01/10/2013 The Shackling of Pregnant Prisoners in the US and other news from PRI

Share

Tweet

PRI E-newsletter September 2013

Welcome to Penal Reform International's Newsletter, a round-up of

PRI and other penal reform news from around the world and a

variety of criminal justice and human rights resources.

The views expressed in the news items below are not necessarily

those of PRI.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Guest blog: Using international human

rights mechanisms to stop the shackling of

incarcerated pregnant women in the United

States – by Brian Citro*

Brian Citro discusses a report submitted to the UN Human Rights

Committee on the practice of shackling pregnant prisoners in the

United States. The report forms part of a larger effort to build both a

national and international coalition aimed at eliminating this practice.

*Brian Citro is a Clinical Lecturer in Law and a Clinic Fellow in the

International Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law

School.

NGOs in Russia challenged by transport costs, legal changes and

political climate

In August, PRI’s Executive Director, Alison Hannah, and Evaluation

and Learning Adviser, Nick Curley, visited our Moscow office. In this

blog, Alison reflects on the Russian penal system and the work of PRI

and our partners in the region.

01/10/2013 The Shackling of Pregnant Prisoners in the US and other news from PRI

NEW FROM PRI

Briefing: The right of children deprived of their liberty to make

complaints

As part of our series of Justice for Children Briefings, PRI has produced

a new resource explaining a child’s right to complain about their care,

treatment and conditions while deprived of their liberty.

Short Guide to the UN Bangkok Rules

PRI has published a short guide in English on women offenders and

prisoners.

Alternative Sanctions in Russia: Status, Problems and Prospects

PRI’s Moscow office has produced a new resource looking at the range

of non-custodial sanctions available in Russia – how they developed,

their application and impact in practice and how their effectiveness can

be enhanced going forward.

GLOBAL ADVOCACY

PRI at the 24th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council

PRI engaged on two priority issues at the 24th Regular Session of the

UN Human Rights Council: the abolition of the death penalty and the

human rights impact of the overuse of imprisonment. Read PRI’s Death

Penalty Project Manager, Oliver Robertson’s blog on the panel

discussion on children of parents sentenced to death. PRI also co-

hosted a side-event, Deadlock: the human rights impact of over-

incarceration, with the Permanent Mission of Austria and the American

Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The Council adopted the Resolution ‘Human rights in the administration

of justice, including juvenile justice’ which, amongst other things,

requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit to the

HRC at its thirtieth session ‘an analytical report on the human rights

implications of over-incarceration and overcrowding, drawing on the

experience of United Nations and regional human rights mechanisms,

seeking the views of States, including on their practice regarding

alternatives to detention, and other relevant stakeholders.’

PRI at the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) of the

OSCE

PRI is currently attending the HDIM in Warsaw, which runs until 4

01/10/2013 The Shackling of Pregnant Prisoners in the US and other news from PRI

October. Read our statement and recommendations to the OSCE

participating states on violence against women and girls. PRI is also

hosting a side-event today where our new report, Who are women

prisoners? Survey results from Armenia and Georgia, will be launched.

Download the flyer for the event here.

JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN

A Better Way to Protect All Children: Conference Report

The full conference report from the 2012 UNICEF Conference ‘A Better

Way to Protect All Children’ held in New Delhi is now available and can

be downloaded here.

PRI’s Middle East and North Africa office hold First National

Conference on Juvenile Justice

A conference organised by PRI MENA Office in cooperation with the

Public Security Directorate / Juvenile Police Department took place on

20 and 21 August 2013. It aimed to promote a restorative justice

system in Jordan that ensures the best interest of the child, adopts

modern mechanisms for dealing with young offenders, and implements

social, psychological and after-care programs for the reintegration of

juveniles in society.

Supreme Court of India decides not to lower the age of the child in

criminal cases

PRI welcomes the decision by the Supreme Court of India to uphold the

Juvenile Justice Act (2000) and not lower the age at which young

people may be tried as adults in criminal courts. India Real Time

reports on calls for tougher punishments for child offenders here.

Tackling violence against children and juvenile justice reform in

Tanzania

25 representatives from the Tanzanian government, criminal justice

agencies and civil society organisations came together in Dar Es

Salaam to discuss the findings and recommendations of the recent

report, Review of law and policy to prevent and remedy violence

against children in police and pre-trial detention in Tanzania,

researched and published by PRI with our Tanzanian NGO

partner, NOLA.

Other news and resources:

Establishing a special juvenile police unit in Jordan

01/10/2013 The Shackling of Pregnant Prisoners in the US and other news from PRI

North Carolina makes ‘wrong move’ on juvenile justice

Australia: Rethink needed on youth justice system

Art project teaches life lessons to youths in juvenile detention

WOMEN IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Who are women prisoners? Launch of survey results from Armenia and

Georgia

PRI will launch a new report, Who are women prisoners? Survey

results from Armenia and Georgia, at the OSCE Human Dimension

Implementation Meeting in Warsaw today, 25 September. Following a

survey of 65 and 70 per cent of the female prison populations in

Georgia and Armenia respectively, the report illustrates the necessity

for gender-specific policies that respond to the particular needs of

women in prison. Read more about the event and the report here.

