ESSEX PAPER 3: INITIAL GUIDANCE ON THE INTERPRETATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN NELSON MANDELA RULES status, sexual orientation, gender identity or birth.29 This list is also not exhaustive but illustrates the ongoing interpretation of the ‘any other status’ provision within international human rights standards and norms. The Essex Group noted, therefore, that ‘or any other status’ must be interpreted as widely as possible in line with current international law and standards. As with human dignity, the Rule on non-discrimination is not a stand-alone provision but one that must be read together with all of the Nelson Mandela Rules. Conduct in Case of Death of a Prisoner Rule 72 requires that the prison administration treat ‘the body of a deceased prisoner with respect and dignity’. The underlying rationale for this Rule is that the human dignity of the prisoner must be respected following his or her death. Implicit in Rule 72 and the Rules general is also the duty to treat the family of a deceased prisoner with respect. The Essex Group noted that prison officials should be trained in how to deal with a body in the same way in which a body is dealt with in an investigation outside of the prison context and that these practices should be followed within the prison.30 The Rule specifies that the body should be returned ‘as soon as reasonably possible, at the latest upon completion of the investigation’. The Essex Group noted that this provides an upper time limit for the return of the body as there is no justification for keeping a body beyond the period of the investigation. However, in many situations, the experts noted that it may be possible to organise the investigation so that the body is dealt with first. This would enable it to be returned much earlier. In all cases, the Essex Group noted that the prison should respect the relevant religious and cultural norms regarding the proper treatment of the body of a deceased person. The illustrative but non-exhaustive lists contained in international norms and standards include, Article 1(1) International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination 1965 ‘…based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin…’; Article 2(1) ICCPR ‘…such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.’; Article 26 ICCPR ‘…on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.’; Article 2(2) International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights 1966 ‘…as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.’; Article 1(1) Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women 1979 ‘…on the basis of sex …’; Article 2(1)-2(2) Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 ‘…without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child’s or his or her parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.’’…to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child’s parents, legal guardians, or family members.’; Article 1(1) International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families 1990 ‘…without distinction of any kind such as sex, race, colour, language, religion or conviction, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, nationality, age, economic position, property, marital status, birth or other status.’; Article 13(7) International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 2006 [concerning the prohibition against extradition] ‘…for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person on account of that person’s sex, race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, political opinions or membership of a particular social group, or that compliance with the request would cause harm to that person for any one of these reasons.’; International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Preambular paragraph (p) ‘Concerned  about the difficult conditions faced by persons with disabilities who are subject to multiple or aggravated forms of discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic, indigenous or social origin, property, birth, age or other status’; on sexual orientation and gender identity as a form of discrimination see, United Nations Human Rights Council, Resolution regarding human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, A/HRC/17/L.9/Rev.1, (15 June 2011) and Declaration on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, United Nations General Assembly A/63/635 (22 December 2008). 29  UNOPS, Technical Guidance for Prison Planning, at 157 (providing that, ‘[p]risons may require a facility where prisoners who have died can be prepared for burial or cremation, or where they can be stored while awaiting family arrangements’). 30  Penal Reform International and the Essex Human Rights Centre | 13