having heard of the delegation and checking with their superiors before allowing entry. A credential for places of detention under the Ministry of Home Affairs and police stations could have allowed easier access to sonic police stations. beginning of 2001. The number of prisoners under the responsibility of both the Ministries of Home Affairs and Justice increased beyond the physical capacity of the prisons under these ministries. In all the establishments visited, the delegation was received in a very satisfactory way by the officers in charge and by staff. The delegation was allowed to have discussions in private with prisoners of its choice. However, there were indications that officers at the Machava Maximum Security Prison either attempted to conceal from the delegation some information or were not aware of the special conditions of detention of at least one prisoner. The delegation visited all buildings even those said to be closed down. Building number 2, although officially closed and in unsatisfactory condition, was found to be in use with one prisoner held in isolation. The building should be closed. Measures had been taken to deal with these phenomena but both the police force and prison service in the provinces most affected were experiencing great difficulties in coping with the big number of prisoners and meeting minimum conditions. The delegation's observations bore this out. At the end of each visit, the Special Rapporteur made immediate observations on certain issues to the prison director or officer in charge. At the end of its visit to Mozambique. the Special Rapporteur gave a summary oral account of its findings to the Minister of Justice. The findings of this mission are documented later in this report. In conclusion, the Special Rapp(uteni iipprectates the general spirit of cooperation, which characterised the dt. inon's visit to Mozambique. She trusts all the parties concerned will take its 1,,x,iiiimendations in a constructive way. Context of the visit he Mozambican authorities candidly informed the delegation that their 1 country was currently facing serious problems which affected areas covered by the Special Rapporteur's mandate. Heavy floods that devastated large parts of the country in February 2000 had destroyed houses and state premises including prisons and police stations. Many people were displaced and prisoners had been transferred to other, already overcrowded, places of detention. At the same time, there had been an increase in criminality' during the last few years. A campaign to fight it at national level but more particularly in Maputo and Matola ended up in more people being arrested and sent to prison since the 1. The factors mentioned by the authorities to explain this high criminality are alleged to be the opening of the boideis, unemployment. proximity of South Anica and expulsion of MoLambican criminals from South Africa The authorities also presented to the delegation a UNDP programme "Support to the justice sector" which will focus on the development of prison activities, the improvement of infrastructures and attitudes and also on the development of alternative ways of dealing with offenders. This programme should produce a new prison policy within 3 to 4 months aimed at greatly improving prison conditions.