India: Commemorating the Nelson Mandela International Day, UNODC pushes for Health Dignity and Human Rights in Prisons

New Delhi, India/18 July 2023: On 18th July each year, the world observes Nelson Mandela International Day to honor the legacy of the former President of South Africa, who endured 27 years in prison while advocating for peace and freedom. This occasion serves as a reminder to promote humane conditions in prisons, recognize the importance of prisoners' inclusion in society, and value the crucial role of prison staff in providing a significant social service. This is also reflected in the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, which UNODC stands committed to promote.

Shining a light on these principles, UNODC partnered with the Institute of Correctional Administration (ICA), Chandigarh to organize a dialogue with over 120 Indian prison officials and experts, focusing on prison management, health, and human rights. UNODC Regional Representative for South Asia, Mr. Marco Teixeira and Criminal Justice Expert Ms. Seema Joshi Arya joined an eminent panel of experts—Mr. Sanjay Beniwal, Director General of Tihar Prisons, Dr. Somesh Goel, Former Director General (Police and Prison), Himachal Pradesh, Dr. KP Singh, Former Director General (Police and Prison), Haryana and Dr. Upneet Lalli, Deputy Director, ICA Chandigarh—to discuss criminal justice reforms and ways to implement the Mandela Rules.

An estimated 11.2 million persons were held in prison globally by the end of 2021. Most people held in prison globally are men (94 per cent) but over the last two decades the number of women in prison has increased at a faster pace (+35 per cent) than men (+16 per cent). The number of unsentenced prisoners is rising as well, from 3.4 million people in 2019 to 3.5 million in 2021, raising concerns about gaps in access to justice. Nearly one third of reporting countries are operating over 100 per cent of intended capacity.

Participants stressed the importance of adopting an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to achieve sustainable impacts in prison reform.

In addition, UNODC and the India Vision Foundation produced a short film highlighting their impactful, long-standing partnership to protect prisoners’ rights and make communities safer. The film promoted the Mandela Rules and featured reflections of Dr. Kiran Bedi, IPS (Retd), Former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry and Founder, India Vision Foundation, Ms. Monica Dhawan, Director, India Vision Foundation, and UNODC South Asia’s Regional Representative Mr. Marco Teixeira, Deputy Representative Dr. Suruchi Pant and Criminal Justice Expert Ms. Seema Joshi Arya.

Prisons in several countries face serious challenges, pertaining to infrastructure, overcrowding, health, prisoner classification, management and capacities of prison staff, among others. UNODC believes that effective prison reform is dependent on the improvement and rationalisation of criminal justice policies, including crime prevention and sentencing policies, and on the care and treatment made available to vulnerable groups in the community.

The Nelson Mandela Rules are the universally-acknowledged benchmark for good prison management in the 21st Century. They provide clear benchmarks for prison officials on safety, security and the humane treatment of prisoners. UNODC is the custodian of these rules, working with the Group of Friends of the Nelson Mandela Rules to promote and support their adoption worldwide.

This activity contributed to SDG 5, 16 and SDG 17: https://sdg-tracker.org/