ESSEX PAPER 3: INITIAL GUIDANCE ON THE INTERPRETATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN NELSON MANDELA RULES The recording of information on the self-perceived gender in Rule 7(a) should therefore be considered as a way to facilitate the placement of transgender detainees in appropriate facilities97 and to ensure the necessary protection and treatment. The Essex group stressed that under no condition must Rule 7(a) be misinterpreted to stigmatise LGBTI prisoners, discriminate against them or impose disadvantageous conditions on them. It has been recommended that prison registers do ‘not mention the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of a person in custody unless the person expressly wants this information to appear and that this information is not used against them. Recording information per Rule 7(a) should not mean that prisoners are automatically separated or their rights restricted. For transgender people, information contained in the records concerning gender identity should not be based solely on the biological sex of the persons concerned’.98 In relation to Rule 7(c) the SPT has stressed that failure to record times of arrival and departure makes it ‘difficult to monitor whether the legal limit on periods of pretrial detention is respected’.99 With regard to Rule 7(f) – inclusion of the names of family members, in particular children – the participants stressed that this requirement must be consistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides that the best interests of the child be the primary consideration.100 The Essex group also referred to Rule 3 of the Bangkok Rules. This rule recommends recording the names, ages and location of children in order to facilitate contact, but is worded to ensure that women are never forced to disclose information about their children.101 Parents should never be punished for refusing to provide this information. Furthermore, Bangkok Rule 3(2) specifies that all information related to the children’s identity should be kept confidential. The experts highlighted that the respective Bangkok Rules are applicable to fathers as noted in preliminary observation no. 12 of the Bangkok Rules. The UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty specify that the records of juveniles in detention must include details of the ‘notifications to parents and guardians on every admission, transfer or release of the juvenile’.102 Data recorded throughout the term of imprisonment The Essex group highlighted the significance of Rule 8, which goes beyond existing regional standards in providing for a record in every prisoner’s file not only in terms of personal and case information upon admission, but throughout the term of imprisonment. See LGBTI persons deprived of their liberty, p. 9. 97  APT, ‘Files and records – LGBTI persons’, Detention Focus database, accessed 14 September 2016 at http://www.apt. ch/detention-focus/en/detention_issues/27/?setvg=6. 98  SPT Report on visit to Mali, CAT/OP/MLI/1, para. 78. 99  Article 3(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: ‘In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration’. 100  Bangkok Rule 3 states: ‘The number and personal details of the children of a woman being admitted to prison shall be recorded at the time of admission. The records shall include, without prejudicing the rights of the mother, at least the names of the children, their ages and, if not accompanying the mother, their location and custody or guardianship status’. 101  UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 45/113, 14 December 1990, Rule 21 (d). 102  Penal Reform International and the Essex Human Rights Centre | 32