About this Document The Basic Guide for Decision-Makers on Worldwide Practices and Recommendations aims to support decision-makers working in the criminal justice sector in taking (and justifying) the necessary decisions to prevent and mitigate the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic in correctional settings. Balancing the necessary measures to ensure inmates, staff and citizens safety in times of growing pressure is critical to overcoming the current crisis. This guide presents measures adopted by a substantial number of Penitentiary Administrations around the world and establishes a correspondence between nationally adopted strategies and the recommendations of globally recognised international organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). Documents and recommendations were analysed and complemented with public data available and information on national contexts compiled by the ICPA International Corrections and Prisons Association, the EUROPRIS European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services complemented with recommendations provided by the Penitentiary Regional Academy (ARP). Whereas the ICPA information offers a global view, EUROPRIS focuses on European reality, while ARP puts forward valuable information concerning Central America. 3 Please be aware that the fact that a specific country is not referenced as practising a particular procedure or recommendation does not mean that this procedure or recommendation is not being implemented in that national context. The discrepancy in data may be justified because different organisations are using different data collection methodologies, or because there is no public information available about a specific practice. For updated information please consult the ICPA and EUROPRIS respective websites.