RCT is hosting an international workshop focusing on prevention of torture and ill-treatment in prisons and places of detention.
How do you prevent torture in places where people are deprived
of their liberty? This question is the turning point for the
discussions among researchers and human rights activists from more
than 15 countries gathering in Copenhagen these days. The
conference participants include representatives from states where
torture is widespread, such as Egypt, India, and the
Philippines.
- Torture typically occurs in prisons and other places where
persons are deprived of their liberty. It is therefore very
important to focus on how we improve conditions. This will
eventually help prevent some of the torture that occurs, explains
Jan Ole Haagensen, head of International Department at RCT.
Conditions for persons deprived of their liberty, has been put
on the agenda in recent years, thanks to scandals like Abu Ghraib
and Guantanamo as well as to the UN Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture (OPCAT). The OPCAT obliges
countries, having ratified the Protocol, to establish an
independent national preventive mechanism (NPM) that can support
prevention of torture. In Denmark the NPM is headed by the
Ombudsman with assistance from RCT, among others.
- In some countries there are NPMs, but they are not always as
independent as intended. Therefore we will consider how civil
society organizations, which often visit prisons in other contexts,
can act as watchdogs, explains Jan Ole Haagensen.
Research approach
The workshop is visited by a prominent guest from Cambridge
University in England. Prison researcher Alison Liebling will
present her latest research, that challenges the existing knowledge
about prison conditions. Alison Liebling has conducted a large
study evaluating conditions in British prisons.
- Libeling's research will challenge our assumptions about what
a "good prison life" is all about. Her results show that the good
British prison life is centered around respect, fairness and
personal relationships as opposed to material conditions, says RCT
prison researcher Andrew M. Jefferson.
Sharing knowledge and experiences
The aim of the workshop is to share knowledge and
experiences between the many participants who work directly with
improving conditions for prisoners and changing prison systems. The
workshop addresses four types of intervention approaches which
partners have identified as central to their prevention efforts:
Advocacy, Documentation, Detention monitoring and Humanitarian
assistance.
- Everyone can contribute because they have specific experience
and knowledge from their own countries. Many experience a dilemma
between humanitarian assistance, advocacy and monitoring of the
places. How can a civil society organization on the one hand, have
a critical approach to prisons, while on the other hand they have
to cooperate with the authorities that they criticize? And does it
help those who suffer? There really is a lot at stake in this work.
It is sometimes about life and death for both prisoners and human
rights activists, says Andrew M Jefferson
The workshop takes place in Copenhagen on September 26 to
28.