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1.2
on the other hand, that of therefore defining warders’ duties in terms of supporting
prisoners towards becoming autonomous, making prison areas their own once
again – in particular the accommodation sectors and exercise yards; and also
redefining the regulations, which should be both a means of guaranteeing security
and, moreover, supporting civility and respect for all.
A Personal Requirement: the Right of Persons Deprived of Liberty to
an Autonomous Life
The right to autonomy for persons deprived of liberty implies the possibility
of developing and promoting the free exercise of acts of daily life and
choice of lifestyle in prisons, as long as collective living and the security of
institutions is not thereby harmed.
Yet, numerous prohibitions of a general nature, several of which remain unexplained
(except, very often, for reasons intended to simplify the management of the prison population as
a whole), tend to severely limit this right.
In institutions in which long sentences are served, security requirements should be
balanced with the need to avoid social alienation of the person, in view of the prospect (even
distant) of their release. It is therefore essential that an autonomous disposition be recovered in
the pre-release period. Autonomy also – and above all – needs to be maintained throughout the
time of serving the sentence, whether long or short, for reasons relating both to the fundamental
rights of persons (right to respect of human dignity, right to privacy, right to social life, right to
individual initiative, right of expression and right of access to healthcare etc.) and with a view to
successful release. When manifestly non-autonomous persons are imprisoned, it would be
appropriate for the conditions of their detention, in prisons for convicted prisoners and remand
prisons, to encourage them to learn to become autonomous and responsible, in particular with a
view to their return to free society.
A series of measures aimed at the achievement, maintenance and recovery of autonomy
will be set out in this part, organised on the basis of certain fundamental rights. There are
nevertheless certain pre-requirements for these initiatives. In the first place, the consent of the
persons involved needs to be sought in a systematic manner. At the same time, collective
and individual expression need to be encouraged 63. Individuals should also have adequate
access to information useful to them, by means of putting technical resources existing in free
environments in place, or the use of translators and interpreters, for example. Personalisation of
the measures provided for prisoners also requires recognition of each person’s specific status
(with regard to retirement, disability, nationality etc.) and plans (student, work, self-employed
“auto-entrepreneur” etc.), which gives them specific entitlements and duties. In any case, the
involvement of professionals (prison staff, external actors etc.) is essential in order to enable the
development of autonomy.
1.2.1 Right to Respect of Dignity
63
The possibility of expressing grievances and wishes will be dealt with more specifically in the section of this Annual
Report devoted to the processing of applications. The CGLPL will therefore here limit itself to pointing out the
importance that it places upon prisoners’ free access to computer terminals for the processing of applications, while
having the right to be assisted by another prisoner, an interpreter or a member of prison staff if necessary.
90
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