21st September 2020
Joint Committee on Human Rights today published the report of their enquiry into the human rights implications of the UK Government’s response to COVID-19.
14th September 2020
UK charities Unlock and The Prison Reform Trust have published ‘Thinking Differently: Employer’s views on hiring people convicted of sexual offences’, a report based on two surveys regarding the employment of those previously convicted of sexual offences.
14th July 2020
Penal Reform International’s (PRI) new briefing considers how criminal justice systems around the world are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it is impacting on people serving custodial and community sanctions. While measures can be introduced now to mitigate infection, the briefing points to the systemic and long-term reforms needed to prevent harm and rights violations in future.
9th July 2020
The Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) issued a follow-up statement to its 'Statement of principles' from March, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CPT says that further steps are needed to reduce the numbers of people in detention.
3rd July 2020
The Committee finds that the right to family life of children whose mothers are in prison in England and Wales risks being breached, and proposes that the Government ends the blanket ban on children visiting prisons.
1st July 2020
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) has adopted a Recommendation which updates the 2006 European Prison Rules. Among other amendments, the revised rules establish that states should set in their national legislation the maximum period for which solitary confinement may be imposed.
18th June 2020
The Council of Europe and the University of Lausanne launched this special SPACE I COVID-19 project in order to measure and better understand the impacts of the pandemic on the prison population in member states.
4th June 2020
People detained prior to the pandemic have seen their rights restricted further and are exposed to greater health risks. This new practical guidance from the APT and ODIHR details how these who monitor places of detention can continue their monitoring functions during COVID-19.
3rd June 2020
This webinar, hosted by the Transnational Institute, examined the drivers of mass incarceration globally, and how COVID-19 has exposed these issues.
27th May 2020
This Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) webinar featured a series of insightful presentations, subsequent questions and discussion about the challenges that the pandemic presents for prisons, and in particular for prisoners and their families.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.