Institute For Development of Indigenous Studies (IDES) Director: Prof. Honorat Aguessy T he institute aims at encouraging Africa to develop. All over Africa there is the potential for such an eventuality. There are Africans in every scientific field. He would support initiatives of the Director of Prisons or the Human Rights Division of the Ministry of Justice for improvement in prison conditions. Students of the Institute are encouraged to research into prison conditions. The Institute is also concerned about what to do to prevent people from getting into prison. Farm at Pahou W e visited the site of a former farm operated by Koreans at Pahou. It covers an area of over 200 hectares. After the "revolution" in Benin it was abandoned and given to the government. It now belongs to the Ministry of Justice, which plans to turn it into a Prison faun: the infrastructure and equipment are in a poor state needing replacement. It was an occasion for the SR to express his appreciation at the assistance which the government of Benin extended to him to ensure the success of his Mission. I expressed my particular gratitude to the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs with special mention of the above three gentlemen. My interest in the training of prison staff was indicated. The Director of Prison Services explained that it was most likely that there would be a new body of guards, but whether it will come out of newly recruited personnel or the present gendarmes is not clear. A Decree creating the National Commission for Prison Reform is likely to be submitted to the Cabinet shortly. This Commission will decide on the creation of the new body. When the decision is taken, the SR will be informed about it. The Director of Prisons informed the SR of recent improvement in the prison regime. The daily allowance for a prisoner was raised from CFA 148 to CFA 200 in 1999. The government has allocated money for the construction of new prisons. I was also informed of the hospitalisation of the prisoner from Porto Novo who had a sore on his head. Constitutional Court T he Secretary-General of the Court, Marceline Afauda granted us audience. It is the highest court in constitutional issues. It monitors the constitutionality of all laws. Its mandate includes the interest of prisoners. Individuals can appeal to the Court. Respect for human rights is an important concern of the court. Prisoners and detainees of gendarmerie and police cells may complain before the Court for violation of their rights. Arising out of such complaints the Court has visited gendarmeries and police stations. But it is yet to visit a prison. The SR expressed the hope that the Court will have the opportunity to visit prisons all over Benin. Final meeting M r. Lino Hadonou, Director of Prison Service, Ministry of Justice; M. Cyrille Oguin, Director of Human Rights, Ministry of Justice; M. Luc Ebah, Africa and Middle East Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 46 47