A/HRC/31/57/Add.2 Work and educational opportunities and recreation 51. Work opportunities and vocational training, including tailoring, carpentry, masonry, and block-laying, are sparse and available for less than 10% of prisoners due to a lack of resources like tools and equipment, the deplorable state of workshops and physical infrastructure, and an absence of capacity-building and training for personnel. At Nsawam approximately 40 to 50 prisoners work in shops at any given time, with greater demand for work than can be accommodated. At Ankaful, the Special Rapporteur observed 6 prisoners working in a tailoring workshop and 20 in the kitchen, with an additional 20 “agric” workers reported. Authorities plan to phase in additional vocational training workshops during the second phase of building. The criteria for selecting workers could not be clearly discerned, with some indications that good conduct is considered. 52. The Special Rapporteur learned that only a handful of prisoners benefit from educational programmes within the prison system, although the Ministry of Education plans to introduce formal education courses, including a tertiary institution for distance learning. Although the education unit at Nsawam has been slightly expanded, with at least 7 prisoners having completed the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, poor conditions and a lack of learning and teaching materials remain prohibitive. Initiatives to provide ICT training to both officers and prisoners are welcome developments. The Special Rapporteur spoke to two inmates who received schooling in Nsawam, and two more who expressed a desire to attend school but could not be accommodated. At Ankaful, inmates complained of not being allowed to keep books other than the Bible. The provision of educational and work opportunities, including sustainable training programmes, is essential to the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners. The Government is encouraged to allocate funds, build capacity, and partner with NGOs, churches, and other groups to obtain donations and facilitate the development and implementation of relevant educational and vocational training programmes. Discipline 53. The Special Rapporteur is concerned by the fact that provisions of the Prisons Service Act 1972 have not been amended to explicitly prohibit the use disciplinary measures that are illegal under international human rights law and, in particular, the use of corporal punishment in the form of “no more than fifteen strokes of a light cane;” the reduction of food for up to seven days; and hard labor and solitary confinement for up to 28 days. In this context, he reminds the Government that the newly revised Nelson Mandela Rules (Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners) expressly prohibit the use of corporal punishment and other restrictions or disciplinary sanctions that amount to torture or other ill-treatment, including prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement (Rule 43). 54. The Special Rapporteur inspected isolation cells at Ankaful and learned that isolation is rarely used as a punishment, and typically not for longer than two or three days. At Nsawam, cells originally built for the purposes of isolation are used to house prisoners due to the overcrowding. Internal disciplinary procedures typically involve the constitution of an ad hoc panel for a hearing, with final decisions being issued by the Prison Commander. Inmates can reportedly appeal decisions to the director of prisons, but these are not otherwise subject to review by a court or higher administrative panel. Statistics on the outcomes of disciplinary procedures were not provided, but authorities reported that prisoners are largely cooperating. The loss of remission (reduction of sentences by up to one third for good behavior) appears to be more frequently used as a disciplinary measure. 55. Prisoners typically reported positive relations with prison guards, with sporadic complaints that guards were disrespectful, verbally abusive and, in one case, violent. Standing Orders (1960) of the Prisons Service permit “privileged” (“Special Class”) 15