Liberia Publications

A sort criterion
CSPRI Newsletter No. 12 - August 2005

In this issue: Interview with Dennis Bloem MP, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services; Members of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services and their contact details; South African prison at a glance

Equatorial Guinea: A Trial with Too Many Flaws

"The prison conditions this group of prisoners have endured in pre and post-trial detention are particularly harsh. This is aggravated by the fact that they are foreigners with no family in Equatorial Guinea and no, or limited, knowledge of the Spanish language. Furthermore, they seem to have been subjected to treatment which is considerably harsher than that of their codefendants. - The Equatorial Guinean authorities must immediately end the incommunicado detention of all prisoners currently being held incommunicado in Equatorial Guinea; - improve the conditions of imprisonment under which all prisoners are held, including by providing them with an adequate diet and prompt and adequate medical treatment as needed; - allow the prisoners visits by their lawyers and, in the case of the foreign nationals, by consular representatives from their countries, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations; - make all efforts to facilitate family visits whenever the families request them; - encourage frequent visits to the prison by the ICRC."

CSPRI Newsletter No. 11 - June 2005

In this issue: Lukas Muntingh talks about the CSPRI project moving over to the Community Law Centre, UWC; Amanda Dissel (CSVR) writes on an intergrated approach to offender reintegration; Frikkie Venter (Mangaung Correctional Centre) touches on the human impact in prisons with regards to HIV/AIDS; Stats in brief

Community Service in Uganda as an Alternative to Imprisonment: A Case Study of Masaka and Mukono Districts

by Charles Birungi Mini-Thesis Presented to the Institute for Social Development, Faculty of Arts, University of the Western Cape, in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the MA Degree in Development Studies p66: "... community service sentencing procedures are lengthier and involve much more paper work than the normal court proceedings...This lengthy process leads to an increase in the number of the prison population on remand ..."

CSPRI Newsletter No. 10 - April 2005

Articles available for download are: Prison reform in Africa: recent trends by Makubetse Sekhonyane (senior researcher for the Crime & Justice Programme, Institute fro Security Studies); The quanitative impact of Minister of Home Affairs v Nicro (Constitutional Court case where the Electoral Laws Amendment Act was declared unconstitutional); South African prisons at a glance, from February 2004 to November 2004.

Tanzania: the death sentence institutionalised?

This report, by the Legal Human Rights Centre (Tanzania) and the International Federation for Human Rights, on the death sentence in Tanzania contains some information in Chapter V about the duration of pre-trial detention and the conditions of pre-trial detention in Tanzania.

CSPRI Newsletter No. 9 - February 2005

In this issue: Women and Prisons in South Africa by Prof. Julia Sloth-Nielsen (this article is based on a survey examining the situation of women in South African prisons); South African Prisons at a glance, from February 2004 to October 2004; Farewell to Ahmed Othmani: a passionate defender of human dignity

Lilongwe Declaration on Accessing Legal Aid in the Criminal Justice System

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights meeting at its 40th Ordinary Session, held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 15 - 29 November 2006: Recalling its mandate under Article 45(b) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Charter) “to formulate and lay down principles and rules aimed at solving legal problems relating to human and peoples’ rights and fundamental freedoms upon which African states may base their legislation”; Recalling Articles 7 and 26 of the Charter, which guarantee the right to a fair trial and legal counsel before independent courts; Recalling its Resolution on the Right to Recourse and Fair Trial, adopted at its 11th Ordinary Session in Tunis, Tunisia in 1992; Recalling further its Resolution on the Respect and Strengthening of the Independence of the Judiciary, adopted at its 19th Ordinary Session in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1996; Recognising its Resolution on the Right to Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa, adopted at its 26th Ordinary Session in Rwanda in 1999; Recalling the Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa, adopted in 2001; Concerned with the continued lack of legal aid in most parts of Africa and its adverse impact on the right to access to justice in Africa; Supports the Lilongwe Declaration on Accessing Legal Aid in the Criminal Justice System in Africa , adopted by the Conference on Legal Aid in Criminal Justice: the Role of Lawyers, Non-Lawyers and other Service Providers, Lilongwe , Malawi , November 2004; Urges all stakeholders to make every effort to make these declarations widely known in Africa and invites State Parties to the Charter to take into account the principles in the Declaration when formulating policies and domestic legislation; Appeals to Member States to take all necessary measures in order to uphold their obligations under the Charter and other international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights providing for the right to fair trial and access to justice; Calls on Members States to extend their full collaboration with the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa in monitoring prisons and conditions of detention in Africa. Done in Banjul , The Gambia, 29th November 2006.

Report of the Evaluation of the Independent Prison Visitors (IPV) System (Research Paper No. 5) Report of the Evaluation of the Independent Prison Visitors (IPV) System (Research Paper No. 5)

In 1999 the relevant sections of the Correctional Services Act was promulgated to provide for the establishment of the Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons. The Independent Prisons Visitor, as provided for in the Act, is the main mechanism of the Judicial Inspectorate to hear and address the complaints of prisoners. With hundreds of Independents Prison Visitors appointed by 2003, this paper reviews the effectiveness of the system to address the complaints of prisoners.

Alternative Sentencing Review (Research Paper No 6) Alternative Sentencing Review (Research Paper No 6)

Whilst the South African legislation makes ample provision for non-custodial sentencing options, practice reveals that these sentencing options are severely under utilized. Research in a number of jurisdictions reveals a system beset by practical problems, lack of knowledge, infrastructure problems, and attitudinal obstacles. Practical recommendations are provided on promoting non-custodial sentencing options as a result of the research.

CSPRI Newsletter No. 7 - October 2004

This issue consists of the following articles: Review of the Correctional Services Budget 2004/5 to 2006/7, written by Lukas Muntingh; Milestones reached for the establishment of a human rights basis for corrections, written by Prof. Julia Sloth-Nielsen (published in the Mail and Guardian, 10-17 September 2004; SA Prisons at a glance (February 2004 to May 2004)

State Violence in Benin

Alternative report to the Committee on Human Rights. Association des Femmes Juristes du Bénin, Enfants Solidaires d'Afrique et du Monde, Human Rights Task Group, & Organisation Mondiale contre la torture.

Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services Report: Solutions & Recommendations to Prison Overcrowding

The problem of overcrowding within the South African prison system has been identified as a key challenge, which negatively affects the ability of the Department of Correctional Service (DCS) to rehabilitate offenders. The first objective of the report is to describe the main causes and consequences of overcrowding. Secondly, is to highlight some of the current initiatives to address the problem of overcrowding in prisons. Lastly, the report seeks to identify specific recommendations by the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services to alleviate prison overcrowding.