prisoners' Rights (Japan); Ms. Irena Kriznik, Adviser to the Government of Slovenia; Ms. Julita Lemgruber, Assistant to the Secretary of Justice of Brazil; Mr. Miroslaw Nowak from the Central Board of Prison Service (Poland); Mr. Ahmed Othmani, Chairman of Penal Reform International; Dr. Rani Shankardass from the Centre for Contemporary Studies (India); and Prof. Dirk Van Zyl Smit, Professor of Criminology at the University of Cape Town (South Africa). The Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa appointed by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Professor Victor Dankwa, also joined the group of experts. The United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention* (Vienna), the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (San Jose, Costa Rica) and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of the Council of Europe (Strasbourg) were also represented at the meeting and provided various suggestions. The training package was revised on the basis of substantive comments made by the participants and was piloted through courses offered to prison staff through the OHCHR Technical Cooperation Programme in the Field of Human Rights. Finally, OHCHR would like to thank the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (San Jose, Costa Rica) for translating into Spanish a draft English version of the Manual. * Renamed in October 2002 the Crime Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. iv THE TRAINING PACKAGE: OBJECTIVES AND BENEFICIARIES Since 1955, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR—formerly "United Nations Centre for Human Rights") has been engaged, within its Technical Cooperation Programme in the Field of Human Rights, in assisting States towards the building and strengthening of national structures that have a direct impact on the overall observance of human rights and the maintenance of the rule of law. In this context, the Office has been involved for many years in the training of personnel working in the area of administration of justice. Among the professionals working in this sector, prison officials play an essential role in ensuring that the human rights of those who have been deprived of their liberty by imprisonment or other forms of detention are respected and upheld. In recognition of this role, the United Nations, since its inception, has developed a host of international human rights instruments (both treaties, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other documents, for example the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment) containing basic standards relevant to prison officials' work. Such standards provide invaluable guidance to prison staff for the performance of their professional duties through practices that are lawful, humane and disciplined. OHCHR's Human Rights and Prisons—a human rights training package for prison officials is intended to constitute a comprehensive curriculum for the training of prison officials on such international human rights standards. The main objectives of this publication, and of the training's methodological approach contained herein, can be stated as follows: ■ To provide information on international human rights standards relevant to the work of prison officials; ■ To encourage the development of skills necessary to transform that information into practical behaviour; ■ To sensitize prison officials to their particular role in promoting and protecting human rights, and to their own potential for affecting human rights in their daily work; ■ To reinforce prison officials' respect for, and faith in, human dignity and fundamental human rights; ■ To encourage and reinforce an ethos of legality, and of compliance with international human rights standards, within prisons; ■ To equip trainers of prison officials to provide effective human rights education and training. The training package's principal beneficiaries are staff who work within prison administrations, particularly those who work directly with prisoners and other detained individuals. In addition, it may also assist various intergovernmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations in carrying out effective training activities for prison personnel. Since the package focuses on international human rights standards, it needs to be supplemented in the light of the particular national requirements and legal systems in which the related training programme is taking place. v EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS OBJECTIVE This section highlights the main learning objective/s of the chapter. ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES This section sets out the main international standards relating to the subject cov- ered by the chapter by summarizing the relevant provisions of the international in- struments. BASIS IN INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS This section reproduces selected provisions of international instruments relevant to the subject covered by the chapter. IMPLICATIONS This section highlights the implications of the international standards covered by the chapter in terms of action required by prison officials and management. PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS This section proposes practical courses of action to assist prison
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