Human Rights And Prisons

This publication is part of a series of training handbooks for human rights education which are designed to be adaptable to the needs and experience of a range of potential audiences. This publication focuses on human rights training for prison officials and includes practical recommendations, topics for discussion, case studies and checklists. Topics covered include: right to physical and moral integrity; health rights of prisoners; security regulation; prisoners contact with the outside world; complaints and inspection procedures; special categories of prisoners; and persons under detention without sentence. A companion publication "Human rights and prisons: a pocketbook of international human rights standards for prison officials" (ISBN 9211541581) is also available separately.

Prisons and imprisonment have become a commonplace topic in popular culture as the setting and rationale for fiction and documentaries and most people seem to have a clear notion of what it is like in prison, ranging from the idea of the prison cell as a cosy nook with fast internet access to that of a dungeon with a hard bed and a diet of bread and water. But what is prison really like? Do prisoners have the same rights as everyone else? What are the similarities and differences between prisons in different European countries? This book answers all of these questions, whilst also presenting cutting-edge research on the living conditions of long-term prisoners in Europe and considering whether these conditions meet international human rights standards. Bringing together leading experts in the field, with comprehensive coverage of the issues in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Spain and Sweden, this book offers the first comparative study on the subject. Whereas past research in this area has concentrated on the Anglo-American experience, this book offers a truly comparative European approach and pays due attention to the differences in prison systems between the post-Soviet countries and continental Europe. This book will be key reading for academics and students of criminology, criminal justice and penology and will also be of interest to students and practitioners of law.

This collection considers human rights and incarceration in relation to the liberal-democratic states of Australia, New Zealand and the UK. It presents original case-study material on groups that are disproportionately affected by incarceration, including indigenous populations, children, women, those with disabilities, and refugees or ‘non-citizens’. The book considers how and why human rights are eroded, but also how they can be built and sustained through social, creative, cultural, legal, political and personal acts. It establishes the need for pragmatic reforms as well as the abolition of incarceration. Contributors consider what has, or might, work to secure rights for incarcerated populations, and they critically analyse human rights in their legal, socio-cultural, economic and political contexts. In covering this ground, the book presents a re-invigorated vision of human rights in relation to incarceration. After all, human rights are not static principles; they have to be developed, fought over and engaged with.

Gives voice to a diverse range of viewpoints on the debate on prisoners' rights, with contributions from prisoners, human rights activists, academics, criminal justice policy makers and practitioners.

14. After a riot

Over 100,000 people in the U.S. are incarcerated in prisons owned and operated by private corporations--a booming business. But how are the human rights of prisoners and prison employees affected when prisons are run for profit? An accomplished group of human rights writers and activists explores the historical, political and economic context of private prisons: * How are prisoners' lives affected by privatization? * How does it impact prison labor and prison employees? * How and why are private prisons becoming transnational? * Are women, children, and African and Native Americans affected differently from other populations? * How is privatization connected to the war on drugs, the criminalization of poverty and 'tough on crime' politics? The preface is by Sir Nigel Rodley, Professor of Law at the University of Essex; former United Nations Special Rapporteur for Torture; and knighted in 1999 for recognition of services to human rights and international law.

Prisons are always a key focus of those interested in human rights and the rule of law. Human Rights in African Prisons looks at the challenges African governments face in dealing with these issues. Written by some of the most eminent researchers from and on Africa, including the former chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. This collection provides a current analysis of the situation in African prisons and examines how regional and international legal instruments have dealt with human rights concerns such as overcrowding, healthcare, pretrial detention, and the treatment of women and children. Human Rights in African Prisons reveals that there are reforms under way across nations in Africa and makes recommendations for strengthening and building on them.