Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor: UN Rollout of Global Standards for Treatment of Prisoners

You are subscribed to Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor: UN Rollout of Global Standards for Treatment of Prisoners 10/07/2015 05:42 PM EDT UN Rollout of Global Standards for Treatment of Prisoners Remarks Sarah Sewall Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights  New York City October 7, 2015 Thank you Secretary-General Moon, Director Fedotov, and other distinguished guests. Today – sixty years after the U.N. General Assembly adopted the landmark Minimum Standards for the Treatment of Prisoners, we bring those standards into the 21st century with the Mandela Rules. These 122 rules represent a historic step toward affirming the fundamental dignity of prisoners everywhere and provide a comprehensive foundation to bring new decency and humanity to their treatment. The United States whole-heartedly endorses these rules and is proud to have participated in the collaborative process to produce them. Though we rightly celebrate these new standards, the real challenge is what comes next: translating them into our policies and practice. That will not be easy, and we must support and push each other through the challenges implementation may pose. We all have important work ahead, and the United States is no exception. While we are home to just five percent of the world’s population, we have 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. This summer, President Obama became the first-ever sitting president to visit a federal prison, where he spoke about the urgent need for prison reform in the U.S. He declared – unequivocally – that “we should not tolerate conditions in prison that have no place in any civilized country.” Conditions like overcrowding, corruption, and rape. This was not just a moral argument, but a pragmatic one. How people are treated while incarcerated directly affects how they behave once they return to our communities. That is why the Mandela Rules stress the need for prisoners to have opportunities for educational and vocational training, along with moral or spiritual counseling. Programs like these are critical to helping prisoners become contributing members of society when they are released. Yet in too many places, horrid conditions, poor management, torture, and abuse can turn prisons into incubators for criminality and even radicalization. That is why, at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism last February, and again just last week here in New York, we made prison reform a pillar of our global agenda to address extremist threats like ISIL. Well-managed prisons that help rehabilitate and reintegrate inmates can make it more difficult for extremists to radicalize this population. So these efforts are not just about advancing human rights, but they can also enhance our collective security. As we prepare to implement these rules, we must remember that governments are not alone in this effort. Just as we benefited from the active participation of civil society to develop these rules, we should enlist civil society to implement them. These groups can help facilitate religious learning to help counter the warped ideologies of violent extremists. Civil society can also ensure that governments uphold the commitments embodied in this document, and can advise us when the Mandela Rules need further improvement in the years to come. The United States will continue to partner with any government willing to realize the Mandela Rules, and we have worked closely with Ministries of Justice and corrections bureaus around the world to do just that. For example, with U.S. assistance, Afghanistan employs professional training modules for its correctional staff to ensure a higher standard of management and care. U.S. support also helped Morocco launch drug treatment and vocational programs for prisoners, along with a system for inmates to express grievances. There are many other examples I could cite, but it should be clear that we stand ready to partner with any country willing to implement these rules. After all, that is our real challenge ahead. So as we move forward, let us live up Mandela’s example of moral leadership and make these rules a reality in our time. Thank you. The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein. 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