Promoting the Practical Application of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules)

A/RES/72/193View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 107Crime prevention and criminal justice, published in 2017.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 topics

Laws and Regulations Prisoner Treatment Prisons

What does this mandate say?

18 operative paragraphs

Encourages Member States to endeavour to improve conditions of imprisonment and to promote the practical application of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) as the universally acknowledged and updated minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners, to use the Rules as a guide in the development of prison laws, policies and practices, to continue exchanging good practices and identifying challenges faced in the practical application of the Rules and to share their experiences in dealing with those challenges;

Also encourages Member States to address overcrowding in detention facilities by taking effective measures, including through enhancing the availability and use of alternatives to pretrial detention and custodial sentences, bearing in mind the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules)5 and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules),11 access to legal aid, mechanisms for crime prevention, early release and rehabilitation programmes and the efficiency as well as the capacity of the criminal justice system;

Welcomes the formation of the Vienna-based Group of Friends of the Nelson Mandela Rules as an informal and open-ended group of like-minded Member States, and also welcomes the first meeting of the Group, held during the twenty-sixth session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, at which the Group decided that the following would be its main purposes:

Maintaining the momentum generated by the adoption of the Nelson Mandela Rules for prison management and reform by raising awareness of the Rules as well as by promoting their practical application worldwide;

Convening expert consultations on priority aspects relating to prison management during future sessions of the Commission and facilitating common positions, as appropriate;

Serving as the main support vehicle for the technical assistance delivered by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime under its Global Programme on Addressing Prison Challenges;

Facilitating the widest possible involvement of Member States in the yearly celebrations of Nelson Mandela International Day, on 18 July, with the additional objective of promoting humane conditions of imprisonment;

Expresses its gratitude to the Government of South Africa for having initiated and for assuming the chair of the Group of Friends of the Nelson Mandela Rules, thereby following up on the leadership it provided throughout the review process for the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, including by hosting the last meeting of the Expert Group on the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners in Cape Town, South Africa, from 2 to 5 March 2015;

Invites all Member States to consider actively participating in the Group of Friends of the Nelson Mandela Rules in order to create an informal forum for the exchange of views, experiences and challenges with regard to the practical application of the Rules;

Recognizes that well-managed prisons and the treatment of prisoners consistent with international standards and norms for crime prevention and criminal justice can also contribute to the implementation by Member States of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 16, Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels, and Goal 5, Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, in particular;

Welcomes with appreciation the Global Programme on Addressing Prison Challenges, launched by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and its technical assistance and advisory services, provided to Member States upon request, which focus on the three areas of rationalizing the resort to imprisonment, improving prison conditions and strengthening prison management, and supporting the social reintegration of prisoners upon their release;

Reiterates that good prison management practices, informed by the international standards and norms for crime prevention and criminal justice, should form the basis for the treatment of all categories of prisoners, and highlights in this regard the value of the Nelson Mandela Rules in addressing the specific challenges of high-risk prisoners;

Welcomes the technical assistance work carried out by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in close cooperation with national experts from Member States and with financial support provided by the Government of Germany, on the Nelson Mandela Rules, including the guidance material produced to assist corrections authorities with their application, including on the management of high-risk prisoners;

Also welcomes the financial support provided by the Government of Qatar for the purpose of supporting the implementation of the Doha Declaration on Integrating Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice into the Wider United Nations Agenda to Address Social and Economic Challenges and to Promote the Rule of Law at the National and International Levels, and Public Participation12 in the form of a technical assistance programme implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which includes a dedicated component on fostering the rehabilitation and social reintegration of prisoners;

Requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to continue ensuring broad dissemination of the Nelson Mandela Rules, to design guidance material and to provide technical assistance and advisory services to Member States, upon request, in the field of penal reform, in order to develop or strengthen penitentiary legislation, procedures, policies and practices consistent with the Rules;

Also requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, within its mandate, to facilitate the exchange of information and experiences in relation to the practical implementation of the Nelson Mandela Rules among Member States;

Encourages Member States to consider allocating adequate human and financial resources to assist in the improvement of prison conditions, including through upgrading and modernizing prison facilities, and the application of the Nelson Mandela Rules, and invites Member States and other donors to provide extrabudgetary resources for the purposes described above, in accordance with the rules and procedures of the United Nations;

Acknowledges the important role of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme network, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council in contributing to the dissemination, promotion and practical application of the Nelson Mandela Rules, and invites them to pursue cooperation and joint action.

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