“Many of those who are incarcerated have done great wrong, but all of them, without exception, are human beings. A humane approach to prisons preserves the humanity of those who are on either side of the bars. Despite his long years in prison, Nelson Mandela never lost his humanity, and he went on to change the course of history.”
Ms Ghada Waly, Executive Director, UNODC
On Nelson Mandela International Day 2022, Member States and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime came together in Vienna to affirm their commitment to the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners – also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules. These rules 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. They are complemented by the Bangkok Rules on the treatment of women prisoners.
COVID-19 and prisons
On this day in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the Group of Friends – more than 30 Member States committed to upholding the Nelson Mandela Rules – shared their efforts to protect prisoners and prison staff in the face of COVID-19. This latest meeting offered the opportunity to reflect on the past two years – both on the progress made, and on the ongoing challenges faced by prisons. In her keynote address, Ms Ghada Waly emphasised that the emergency measures implemented during the pandemic, such as restrictions on meaningful human contact, are contrary to the Nelson Mandela Rules and must not become the ‘new normal’.
Why the rules matter
Ms Waly noted that the majority of the 11 million prisoners worldwide come from disadvantaged and marginalised backgrounds; many are charged with petty and non-violent offences; up to 31% are unsentenced; and the vast majority will at some point re-enter society.
While it is all too easy to forget about those behind bars, it is vital that we do not. She went on:
“Prisons are meant to be places of justice and rehabilitation. Inhumane and dysfunctional prisons do not leave our societies any safer from violence and crime. In contrast, rehabilitative prison environments help social cohesion and reduce reoffending. That is the heart of the Nelson Mandela Rules.”
The Co-Chairs of the Group of Friends highlighted the crucial role in promoting the effective application of the Mandela Rules around the world. Ambassador Rapulane Molekane of South Africa stressed that “Madiba’s legacy includes a strong reminder that human dignity must not be compromised in prisons. We all have a vested interest in ensuring the Mandela Rules are translated into practice everywhere”. While the German Ambassador, Götz Schmidt-Bremme, reminded participants that “we must put the Nelson Mandela Rules center stage in our efforts to build back better and to address long-standing prison challenges.”
Putting the rules into practice
At the meeting, the Group of Friends welcomed three new members: Ghana, Kazakhstan and Uganda. We heard from Ms Sharon Nyambe, UNODC’s Head of Programme Office in Uganda, how the rules have been put into action in Uganda with the support of UNODC, and the impact they have already had on pre-trial detention, prison management, the development of alternative measures and sanctions, and social reintegration. Ms Nyambe described how in the depths of the pandemic in 2020 “the government of Uganda approached UNODC and requested that we work with them on their journey from a penal institution to a correctional model… Within really challenging times governments can still aspire to comply with the Nelson Mandela Rules.”
In 2021-22 UNODC provided technical assistance and advisory services on prison-related challenges to more than 40 Member States, as well as making extensive technical guidance freely available. This guidance is now brought together in a consolidated toolkit on the Nelson Mandela Rules, introduced at the event by Mr Philipp Meissner, UNODC’s Inter-regional Advisor and Focal Point for Prison Reform. The toolkit, available in English, French, Spanish and Russian, provides practical tools for implementing the rules, including illustrations of how they work in practice, indicators of compliance, award-winning training and a new handbook on translating the rules into national legislation.
This handbook was discussed by its author, Professor Dirk Van Zyl Smit, Emeritus Professor of Criminology at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, who described the benefits of changing national law to fit with the Nelson Mandela Rules. Implementing the provisions outlined in the handbook helps make standards explicit and spells out how they will be achieved.
Finally, Ambassadors and other representatives from Austria, Algeria, Mexico, Namibia, State of Palestine, Switzerland, Thailand, United States, Uruguay and the Interparliamentary Union took to the floor and shared their experiences and offered their wholehearted support for the rules.
“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” These words from Nelson Mandela remind us that the decisions taken on prisons affect each and every one of us. Rehabilitative prisons improve safety and security; they allow those leaving prisons to contribute to their communities; and they protect our humanity on both sides of the bars. The Nelson Mandela Rules help us keep #DignityUnlocked.
The recording is available here
UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, German, Sinhala, Tamil, Dhivehi NEW!
Model Prison Act and Related Commentary based on the Nelson Mandela Rules AR EN ES FR RU NEW!
Instructional Placards on the Nelson Mandela Rules Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish
Scenario-based e-learning course on the Nelson Mandela Rules English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic , French, German NEW!
