Introduction to the Nelson Mandela Rules: pilot training programme for prison staff
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The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Penal Reform International (PRI) are organizing a training course to introduce prison staff to the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules). The training, organized in partnership with the Swedish Prison and Probation Service (SPPS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 25 – 29 April 2022.
The course is designed to help prison staff understand and implement the Nelson Mandela Rules in practice and to improve attitudes and behaviours to respond better to the needs of people in prison. It is hoped this will help to:
- protect the rights and dignity of all people in prison;
- minimize the differences between prison life and life at liberty that tend to lessen the responsibility of the prisoners or the respect due to their dignity as human beings;
- create a safer, more positive working environment for prison staff and enable better staff-detainee relations;
- facilitate the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners, protect society against crime and reduce recidivism;
- increase public trust in the fairness and effectiveness of the prison system.
In December 2020, OSCE participating States reaffirmed that all persons deprived of their liberty will be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. The participating States also recognised the importance of continuously taking appropriate measures to improve conditions in detention to better respect the human rights and dignity of those persons, including by taking into consideration the implementation of the Nelson Mandela Rules or similar standards.
Prison staff play an essential role in ensuring that the human rights of people in prison are respected and upheld. The Nelson Mandela Rules are the key international standard governing the treatment of prisoners. They provide greater protection for persons deprived of liberty, as well as more up-to-date guidance to penitentiary staff, prison administrations, monitoring bodies and relevant policymakers. However, like any international standard, further guidance is required on how they are to be understood and taught to prison staff.
The training is part of ODIHR’s work to strengthen the prevention of torture and other ill-treatment in places of detention across the OSCE region through the implementation of the Nelson Mandela Rules.
This is a closed training, not open for public participation.