Launch of Toolbox for Implementation of the Bangkok Rules

PRI invites you to the launch of our Toolbox on the UN Bangkok Rules,

at the UN General Assembly or via webcast on 16 October, 13:15-

14:30 (EDT), with HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand,

who played an instrumental role in the development of the Rules, as

the keynote speaker. Download the invitation here.

PRI blog: Protecting the rights of women offenders – a job for the

CEDAW Committee?

PRI’s Programme Officer, Olivia Rope, considers the potential role of

the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in

protecting the rights of women offenders and contributing to systemic

improvements in their treatment.

Other news and resources:

Russia: Member of punk band Pussy Riot launches hunger

strike to protest against living conditions in Mordovia. Alla

Pokras from PRI's Moscow Office was interviewed about it

yesterday on the BBC World Service Newshour programme.

Australia: Children of prisoners urged to have say on support

services

US: Mass incarceration does injustice to millions of American

children

Women cope with life behind bars in new series Orange is the

New Black

01/10/2013 The Shackling of Pregnant Prisoners in the US and other news from PRI

ALTERNATIVES AND IMPROVEMENTS

PRI blog: Morocco’s justice minister outlines ambitious programme to

reform corrupt judiciary

PRI’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Office responds to a

charter of judicial reforms presented by the Moroccan justice ministry

last week: PRI welcomes the efforts of the Moroccan Charter

Committee and supports the content of the charter.

PRI blog: Reflections on Eric Holder’s major criminal law reform speech

Laura W. Murphy, Director of the American Civil Liberties Union

(ACLU) Washington Legislative Office & Vanita Gupta, Center for

Justice, respond to the US Attorney General’s call for major criminal

justice reform, including an end to mandatory minimums for certain low-

level, non-violent drug offences.

PRI blog: Prison guards willing to learn more about international

standards on life imprisonment

Dinara Dildabekova, Death Penalty Project Manager in PRI’s Central

Asia office, reflects on training workshops in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan

to train prison officials on the human rights of those on death row or

serving a life or long-term sentence.

Other news and resources:

PRI to attend and present at the first World Congress on

Probation

PRI and FHRI have launched a monthly newsletter on criminal

justice news and resources from East Africa. For more

information or to sign up to the East Africa Criminal Justice Civil

Society Network newsletter, email divamukisa@gmail.com.

New report from The Sentencing Project: Life Goes On: The

Historic Rise in Life Sentences in America

DEATH PENALTY

The rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty are

considered at the Human Rights Council

On 11 September at its 24th session, the UN Human Rights Council

held a panel discussion on the rights of children of parents sentenced

to the death penalty or executed. This was the first time that the rights

01/10/2013 The Shackling of Pregnant Prisoners in the US and other news from PRI

of these children were considered at the UN. PRI submitted an oral

statement to the panel and Oliver Robertson, PRI’s Death Penalty

Project Manager, also spoke at a side-event which further discussed

the same issue. Watch the proceedings of the panel here and read

Oliver’s reflections in his blog post.

Inter-Parliamentary Union to hold panel discussion on the death penalty

On 10 October, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the International

Commission against the Death Penalty will hold a panel discussion in

Geneva celebrating World Day against the Death Penalty. PRI will be

represented by Vika Sergeyeva, Regional Director of PRI’s Moscow

Office.

Other news and resources:

Carolyn Hoyle examines the death penalty in Indian law and

practice

Amnesty International: Death penalty will not end violence

against women in India

Singapore: Man on death row re-sentenced to life imprisonment

Nigeria: Lawyers without Borders move to save nursing mother

from death row

PREVENTION OF TORTURE

Online course on safeguards against torture and ill-treatment

Human Rights Education Associates are running an online course on

safeguards against torture and ill-treatment, with PRI’s Policy Director,

Andrea Huber, as instructor from 16 October-26

November. Click here to find out more and to register for the course!

A case study: Freedom from Torture rehabilitation model

In November 2010, PRI started a three‐year project to counter torture in

prisons and other places of deprivation of liberty in nine former Soviet

Union countries. This case study, published in July, outlines Freedom

from Torture’s framework and principles of holistic rehabilitation in an

effort to promote dialogue and share learning from the project.

Other news and resources:

Special Rapporteur on Torture reports on the revision of the

Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners

CPT reports on its visit to Ukraine

01/10/2013 The Shackling of Pregnant Prisoners in the US and other news from PRI

SPT concludes first visit to Armenia

PRI NEWS

In August, Oliver Robertson joined PRI’s Head Office as the new

Abolition of the Death Penalty Project Manager. Oliver previously

worked for the Quakers UN Office in Geneva. PRI would also like to

welcome Tríona Lenihan who joined PRI’s Head Office as Research

and Communications Intern in September. Tríona previously worked

with the Irish Penal Reform Trust in Dublin. We are delighted to have

Oliver and Tríona join our team.

In August we also said farewell to Mushegh Yekmalyan who was the

Torture Prevention Project Manager for over two years at PRI’s Head

office. We would like to thank Mushegh and wish him all the best in his

new challenge.

Other news:

PRI’s Middle East and North Africa office is now on facebook

BBC Arabic reports on “Ex-prisoners and ghosts of the past”

Uganda: Human rights chief, Mr Meddie Kaggwa, wins global

award

Copyright © *2013* *Penal Reform International*, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Penal Reform International PRI 60-62 Commercial St London, England E1 6LT United Kingdom Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences