Irish Penal Reform Trust

International News

UK: Avoidable natural deaths in prison custody

5th October 2020

This new report aims to identify how natural deaths in prison might be prevented, where possible, and end of life care managed with dignity and compassion. This report is especially relevant as prisons face new challenges regarding healthcare amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Children Held on Remand in Victoria: A Report on Sentencing Outcomes

2nd October 2020

This report by the Sentencing Advisory Council (Australia) considers the relationship between remand and sentencing, and identifies the proportion of remanded children who did not go on to receive a custodial sentence for their offending.

Joint Committee on Human Rights: Government’s response to COVID-19

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.

Prison Reform Trust and Unlock: ‘Thinking Differently: Employer’s views on hiring people convicted of sexual offences’

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.

PRI: Preventing harm and human rights violations in criminal justice systems

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.

CPT: COVID-19 follow-up statement

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.

UK: Human Rights Committee publishes report on the response to children whose mothers are in prison during the COVID-19 pandemic

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.

CoE: Revised European Prison Rules

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.

Special SPACE I Report: Prisons and Prisoners in Europe in Pandemic Times

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.

APT and ODIHR: Monitoring Places of Detention through the COVID-19 pandemic

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.

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