1. PRISON MANAGEMENT
Content of training
Training programmes should include human rights and need to cover, as a minimum,
all areas stipulated in Rule 76. This includes relevant national legislation, regulations and
policies, applicable international and regional instruments, the rights and duties of prison staff
(including respecting the dignity of prisoners), safety and security (including dynamic security)
and first aid (including the detection of mental health conditions).
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Training relating to the use of force and instruments of restraint should include guidance
on de-escalation techniques, conflict prevention and mediation, as well as training in the
use of control techniques that obviate the need for the imposition of instruments of restraint
or reduce their intrusiveness, as stipulated in Rule 49.
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Training should not be limited to the theoretical presentation of laws and regulations,
but should be practical and include scenario-based training.86 This is particularly important,
for instance, when it comes to training in the use of force, instruments of restraint and the
management of violent offenders.
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CONTEXT: SPECIALIST TRAINING FOR STAFF
WORKING WITH SPECIFIC GROUPS OF PRISONERS [1.18]
It is important to remember that the training suggested in Rule 76 of the Mandela Rules should be
regarded as a minimum, and other international guidance provides additional recommendations
regarding the type of training required. The requirement for prison staff to receive specialist training
corresponds with the obligation of prison administrations to take account of the individual needs of
prisoners, and to protect and promote the rights of prisoners with special needs, as set out in Rule 2(2).
If a staff member is transferred from one function to another they should be retrained accordingly.
The UNODC Handbook on Prisoners with Special Needs87 provides guidance on working with prisoners
with mental health conditions, those with disabilities, ethnic and racial minorities and indigenous
peoples, foreign national prisoners, LGBTI prisoners, older prisoners, those suffering from terminal
illnesses and prisoners under sentence of death. The Handbook identifies the training required for
working with these groups and provides key recommendations on how this can be implemented.
Training should also include identifying the signs and responding to allegations of sexual and
gender-based violence in prisons.
The Bangkok Rules call for specific training on the background and needs of female prisoners
(see Rule 33). For example, Rule 32 calls for all staff involved in the management of women’s prisons
to receive training on gender sensitivity and prohibition of discrimination and sexual harassment.
Rule 29 of the Bangkok Rules notes that capacity building for staff employed in women’s prisons
“shall enable them to address the special social reintegration requirements of women prisoners and
manage safe and rehabilitative facilities”.
Rule 34 of the Bangkok Rules also identifies the need for capacity building programmes on HIV/AIDS
prevention, treatment, care and support and “issues such as gender and human rights, with a
particular focus on their link to HIV, stigma and discrimination”.
Specific training needs also arise for prison staff dealing with children and juveniles. Rule 85 of the
Havana Rules require that personnel working in juvenile detention facilities should “receive such training
as will enable them to carry out their responsibilities effectively, in particular training in child psychology,
child welfare and international standards and norms of human rights and the rights of the child…”.
Rule 33 of the Bangkok Rules provides that, in cases where children stay with their mothers in prison,
prison staff need to be provided with training to raise their awareness “on child development” and
be given “basic training on the health-care of children…in order for them to respond appropriately
in times of needs and emergencies”.
86. Essex paper 3, Penal Reform International and the University of Essex, op. cit., note 4, p. 38.
87. Handbook on Prisoners with Special Needs, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 2009.
Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules
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