C. Prison administration in South Africa Prior to 1994, prisons in South Africa were mainly regarded as places of punishment for political dissidents and opponents of the apartheid regime. There was hardly any programme of rehabilitation and reintegration. Following the abolition of apartheid in 1994, the general human rights paradigm was reshaped and the criminal justice system in general and prisons in particular were not left out. The rights of persons deprived of their liberty including prisoners are firmly enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.5 The treatment of prisoners and conditions of detention in prisons are spelt out in the 1998 Correctional Services Act6 and the Government White Paper on Corrections in South Africa of December 2003 elaborates extensive guidelines on improving the condition of detention in prisons. The government has also established independent bodies such as the Judicial Inspectorate on Prisons mandated to advise the Minister of Correctional Services and the President of the Republic and to inform the general public on the general conditions of detention in South African prisons and the National Council for Correctional Services, a body charged with advising the Minister on policy issues regarding the correctional system and the sentencing process. Parliament has also established a Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services to examine laws and policies dealing with correctional services. All these efforts seek to provide an effective atmosphere for the management of prisons including the treatment of prisoners. The Republic of South Africa has a total land area of about 1.2 million sq. km and a population of about 45 million inhabitants. The country has an original prison (or approved) capacity of 114,787 prison space, but as at June 2004, the prison population stood at 187,903. This means that one out of every 240 South African is in prison or 0.417% of the population. The prisoners are held in 238 correctional centers (or prisons) across the country – 8 female-only prisons, 72 male/female prisons, 13 Youth Development Centres and 141 male-only prisons. For administrative purposes, the prisons have been grouped into six regions, namely: - Eastern Cape Gauteng KwaZulu Natal Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West Northern Cape, Free State; and Western Cape 5 Act 108 of 1996. 6 No. 111 of 1998 as amended by the Correctional Services Amendment Act 32 of 2001. 13 Special Rapporteur on Prisons Mission to South Africa 14 – 30 June 2004