74
213.
With regard to other working conditions for penitentiary personnel, the
IACHR considers that they must have (1) safety and hygiene on the job; 248 (2) respect for
working hours and the required psychological and physical support; (3) time off for
relaxation and vacation that is proportionate to the toll that the constant stress of the job
exacts; (4) a duty to obey the orders of superiors when those orders are lawful, and if not,
the right to challenge the orders without having to face criminal or disciplinary sanctions
for refusal to follow an unlawful order or one that violates human rights; (5) constant
training that enables the officer to perform his or her functions, and a police career service
that will provide academic‐professional underpinning for a cultural transformation. 249
214.
In practice, structural defects in prisons affect both the inmates and their
guards, who in some cases work under really bad deplorable conditions that they can
impair their work, security, and even physical and mental health. Regarding this matter, in
the report on his mission to Uruguay, the Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of
Liberty took into consideration a study done by that country’s Ministry of the Interior,
which established, inter alia, that poor working conditions over a long period of time led to
“discouragement, frustration, despair, resignation, work done on automatic pilot,
reluctance to present proposals or initiatives for change, and a reduction in creativity. In
short, a physical‐emotional deterioration with sustained progression of psychosomatic and
250
psychopathological diseases...” The IACHR therefore recommends paying the necessary
heed to the physical and mental health of personnel working in detention centers. 251
Personnel exercising direct custody of persons deprived of their liberty
215.
As mentioned above, the staff in charge of the administration and
internal security of detention centers must comprise appropriately qualified civilian
employees and officials: that is to say, professional penitentiary personnel specifically
trained for the job. Here, the Principles and Best Practices establish that as a general rule,
…continuation
bribes in order to secure the supply of necessary articles to which they are entitled and
which the State is obligated to provide. United Nations, Special Rapporteur on Torture and
other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Report on the mission to
Paraguay, A/HRC/7/3/Add.3, adopted on October 1, 2007. Ch. IV: Conditions of detention,
para. 68.
248
See also, Penal Reform International (PRI), Manual de Buena Práctica Penitenciaria: Implementación
de las Reglas Mínimas de Naciones Unidas para el Tratamiento de los Reclusos, 2002, p. 151.
249
In a similar sense, see also, IACHR, Report on Citizen Security and Human Rights, para. 92.
250
IACHR, Press Release 76/11 ‐ IACHR Recommends Adoption of a Comprehensive Public Policy on
Prisons in Uruguay. Washington, D.C., July 25, 2011, Annex, para. 50. With regard to this matter, in Chile, a study
by the National Association of Correctional Officers (ANFUP, according to its Spanish acronym) showed that
between 2009 and July 2010 there were twenty‐four suicide attempts by officials, and four officials managed to
kill themselves. Those who survived had to undergo expensive psychiatric treatments. This study also revealed
that during this period there were 1,500 absences for health reasons, of which 14% were of psychiatric medical
appointments and diagnoses of depression. Universidad Diego Portales, Centro de Derechos Humanos de la
Facultad de Derecho, Informe Anual sobre Derechos Humanos en Chile 2010, pp. 130‐131.
251
For example, the World Health Organization has a number of recommendations and guidelines that
States may follow. See, WHO, Health in Prisons: a WHO guide to the essentials in prison health, 2007, pp. 171‐179.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents