TREC/002/4/2012: Recommendation on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa
We, the participants at the NGO Forum preceding the 51st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and the 25th African Human Rights Book Fair held from 14th-16 April, 2012 in Banjul, The Gambia
- Request for a study by the African Commission on the issue of processing of persons with mental disabilities within the criminal justice systems and the provision of adequate treatment and care for such persons.
- Urge the African Commission to set up a sub-committee to be coordinated by the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Places of Detention to develop a system to guide the Commission on addressing the problems faced by prisons/corrections in post conflict and fragile countries and to provide guidance and assistance to ensure their compliance with international and regional human rights standards.
- Urge the African Commission to set up an effective mechanism in consultation with civil society to collect, collate, document and disseminate best practices in prison management and conditions of detention in Africa.
Call on the African Commission to:
- Urge all Member States to provide comprehensive support to the justice sector – the police, ministry of justice, judiciary and the prisons in such a manner as to encourage a balanced dispensation of justice in their respective jurisdiction.
- Request all member state to put in place as a matter of urgency mechanisms to address the issues of prison overcrowding (including the use of alternatives to imprisonment), long periods of pre-trial detention, as well as ensure safety and security in prisons, police stations and other places of detention in their respective countries.
- Urge all Member States to promote prison and community based rehabilitation and re-integration programmes for prisoners and ex-prisoners.
Done in Banjul – 16th April, 2012
