HUMANRIGHTS RESEARCH REPORT—ENSURING HUMAN DIGNITY IN
NATIONAL PRISON SYSTEMS
I. Introduction of Topic:
Several international standards attempt to define or encapsulate the rights of a
prisoner, but very few address the preservation of one’s dignity in absence of their
freedom. According to the 1996 International Human Rights Covenants, human rights
“derive from the inherent dignity of the human person”1; therefore, one can conclude
that, by addressing the preservation of a prisoner’s dignity you are also addressing the
fulfillment of their inherent human rights.
While various documents have been drafted by a multitude of different parties
since the 90’s, there has been little progress in improving the conditions and treatment
of prisoners worldwide. This is mainly for two reasons. Firstly, the isolation of
prisoners from society results in an apathetic response to their ill treatment. Secondly,
it is thought that the problem is specific to certain prisons and therefor is dealt with
individually. It, however, needs to be dealt in a national approach, specific to the
nations failures in ensuring human dignity in their prison systems.
As an extremely predominant topic, the issue of ensuring human dignity in
national prison systems can be further subdivided into smaller issues. These tend to
vary on a larger scale by continent, and then by prison. For example North American
prisons tend to suffer from a lack of funding (or refusal to fund) and racial
discrimination whereas in in Africa prisons suffer from overcrowding resulting in lack
of adequate accommodation for prisoners as well as widespread corruption. These
will be further addressed in section IV.
II. Background:
Four separate documents have been formed by the UNHCHR in 2005, in order
to ensure the safety and dignity of inmates. As all humans internationally are
inherently granted human rights: the only debate, which has been entertained in
regards to one’s dignity, is that concerning the right to vote. Despite this, the abuse of
rights of prisoners is a widespread international problem that continues to go
unnoticed.
While statistics concerning world prison population rates are readily available
through the WPB, it is worth noting that figures are neither complete nor available for
a number of countries. These include China, Eritrea, Guinea Bissau, Somalia and
North Korea (DPRK). The conditions of these prisons though, as seen by inspections
by the UNOCD, still violate international human rights standards. Violating these
standards would mean a failure to provide prisoners with their right to adequate food
and water, accommodation, clothing, bedding, heating, ventilation, floor space and
freedom from torture. It is quite rare to stumble upon a prison which meets all the
above criteria. As occupancy in prisons reaches an all time high, they are becoming
overcrowded, resulting in a decline in quality; prisoners are being forced to share
1
Donnelly, Jack. "RESEARCH PROJECT ON HUMAN DIGNITY: Human Dignity and Human
Rights." (pg. 3): Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, June 2009.
Web.
small spaces, consolidate on items, and receive lower quality food and health care.
III. Relevant International Agreements, Conventions, Organizations and
Resolutions:
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1966: International Covenant on economic, social and cultural rights
1982: Principles of Medical Ethics: Resolution 37/194 is approved by the General
Assembly.
1990: Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners is adopted and proclaimed by
resolution 45/111 of December 14th 1990.
1996: Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) was enacted by congress in order to
decrease litigation in the court system.
1998: Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe concerning the ethical and
organizational aspects of health care in prison: Adopted by the Committee of
Ministers on 8 April 1998.
at the 627th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies
1999: WHO Consensus Statement on Mental Health Promotion in Prisons,
recognizing and guided by the mission of improving people’s psychosocial wellbeing
and making better services for those with mental health problems more readily
available all by the year 2020.
2005: Four separate documents entitled “Human Rights and Prisons” are drafted by
the UNHCHR: A manual, a compilation, a trainer’s guide and a pocketbook. The
pocketbook is a collapsed version of the manual whose purpose is to inform and
instruct prison officials with the correct manner in conducting themselves. It can be
divided into 7 different “sections” including: Right to physical and moral integrity,
right to adequate standard of living, health rights of prisoners, making prisons safe
places, contact with the outside world, women in prison and juveniles.
2007: Health in Prisons, a World Health Organization (WHO) guide to the essentials
in prison health is published.
2013: The most updated World Prison Brief (WPB) is published, setting the US in
first place for number of prisoners per 100,000 civilians
Relevant Terms/ Organizations:
CPT- European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment of Punishment
ICCPR- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
ICHRP- International Council on Human Rights Policy
ICPA- International Corrections and Prison Association
ICPS- International Center for Prison Studies
NCCHC- The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC)
PRI- Penal Reform International
WPB- World Prison Brief
IV. Main Issues:
Access to Adequate Health Care:
Many may assume that if someone is deprived their liberty, their rights go along
with it. It’s actually quite the opposite, especially in terms of health. When a state
deprives someone of their freedom and ability to monitor their own health, they take
on this responsibility. In short, “they should not be leaving the prisoner in a worse
condition then when they entered”2.
Addressing adequate health care in prisons is both a difficult challenge and a
unique opportunity. It provides you with ability to
access a certain faction of people in society who
statistically have a decreased standard of health. Their
lifestyle, which on average is more likely to include
mental illness, drug dependence and communicable
diseases, is more likely to put them at health risk. One
is given the ability to address inequality in health
services by being given a rare opportunity to access this
faction. Target areas for improvement in terms of
improving the health care of prisoners includes mental
health (psychiatric care), regulation of communicable
disease, monitoring HIV levels, drugs and dependence.
Overcrowding:
There has been much correlation between
overcrowding in prisons, and cutting corners due to
lack of funding. Overcrowding in California’s state
prison system has been seen to result in the ill treatment
Fig. 2 (The Economist: Prison Occupancy Rate)
of prisoners. Over 18 of California’s 33 state run prisons,
run at an estimated 180% capacity. This results in a desperate attempt to regain
control in a chaotic and crowded environment. Race-based lock downs and other
discriminatory acts have become common practice. “During these types of
lockdowns, usually the result of a fight between a gang of one race and a gang of
another race, all members of each race are confined to their cells for 24 hours a day,
regardless of whether they were involved in the incident. This means that many
inmates can find themselves denied exercise, educational programs, family visits and
even sunlight for months at a time for merely being the same race as an inmate
2
Andrew Coyle, 'A human rights approach to prison management-handbook for prison staff' (2002) 49.
involved in a fight.”3 In Indonesia, the Philippines and South Africa, and Peru, the
overcrowding of prisons in combination with poor facilities has resulted in a rising
Tuberculosis rate.
Inmate Fighting:
Inmate fighting is an issue that seems to plague all prisons. If it occurs, it
shows that the climate created in the prison- for whatever reason- allows for human
rights abuses. Depending to the structure of the prison, and how well it caters for the
natural anger and frustration of prisoners, tensions and divisions in the community are
created in various gradients. Often, gang’s form, and their fight’s can result in
everything from injury to death. Essentially, prisoner’s individual mentalities need to
be restructured.
Lack of funding:
Soaring incarceration rates are being paired with a lack of funding resulting in
degrading, abusive and dangerous conditions for prisoners. Though in numerous
cases, the issue is not a lack of funding, but a lack of applicable purpose of these
funds. In Texas, extreme temperatures in State-run facilities have resulted in the death
of 14 inmates since 2007. While the Texas Department of Criminal Justice refuses to
place a ventilation system for prisoners, they have recently spent near to $750,000 on
climate-controlled housing for its pig-breeding program.
Corruption:
Corruption in prison systems presents itself differently by nation. While in the US
it may be less extreme, in some parts of the world prisoners can in fact buy their
freedom. In Chad, prison guards and workers are paid so little that bribery is seen as
customary. “This was confirmed by Chadian human rights activists and even local
prosecutors who told Amnesty International delegates that the practice was illegal but
common in Chadian prisons and other detention centers.” Not only could prisoners
buy their freedom, but human rights were not inherent and needed to be bought.
Clothing, proper meals, medicines or visits from relatives all came at a price
(approximately US$0,6-1 per visit).
Isolation:
Numerous psychologists have studied and spoken against the extended isolation
of inmates. The lack of social interaction and stimulation results in brain damage,
similar to that of a traumatic incident, as well as has been seen to cause chronic
depression, apathy, lethargy, and despair. “In some extreme cases” notes Craig
Hanley, a psychology professor at the University of California, “prisoners may
literally stop behaving, becoming essentially catatonic. 4 In other cases, solitary
confinement was ineffective and counter productive as the prisoner reacted violently
to their intended behavior reform. Despite this, solitary confinement is still common
practice, particularly in the United States.
3
Gottesdiener, Laura. "California's Prisons Face Allegations Of Race Discrimination." The Huffington
Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 25 May 2011. Web.
4 Gawande, Atul. "Is Long-term Solitary Confinement Torture?" The New Yorker. N.p., 30th Mar.
2009. Web.
V. Additional Resources:
World Health Organization: Regional Office for Europe- Prisons and Health
http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-determinants/prisons-and-health
Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/BasicPrinciplesTreatmentOfPris
oners.aspx
Health in Prisons: A WHO guide to the essentials in prison health.
http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/99018/E90174.pdf
Amnesty International is currently running several campaigns and petitions regarding
the rights of inmates.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/search/node/prison%20rights
Penal Reform International (PRI) is an independent non-governmental organization
that develops and promotes fair, effective and proportionate responses to criminal
justice problems worldwide.
http://www.penalreform.org/about-us/
Chad: We’re all dying here- Human Rights Violations in Prisons
http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/chad_report_september_2012_embargo
ed.pdf
It is advisable, before starting any research on specific issues on the agenda, to browse
extensively the <WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs resources>, one of the best
portal with scores of valuable links: http://www2.etown.edu/vl/ and of course the main UN
portal: http://www.un.org/ as well as the invaluable UN cyber-school-bus website:
http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/ . The THIMUN website, http://www.thimun.org/ also
has an extensive and efficient <Research> section worth browsing. For comprehensive
academic documents on international crisis: http://www.crisisgroup.org/ has numerous
reports in PDF format.
Procedural Reminder
Delegates are reminded that at PAMUN conference, they are not expected to arrive with full-fledged
resolutions. One or two solid clauses with which to caucus and kick-off the debates is all that is
required. These clauses should arise from the <Main Issues> section in the Research Reports, which
aims at directing the attention of the delegates to the pending issues which are in need of finding a
solution, which is what the debates in the committees seek to achieve. At PAMUN, Resolutions are
expected to emerge from the clause by clause debates in the committees.