hundreds of pretrial detainees and other prisoners sentenced for minor crimes. The state of North-Rhine Westphalia in Germany is pursuing a similar initiative, benefiting an estimated 1,000 prisoners. The Islamic Republic of Iran temporarily released 85,000 prisoners in an effort to combat the virus. Similarly, Afghanistan has ordered the release of 10,000 prisoners, mostly women, juveniles, sick prisoners and those aged 55 years and above. Other measures aimed at reducing the prison population in response to the threat of COVID-19 are currently being implemented in more than 15 other countries worldwide, including Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Nepal, Poland, the Sudan, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Certain categories of prisoners are typically excluded from such initiatives, including those convicted for sexual offences, domestic violence and other violent crimes. In order to be sustainable, all efforts to reduce prison populations will need to be complemented by the support of probation, social, and health services in the community, which are also adapting their service delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A WAKE-UP CALL The vulnerability of prison and other detention settings to an explosive outbreak of COVID-19 must be of grave concern to all countries. In addition to their devastating effects on prisoners and those charged with their custody, such outbreaks would equally undermine ongoing control efforts in the community and place additional demands on already-stretched public health services. Prisons and other detention settings must therefore become an integral part of a national response to COVID-19. The confined settings that are inherent in detention and imprisonment must be limited to those individuals for whom there is no alternative, and meaningful support must be provided to people in contact with the criminal justice system during this unprecedented crisis. Concerted and urgent action involving prison administrations and all other relevant sectors of government and society is of the essence. Preventing outbreaks of COVID-19 in prisons, including by taking affirmative steps to reduce prison populations, will be much easier than controlling outbreaks once they have occurred. For further information, please contact: 5 www.unodc.org 20-02110 mandelarules@unodc.org