Page 41: She reckoned that her conditions of detention were far better than those of other prisoners and those their present situation was better than what they experienced in other prisons in the past. Page.42: The conclusion on Mopti Prison does not relate to the observations made page 23. Women in Mopti were indeed kept in custody; in order to benefit from the Presidential pardon. They are still in jail. At Bolle Centre, thirty female guards were recruited and trained. They replaced the male guards in the women prison. Page 42: As a general observation, it seemed to us that in many instances, you transcribed in your report statements made by the prisoners without balancing it with the point of view - maybe contradictory - of the Registrar of the concerned prison. Besides, the National Direction would have been able to give you its position on some points raised in the report before your departure from Mali, which is to say even before the writing of the first draft of this report. * Dear Sir, such were the points I wanted to draw your attention to in order to back the objectivity of the report you produced. TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON PRISONS AND CONDITIONS OF DETENTION IN AFRICA Mandate 1. In accordance with its mandate under Article 45 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (The Charter), the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (The Commission) hereby establishes the position of Special Rapporteur on Prisons and conditions of detention in Africa. 2. The Special Rapporteur is empowered to examine the situation of persons deprived of their liberty within the territories of States Parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.* Methods of work 3. The Special Rapporteur shall I would like to thank you warmly for the interest you show in our country through its prison system, I express my frank co-operation to your work. 3.1 Examine the state of prisons and conditions of detention in Africa and make recommendations with a view to improving them; The National Director Bourama Sidibe Magistrate. 3.2 Advocate adherence to the Charter and international human rights norms and standards concerning the rights of persons deprived of their liberty and the conditions in which they are held, examine the relevant national law and regulations in the respective States Parties as well as their implementation and make appropriate recommendations on their conformity with the Charter and with international law and standards; * I try to be as fair to both prison authorities and prisoners. To this end, I endeavour to state the accounts from each side as objectively and accurately as possible. I am extremely grateful to the National Director of Prisons, Mr. Bourama Sidibe for his comments, which led me to make changes in my original repport. Regrettable, I could not adopt all his comments. Professor E. V.O. Dankwa 3.3 Make recommendations to the Commission as regards communications submitted to it, by individuals who have been deprived of their liberty, by their families or representatives, by NGOs or other persons or institutions; * Prof. Dankwa's mandate has been renewed by the Commission. 56 57