The Special Rapporteur assists prisoners to harvest cabbage in the Ziway prison farm 2. Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) The SNNPR as the name indicates is made up of over 50 different nations, nationalities and peoples living cohesively. These ethnic groups have their own languages, culture and history with which they identify themselves. It is the third largest region in Ethiopia with a population of about 14 million (21% of national population) and an area of about 112,537 (10% of national area). It is divided into the following administrative units - 13 zones, 8 Special Woredas, 104 Woredas and 3717 Kebeles, with the Zones being the largest administrative unit and the Kebeles the smallest. The Region lies in the southern part of the country. It has common borders with Kenya to the South, the Republic of the Sudan to the South West, the Gambella Region to the North West, and the Oromia region to the North and East. The rural population of the region accounts for about 93.2% of the total population. North Omo, Sidama, and Guragie are the three zones with the highest population. The population is concentrated mostly in eastern, northern and central part of the Region while the western and southern parts are sparsely populated. The predominant languages spoken in the region include, Sidamigna, Gruagigna, Wolayitagna, Hadiyigna, Keffigna,, and Kembatigna. Other languages spoken in the region are, Gamoigna, Malo, Goffa and Gedeo. The working language of the region is Amharic. Under the former regime, prisons in the region were grossly neglected – inadequate funding, no training facilities and no desire to reform and reintegrate prisoners. The SNNPR Prison Administration Office was reconstituted in 1993 after the overthrow of 14 Report of the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia 15 – 29 March 2004