VI. Good Practices Generally, prisons in Ethiopia are in good conditions. The relationship between the prisoners and the prison authorities is good. There is an impression that prisoners believe that the conditions under which they are living is the best the government can offer and as such are contented with their conditions. Maybe this belief is informed by the general level of poverty in the country. Prisoners are also under the impression that whatever improvements that can be made to their living condition is not within the competence of the local prison administration but rather the government. Thus, in all the prisons visited, during the close door meetings with the prisoners, there were very little complaints about the prison administration. The majority of the complaints – delays in trial, pardon, clemency, no mattresses etc were directed against government. In the midst of all these complaints, the prisoners are generally happy with the way they are being treated. One reason for this it would seem, is the fact that the prisoners ire virtually responsible for their wellbeing while in prison. This is done through the through the Prisoner’s Committees. (a) The Prisoners’ Committees In all the prisons in Ethiopia, there are Prisoners’ Committees. The Committees are established at all three levels of the prison structure – Cells, Zones and Compounds. At each level, prisoners elect representatives for each committee. Taking the Addis Ababa prison for illustration, the prison has a main committee structure for the whole prison (compound). The prison is divided into six Zones. Each Zone has various committees. The zones are further divided into cells and each cell has its own committees. There is thus a hierarchical organisation of committees from the cell to the compound level, with representatives being elected by the prisoners themselves at each level – from the cell to the main committee. There are usually ten committees at all levels. This arrangement is reproduced in all the prisons. However, depending on the size of the prison population, a prison might not have all the committees at all level of prison structure. The organisational structure of the committees at all levels is as follows: 38 Report of the Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons to Ethiopia 15 – 29 March 2004