ESSEX PAPER 3: INITIAL GUIDANCE ON THE INTERPRETATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN NELSON MANDELA RULES Safety during transfer The experts noted the relevance of the last sentence of Rule 1 also in the context of transfer, namely that safety and security need to be ensured ‘at all times’. The Essex group noted that safety during transfers of prisoners from one facility to another include prevention of escape, but also safety from violence by other prisoners or escorting staff. It further implies measures to prevent injuries through accidents (e.g. in case of use of restraints, with regard to the vehicles used etc.), which comprises regular checks of vehicles. It was emphasised that provisions regarding separation of prisoners and supervision by staff continue to apply during transfer. Female and male prisoners should not be transported together (Rules 11(a) and 81(2)), and young prisoners must be kept separate from adults (Rule 11(d), Rule 26.3 Beijing Rules196). Rule 81(3) requires that women prisoners are supervised by female officers. The participants noted specific risks in some countries, such as attempts to free prisoners or attack prisoner transports. To address such risks countries may consider measures that reduce the necessity of transports, such as by courts coming to prison rather than prisoners being transported to court; hearings by video etc. However, such solutions should be implemented weighing the risk against infringements of the right to fair trial and the presumption of innocence. Conditions of transfer Conditions of transfer need to comply with Rule 42, which specifies minimum material conditions that ‘apply to all prisoners without exception’. These include light, ventilation, temperature, sanitation, nutrition (see also Rule 22), drinking water (see also Rule 22, ‘whenever he/she needs it’), access to open air and physical exercise (breaks depending on duration of travel), personal hygiene (toilet breaks etc.), health-care and adequate space.197 This implies that individuals must not be transported in extreme heat or cold. Specific provisions may need to be made for pregnant women, especially when advanced in pregnancy. Pregnancy or an illness of a prisoner may impact on the composition of the team of escorting officers, for example medical staff may need to be present. A medical practitioner should advise on a prisoner’s fitness to travel or any adjustments that need to be made. Adjustments may be prompted by physical as well as psychological health considerations. Vehicles used for transports of sick prisoners to external health-care facilities need to be adequate to their medical condition.198 Also, cellular (or custodial) vehicles, which often have small or no windows and are dark, would not be suitable for detainees who are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or claustrophobia. The experts noted that in the UK, therefore, the Inspectorate United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules), adopted 29 November 1985 by UN General Assembly resolution 40/33. 196  This is supported in the Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, stating that transfers cannot be carried out in conditions that can cause physical or mental suffering, humiliate or facilitate public exhibition. See also UN Subcommittee against Torture (SPT), for example in Report on the visit of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to Kyrgyzstan, 28 February 2014, CAT/OP/KGZ/1, para. 95, expressing concern about the means of transportation, dark, without any ventilation and excessively cramped, transporting detainees with tuberculosis at the same time as other detainees without the use of preventive measures. See also Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, principle IX, 4. 197  See, for example, concern expressed in SPT Report on visit to UkraineCAT/OP/UKR/1, para. 77. 198  Penal Reform International and the Essex Human Rights Centre | 56