MEETING WITH PROSECUTOR OF THE REPUBLIC, HER DEPUTY AND THE REGISTRAR OF THE PRISON, KAYES SUNDAY, 6 DECEMBER t a meeting with Mrs. Bagayoko Fanta Camara, Republic Prosecutor and Aher deputy, Mr. Bakoroba Sindiarara, I took up the case of the civil servant, Haroun Simko, who had been on remand for 9 years. The Prosecutor stated that the case was before the Assizes (Circuit Court). It was being handled by the General Prosecutor. An attempt to escape by the accused person has contributed to the slowing down of the trial process. As regards prisoners of foreign nationality, the concerned embassies or consulates are informed when one of them dies. The law of Mali applies to all accused persons, nationals and foreigners alike. Counterfeiting and drug trafficking are the most common offences for which foreign nationals are arrested and detained. The Registrar denied that any of the current prisoners had TB. The only prisoner who had TB sometime ago was sent to the hospital, isolated and later discharged. The Prison, he added, has a policy of isolating those with communicable diseases. Since 1993 there has been no outbreak of any communicable disease. Asked about Workshops which will occupy the inmates, the Registrar responded that in February 1998 the Prison headquarters in Bamako sent a team to assess the workshop needs of the prison. What was needed was the wherewithal to set up the workshops. He also allayed my concern about the harm (suicide and escape) which could be caused by the ropes which many prisoners were weaving. Lack of medicines was a big problem for the prison. On many occasions the Prosecutor has had to pay out of her pocket for the medicine required by prisoners. CARITAS and Social Affairs Office, a government department under the Ministry of Health, every now and then supply them with some medicine. Overcrowding of the prison needs to be addressed and the Prosecutor was concerned that the prison was not secure enough. 40 MEETING WITH MR. MOUSSA TRAORE AND MADAM MIRIAM TRAORE FRIDAY, 4 DECEMBER fter an introduction by the National Director of Prisons, Mr. B. Sidibe we were left with our hosts. Former President Moussa Traore was visibly A delighted to meet someone from the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and he narrated a vital aspect of the events leading to the drafting of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. At the Assembly of Heads of State and Government meeting in Monrovia, Liberia in 1979, President Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal moved for the drafting of an African instrument for the promotion and protection of human rights. After a lengthy exchange of views, President Traore asked for the floor and pointed out that Africa should not imitate Europe blindly. He indicated that "People" matter in Africa. That term should, therefore, be introduced into the title of the proposed instrument!' . President Traore did not deign to describe how he had been treated since his detention, but Mrs. Traore gave vent to her feelings. All their children were imprisoned for 14 months. Their 6 year old grandchild was also imprisoned. For 23 months she was under detention without receiving a single visit. They were moved from one detention centre to another, ten times in all. They had been together for the first time, from 3 October 1998, since their detention in 1992. She conceded that their conditions of detention were better than those of other prisoners. Their current circumstances were the best they have had. Her worst period was in 1995 when she was transferred to Selengue about 140 kilometers from Bamako. But a hunger strike she embarked upon resulted in the satisfaction of her want: receiving food from outside mainly. Deprivation of visit was a sore point for her although at the time of our visit their lawyer and two relations were visiting. Not being allowed to buy or receive food from outside also did not go down well with her. An account of the meeting with the Minister of Justice referred to earlier on concludes the visits and meetings aspect of the report. 11. Others credit Guinea and Madagascar for the introduction of "People" in the title. See for instance, U. Oji Umozurike, The African Charter on Human and People's Rights (1997) Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. 41