30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku November 2007
This issue has South African media reports on the topics: Governance and Corruption; Unsentenced prisoners; Security & Escapes; Parole & Sentencing; Conditions of Detention; and Media reports from other African countries.
Submission by CSPRI to the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services on DCS Annual Report 2006-7
The submission focuses on deaths and assaults in prisons and calls for the criminalisation of torture.
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku October 2007
This issue contains media reports on: parole & sentencing (including the article on permission granted to Mrs Najwa Petersen to attend her father's funeral); deaths in custody; a report on a movie shot at Pollsmoor Prison; Inmates observe Corrections Week; Prison news in other African countries.
CSPRI Newsletter No. 23 - September 2007
In this issue, Mr Jamil Mujuzi writes extensively on Medical Parole in South Africa.
Governance, Justice and Law and Order Sector Reform Programme: Policies, Laws and Regulations Assessment Report
The purpose of this review was to establish and examine the existing and required universe of policies, laws and regulations and assess their relevance to the vision of the reform programme and to propose others that will help achieve the programme's vision and agenda.
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku September 2007
This issue consists of media reports on: Health Care; Prisoners' Rights; Prison Population; Legislation; Rehabilitation; Escapes; Other African Countries.
Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2007
An Act to amend the Penal Code Act.
Submission to the South African Portfolio Committee on Social Development in respect of the Children’s Amendment Bill [B 19b-2006]
The submission on the Children's Amendment Bill focuses on the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), and their applicability to the Children’s Amendment Bill.
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku August 2007
This issue consists of news on: Governance and Corruption; Sentencing; Prisoners' Rights; Escapes; Parliament and Oversight; HIV/AIDS; Rehabilitation; News from other African countries.
Security Sector Reform in Burundi: Issues and Challenges for Improving Civilian Protection
Prepared by Willy Nindorera, Centre d’Alerte et de Prévention des Conflits, Bujumbura, Burundi.
Submission to the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on the Implementation Plans for the Victim’s Charter
This submission to the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development deals with the Implementation Plans for the Victim’s Charter with a focus on the status of, and services to victims of torture, particularly in places of detention. It addresses redress for victims of torture and victim participation in parole board hearings.
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku July 2007
This issue contains media reports on: size of the prison population; prisoners' rights; escapes; governance and corruption; parole and sentence administration; rehabilitation and reintegration; other African countries.
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku June 2007
This issue contains the following: prison conditions and security; governance and corruption; sentencing; human resources; prisoners' rights and death; prison construction; rehabilitation.
CSPRI Newsletter No. 22 - June 2007
The June 2007 issue of the CSPRI Newsletter consists of: Protecting Prisoners' Rights before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights: The Role of Civil Society; SA Prisons at a glance.
Domestic Violence Act 2007
Governance, Justice and Law and Order Sector Reform Programme: Administrative Data Collection and Analysis Report
This review focused on administrative data collection and analysis in support of the following four indicators: (i) percentage increase in crime detection, prosecution and conviction rates of selected crimes (ii) percentage decrease in the awaiting trial population (iii) percentage decrease in the case backlog of selected crimes and (iv) percentage of litigants receiving legal aid, disaggregated by economic status, age and gender.
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku May 2007
This issue contains information on: Governance; Sentencing; Overcrowding; Rehabilitation; Parole; Prisoners' rights and treatment; Prison staff; Privatisation; News from other African countries.
Article 19 v Eritrea (2007) AHRLR 73 (ACHPR 2007)
"...On 14 April 2003, the Secretariat of the African Commission received a communication brought by Article 19 against the state of Eritrea, a state party to the African Charter ... Article 19 states that it is concerned especially about the continued detention incommunicado without trial of at least 18 journalists in Eritrea since September 2001... "the Commission: Holds a violation of articles 1, 5, 6, 7(1), 9 and 18 by the state of Eritrea;Urges the government of Eritrea to release or to bring to a speedy and fair trial the 18 journalists detained since September 2001, and to lift the ban on the press; Recommends that the detainees be granted immediate access to their families and legal representatives; and Recommends that the government of Eritrea takes appropriate measures to ensure payment of compensation to the detainees. "
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku April 2007
This issue contains information on the following: Children; Prisoners' rights; Rehabilitation and Reintegration; Governance and Administration; Parole; Overcrowding; News from other African countries.
Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Service Annual Report 2006-2007.pdf
CSPRI submission Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services in respect of the Correctional Services Budget Vote (Vote 19)
The submission deals with the following: the strategic plan; real and nominal values in the budget; size of the prison population; privatisation; prison construction programme; low spending on the rehabilitation programmes; and community corrections.
Submission to the South African Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services in respect of the Correctional Services Budget Vote
This submission deals with the Department of Correctional Services Budget Vote 2007.
CSPRI Newsletter No. 21 - March 2007
Lukas Muntingh (senior researcher of CSPRI) provides a detailed article on the Correctional Services estimates of expenditure for the period 2007/8 to 2009/10 following the Minister of Finance's budget speech. This year, the Department of Correctional Services will be requesting from Parliament a mere 0.9% more than the previous year's request.
Ghana Justice Sector and the Rule of Law
This discussion paper is by AfriMAP, the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, and the Institute for Democratic Governance.
CSPRI Newsletter No. 20 - 2007
In this issue: In this newsletter, Robyn Ballntyne (Research Assoc. of Omega Research) writes on the mechancial restraint on prisoners and detainees and Lukas Muntingh (Senior researcher of CSPRI) writes on torture not being a crime in South Africa.
The Department of Correctional Services HIV Prevalence Survey 2006.pdf
The Department of Correctional Service (DCS) commissioned an unlinked, anonymous HIV and syphilis surveillance research study among staff employed by, and offenders in the custody of, the Department of Correctional Services in South Africa.
Prisons in a Democratic South Africa - a Guide to the Rights of Prisoners as Described in the Correctional Services Act and Regulations
The Correctional Services Act (CSA) was promulgated in 2004 creating a human rights based framework for South Africa's prison system. In a sense the prison system was delayed in its transformation compared to other government functions in the justice and protection services cluster. Whilst the CSA was passed by Parliament in 1998 it was only in part promulgated and the final and full promulgation took place in October 2005, nearly seven years later. With a new legislative framework in place, the following questions can then rightly be asked: What does a constitutional democracy mean for prisoners? How are the rights of prisoners described in the new Act? What are the rights of children, women, and Aids patients in prisons? How does overcrowding affect prisoners' rights? The purpose of this resource book is to describe in an accessible and user-friendly format the human rights framework for prisoners in South Africa based on the Constitution, Correctional Services Act and the Regulations accompanying the legislation. Where appropriate, reference is made to other legislation that has a direct bearing on the rights of prisoners. It is not a legal text and it is not aimed at lawyers and persons studying prison law, although they may find it useful as a first introduction to a particular topic.
Equatorial Guinea Act on the Prevention and Punishment of Torture (2006)
Ley Num 6/2006, de fecha 2 de Noviembre, sobre la Prevencion y Sancion de la Tortura
The impact of sentencing on the size of the prison population
South Africa has a serious prison overcrowding problem. The total number of prisoners has grown steadily and dramatically over the last 11 years. The cause of the increase has changed during this time.
The Effect of Sentencing on the Size of the South African Prison Population
This report was commissioned by the Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF) and recently presented at a conference on sentencing held in Cape Town. South Africa has a serious prison overcrowding problem. The total number of prisoners has grown steadily and dramatically over the last 11 years. The cause of the increase has changed during this time. Between 1995 and 2000, the major driver of the prison population rise was a massive increase in the size of the unsentenced prisoner population. After 2000, the number of unsentenced prisoners stabilised, and then began to decrease. But the prisoner population continued to grow, now as a result of an increase in the number of sentenced prisoners. This growth continues, despite the fact that the number of offenders admitted to serve custodial sentences is decreasing. The bulk of this increase consists of prisoners serving long sentences. Thus, the rate of release of sentenced prisoners is slowing down.
