INTRODUCTION This guidance document seeks to provide comprehensive and practical guidance on the implementation of the revised Rules. Its intended audience is primarily prison staff, management and other relevant practitioners in prisons, and has been designed to help understand and implement the Mandela Rules in practice. Given that a number of Rules require adjustments in laws and policies that stretch beyond the reach of individual prison administrations, recommendations for policymakers have also been included. Promising practice examples from the OSCE region have been collected to illustrate possible approaches to implementation. For a few areas, those examples have been complemented with promising practices from around the world. Rather than going through the Rules chronologically, the document is arranged in seven thematic chapters, grouping inter-related provisions and reflecting on them comprehensively. Recognizing the wealth of existing guidance on the previous SMR, the document reflects only the revisions of the SMR and does not elaborate on thematic areas and Rules that have not been changed as part of the revision process. This document only provides guidance for the implementation of minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners. It incorporates existing international legal and practical tools, “soft law” principles and opinions of authoritative bodies, as well as promising national practice examples providing guidance for the interpretation and effective implementation of the revised Rules. It should in no circumstances obstruct the implementation and development of higher standards of prison management, treatment of prisoners or prison conditions. It is essential to apply a gender perspective to all aspects of prison management to protect the human rights of persons deprived of their liberty. This document therefore points out provisions and situations where a gender perspective is particularly relevant. Issues specifically relating to female prisoners are highlighted in the document with reference to the more comprehensive guidance provided by the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules). This should not distract from the fact that in the typically male-dominated prison environment, men and boys who do not conform to dominant gender perceptions are also exposed to risks. Specific risks and needs are also associated with lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans- and/or intersex (LGBTI) prisoners. Prison administrations need to take into account the differential impact of measures of prison management and of detention conditions on men and women, boys and girls, as well as on LGBTI individuals, in order to create humane and safe facilities. This Guidance Document on the Nelson Mandela Rules has been produced following detailed desk research and consultation and outreach with practitioners. A wide range of inter-governmental institutions, prison experts and representatives of civil society with practical experience have kindly contributed their time and expertise, and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Penal Reform International (PRI) would like to thank all of them for their crucial input and generous contributions. The document also draws on the Essex paper, which provided initial guidance based on the deliberations of a meeting of experts, known informally as the “Essex expert group”, in April 2016.4 We hope that the Guidance Document on the Nelson Mandela Rules will provide useful insights for prison administrations, staff, policymakers and other practitioners when implementing the revised Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Full implementation of the Mandela Rules will ensure that prisoners’ human rights are respected and they are treated with dignity. This in turn creates safer environments for prison staff to carry out their duties effectively. It will also mean that prison authorities are able to contribute to achieving the primary purpose of criminal justice systems, namely the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners for the benefit of society as a whole. 4. Essex paper 3: Initial guidance on the interpretation and implementation of the Nelson Mandela Rules, Penal Reform International and the Essex Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex, 2017, at www.penalreform.org/resource/guidance-on-implementation-thenelson-mandela-rules. Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules 03