2. SAFETY, SECURITY AND DIGNITY FOR ALL Communications between prisoners and lawyers, including legal paperwork, must remain confidential. Confidential paperwork should only therefore be opened if there is a legitimate reason to suspect that illegal or dangerous items are concealed within that paperwork. However, prison authorities must never read the contents of the documents. 72 UNODC has noted that “[c]orrespondence between the prisoners and his or her lawyer should always be treated as confidential and in no circumstances be monitored. Only in exceptional cases, such as there being a reasonable and justifiable suspicion that such correspondence is being used for illegal purposes, should a senior member of staff be permitted to open incoming letters in the presence of the prisoner concerned in order to check for any illegal items. The letter should not be read. Similarly, documents carried by legal representatives into prison must be treated as confidential and the searching of lawyers should be undertaken with particular sensitivity.”137 73 2 2.3. CHILDREN IN PRISON WITH THEIR PARENT The revised SMR incorporate some provisions related to children living in prison with their parent. The Bangkok Rules supplement the Mandela Rules with more detailed guidance on how children and parents in prison should be supported, including in relation to the emotional and developmental needs of children. The Bangkok Rules also provide more guidance on decision-making processes around whether a child should be allowed to stay in prison or be removed. Preliminary observation 12 of the Bangkok Rules states that, “Some of these rules address issues applicable to both men and women prisoners, including those relating to parental responsibilities (…). Accordingly, some of these rules would apply equally to male prisoners and offenders who are fathers.” Policymakers should develop clear and consistent guidelines on the decision-making process for allowing a child to stay in prison with an adult, as well as guidelines on how long a child can stay in prison. Guidelines should also include when and how a child should be separated from its parent or care-giver, including the consideration of suitable alternative arrangements, and contain provisions to ensure that removal is carried out with due care and sensitivity. Care-givers should be fully informed in advance of the procedures to be followed in this case. More detail on this subject can be found in guidance published on the Bangkok Rules.138 RELEVANT RULES: CHILDREN IN PRISON WITH THEIR PARENT Rule 29: (b) Child-specific health-care services, including health 1. A decision to allow a child to stay with his or her screenings upon admission and ongoing monitoring of parent in prison shall be based on the best interests of the child concerned. Where children are allowed to remain in prison with a parent, provision shall be made for: their development by specialists. 2. Children in prison with a parent shall never be treated as prisoners. (a) Internal or external childcare facilities staffed by qualified persons, where the children shall be placed when they are not in the care of their parent; 137 138 137. Handbook on the Management of High-Risk Prisoners, UNODC, op. cit., note 42, p. 139. 138. See for example: Guidance Document: United Nations Rules on the treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial measures for Women Offenders (‘Guidance Document on the Bangkok Rules’), Penal Reform International/Thailand Institute of Justice, 2013. Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules 67