20 December 1997 21 December 1997 I was interviewed prior to our departure from Nampula for radio by Rafael D. Omar of Radio Mozambique who was also a member of the Mozambique League of Human Rights. The interview centred around the Commission, my mandate, the mission to Mozambique and my findings. T indicated generally the efforts being made by the authorities; the financial and material constraints facing Mozambique; the openness of the authorities and their willingness to receive advice and not hide the prison conditions; but stressed that there were still certain things which could be done to improve the situation. I had discussion with Miss Mabote Executive Director of LMDH. This organisation was the main local body working in the area of promoting and protecting the rights of prisoners. Some journalists and religious organisations also work in this area. 22 December 1997 Xai-Xai Provincial Prison 20 December 1997 Xai-Xai is a small town in Gaza Province located 200 km north of Maputo. From Maputo it is just beyond the Limpopo River. One also crosses the Nkomati River on the way to Xai-Xai from Maputo. Hanhane Open Centre, Matola This was situated about 2 kilometres from Maputo. There were 2 of such centres within the environs of Maputo; and each of the 10 provinces of Mozambique would have at least one of them. Xai-Xai has a main road which is broad and well-tarred with pavement and trees on both sides. The National Director of Prisons under the Ministry of Justice and Danilo Nala from the Mozambican League of Human Rights accompanied us on this visit. The prison officials had been informed of my visit, and were waiting for me. As usual, a discussion with the Director, Domingo Chambal preceded a visit to the cells and other parts of the prison. The Centre was established in 1986 for women but men have subsequently been added. At the time of the visit there were 6 women and 8 men although the centre had capacity to accommodate 25 inmates. The male and female inmates lived in different buildings. The women's was better than that of the men in sleeping condition. The guards were all women. Discussion with the Director A blackboard behind the Director's desk had vital statistics of the pnson. 118 of the inmates were on remand while 53 were convicts making a total of 171. 166 of them were male while 5 were female. Three of the 5 were under the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior. The Director explained that inmates of open centres consisted generally of those who had served the greater part of their sentence and were about to be discharged. They must also have behaved well. The centre, was also used'to assess the suitability of inmates who had been earmarked for conditional release. A big idea behind the open centres was to help reintegration of inmates into society. It was built in 1946 to hold 70 prisoners (information partly supplied by Director). The two living quarters of the centre were almost surrounded by two farms with oranges, lemon, mangoes, pear, corn, beans, cassava and paw-paw trees. While male and female inmates were kept apart, the same was not true for convicts and those on remand because of limited space. There was no record of the number of orphans in the prison; and it was not certain how many young adults had been imprisoned. Food 32 3 meals a day were served to the inmates. They consisted of maize, rice, beans and fish. Asked how the prison authorities were able to provide 3 meals, the 33