HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE Topic B: Human Rights Violations Inside Penitentiary Institutions Summary: The purposes of a sentence of imprisonment or similar measures regarding the deprivation of a person’s liberty are primarily to protect society against crime and to reduce recidivism. Those purposes can be achieved only if the period of imprisonment is used to ensure, so far as possible, the reintegration of such persons into society upon release so that they can lead a law-abiding and self-supporting life (UNODC, 2017, p.1). Topic Outline: International law stipulates that imprisonment should not be limited to the deprivation of liberty alone. Rather, it should include opportunities for prisoners to obtain knowledge and skills that can assist them in their successful reintegration upon release, with a view to avoiding future offending (UNODC, 2017, p.1). Last August, at least twenty-nine prisoners were killed in a remote jungle facility in Venezuela, leading the country's Justice Ministry, charged with prison administration, to promise reforms, and its Public Ministry to conduct an extensive investigation of the incident's causes. Inadequate supervision by guards, easy access to weapons, lack of separation of different categories of prisoners, and fierce competition for basic necessities encourage inmate-on-inmate abuse in many penal facilities. In extreme cases -- as in certain Venezuelan prisons with one guard for every 150 prisoners, and an underground trade in knives, guns, even grenades -- prisoners kill other prisoners with impunity. Rape, extortion, and involuntary servitude are among the other abuses frequently suffered by inmates at the bottom of the prison hierarchy. In contrast, powerful inmates in some facilities in Colombia, India, and Mexico, among others, enjoy cellular phones, rich diets, and comfortable lodgings. The Modelo prison was built in 1917 in the city of Bogotá, exemplifying another common problem: that of old, antiquated, and physically decaying prison facilities. Nineteenth-century prisons needing constant upkeep remain in use in some countries, including the United States, Mexico, Russia, and the United Kingdom, although many modern facilities are in severe disrepair due to lack of maintenance (HRW, 2019). Questions to consider: 1. How is your delegation planning to control corruption inside prisons? 2. Does your delegation provide the basic human necessities and medical assistance for prisoners? 3. How does your delegation prevent conflicts between prisoners within penitentiary institutions? 4. How will your delegation prevent discrimination and violations inside prisons? 5. Does your delegation follow the UN Declaration of Human Rights for imprisoned people? 6. How will the committee address the issue of discriminatory unemployment for ex-convicts? Sources: 1. Human Rights Watch Prison Project (2019). Human Rights Abuses Against Prisoners. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/legacy/advocacy/prisons/abuses.htm 2. United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (2007). Roadmap for the Development of Prison-based Rehabilitation Programmes. Retrieved from http://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/17-05452_eboo k.pdf
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