UN General Assembly unanimously adopts Nelson Mandela rules
On 17 December, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the revised UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners—the Nelson Mandela Rules.
Whilst not legally binding, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, adopted sixty years ago, provide guidelines for international and domestic law for citizens held in prisons and other forms of custody; as well as providing the framework for inspection and monitoring of prisoner treatment.
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On 17 December, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the revised UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners—the Nelson Mandela Rules.
Whilst not legally binding, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, adopted sixty years ago, provide guidelines for international and domestic law for citizens held in prisons and other forms of custody; as well as providing the framework for inspection and monitoring of prisoner treatment.
In 2010 the UN in agreed to revise the rules, a process which has taken four years.
Prison Reform Trust Head of Research, Dr Kimmett Edgar, attended expert group meetings as part of the revision process on behalf of Friends World Committee for Consultation (the Quakers)—coordinated by Penal Reform International (PRI).
We’d like to congratulate PRI for their work in securing this historic change in international prison standards.
You can watch a short film about the Mandela Rules below, and find out more on the PRI website.
The Nelson Mandela Rules: an animated introduction from Penal Reform International on Vimeo.
