United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

The UNODC Regional Office in East Africa (ROEA)

Uganda Prison Service Finalizes the Development of a Prisoner Classification Framework

Entebbe (Uganda), November 2020 – The Uganda Prison Service (UPS) and UNODC successfully completed a 3-day workshop to Review the Draft Prisoner Classification Framework and related Tools for the Uganda Prison Service.

The Prisoner Assessment and Classification Framework on Preventing and Countering Violent extremism (PCVE) in Prisons in Uganda was developed to strengthen security and safety mechanisms and capacities of prisons in the management of VEPS. They were developed through a rigorous process which included a needs assessment conducted in Luzira male and female prisons followed by the development of the draft Prisoner Classification Framework. In order to ensure effective oversight of the process, UPS established a Technical Working Group (TWG) to oversee the development process. In August 2020, a virtual workshop was held for the TWG to conduct an initial review of the Prisoner Classification Framework and related tools.

Following the above-mentioned interventions, UNODC and UPS organized a three-day workshop for the Technical Working Group to undertake a final Review and Finalization of the Prisoner Classification Framework and related tools on Preventing and Countering Violent extremism. Following the review process, the TWG provided final feedback on the tools and agreed on a Roadmap for Piloting of the framework and related tools, including a Training of Trainers session for the TWG to support their role in onward training of Prison officials in the use of the tools; as well as embarking on a process of digitalising the tools for their effective implementations.

The workshop was facilitated by UNODC consultant Ms. Andrea Moser who developed the tools in close consultation with the UPS technical working group, Ms. Moser facilitated the sessions via video conferencing due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The framework and related tools have been developed under the Joint Global Initiative "Supporting the Management of Violent Extremist Prisoners and the Prevention of Radicalization to Violence in Prisons" implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, United Nations Counter Terrorism Centre and United Nations Security Council Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate in partnership with the Uganda Prisons Service.

For more information, please contact: 

Ms. Sharon Lesa Nyambe – sharon.nyambe@un.org

Head of Office

UNODC Programme Office of Uganda