ESSEX PAPER 3: INITIAL GUIDANCE ON THE INTERPRETATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN NELSON MANDELA RULES Introduction The full contribution which our prisons can make towards a permanent reduction in the “country’s crime rate lies also in the way in which they treat prisoners. We cannot emphasise enough the importance of both professionalism and respect for human rights. ” Nelson Mandela, Speech to the South African Department of Correctional Services in 1998. On 17 December 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the revised UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), bringing to a conclusion a four-year process of review. The review had been completed by the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in May 2015 after consensus was reached at the fourth and last Inter-governmental Expert Group Meeting in South Africa. The revision of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR) was a historic event in that it was the first time that an international standard had been updated. The international community chose a ‘targeted revision’ approach, identifying the most outdated areas and rules whilst leaving the structure and the majority of the Rules unchanged. Eight substantive areas have been subject to revision: • • • • • • • • Respect for prisoners’ inherent dignity Medical and health services Disciplinary measures and sanctions Investigations of deaths and torture in custody Protection of vulnerable groups Access to legal representation Complaints and independent inspection Training of staff The Resolution adopting the revised Rules encourages Member States to endeavour to improve conditions in detention, consistent with the Nelson Mandela Rules. It also encourages the application of all other relevant and applicable United Nations standards and norms. The Essex group During the process of the review, Penal Reform International and the University of Essex’s Human Rights Centre organised two expert meetings and provided recommendations on possible wording for revised Rules, as well as a rationale for the suggested changes, based on a screening of existing human rights and criminal justice standards and norms. The deliberations of the group of experts – which have become known informally as the ‘Essex papers’ – were submitted to the Inter-governmental Expert Group Meeting (IEGM) established at the UN level to negotiate a review of the Rules in November 20121 and in March 2014.2 Drawing on the positive experience of these consultations, the ‘Essex group’ was reconvened for a third meeting of experts on 7-8 April 2016 in order to develop guidance on implementing the revised UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners following their adoption as the Nelson Mandela Rules. The consultation was, like the first two meetings, financially supported by the UK Government (UKAID). Purpose of this document The purpose of the meeting was to reflect on the revised areas of the Standard Minimum Rules, and specifically to: • identify specific Rules, and language, that require further guidance as to their interpretation; • offer practical and concrete interpretation of specific Rules, drawing on existing international standards and practice; • identify challenges in implementation and good practice examples. The deliberations of the meeting took place in plenary and in six working groups, which inform the structure of this document. They focused on the areas and Rules revised, but took into account unchanged provisions where they were relevant in the context of the revised text. 1. Summary of an Expert Meeting at the University of Essex on the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners Review, 21 November 2012, UNODC/CCPCJ/EG.6/2012/NGO/1, available in Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Russian; www.unodc.org/unodc/en/justice-and-prison-reform/ expert-group-meetings5.html#_ftn3 2. Summary of an Expert Meeting at the University of Essex on the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of and Second Report of the Essex Expert Group on the Review of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, 20 March 2014, available at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/ justice-and-prison-reform/EGM-Uploads/PRI_ESSEX-2nd-paper.pdf Penal Reform International and the Essex Human Rights Centre |5