Adopting UN minimum rules, a prerequisite

 
Swaziland Association for Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of Offenders (SACRO), Advocacy and Legal Officer
       
M S Richmond in his book entitled Prison Profiles (1965), observed that the primary purpose of imprisonment, from Roman times up to the end of the middle Ages, was the detention and often the torture of prisoners awaiting trial and of debtors who had failed to meet their obligations.

An American religious movement known as the Quakers believed that the prisoner’s souls could be redeemed and they came up with the idea of a place of isolation from the rest of the society where criminals could think upon their evil deeds and repent.

Clearly prison transformation and rehabilitation is not a new phenomenon. Prisons in Swaziland were formally established by the Swaziland Government Notice No. 10 of 1953, which published nine gaols and seven lock ups spread across the six districts.
Until the late 1950s there was no formal or organised training of prison warders in Swaziland and there was a growing concern since prisons had been in operation for over 60 years in many forms, as police barracks, as lock ups and gaols.

The issue was then discussed during a high powered conference held in Mbabane on February 14 and 15, 1957.
This historical background is important since it led to what we now call Correctional Services, an institution of rehabilitation and second chance to offenders. Credit must be given to Correctional Services for the work done thus far, and work anticipated to be done.

We are in a human rights era and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 being the mother of human rights, provides under Article 2 that
“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”

Incarceration

Clearly here it transpires that even offenders have rights, there is no line of demarcation between those under incarceration and those walking on the streets. This is why the United Nations definition of human rights underlies and underscores this line of thinking; The United Nations defined human rights as
“those fundamental entitlements and guarantees inherent on human beings by virtue of them being human beings.”

Even under incarceration, offenders are still entitled to their fundamental rights which the Correctional Services Departments have excelled in ensuring that this is done. Perhaps having an organisation like SACRO has helped in the improvements done for people in conflict with the law.
It must also be mentioned that credit must be given where it is due, for without SACRO being established, the need to scale down recidivism among offenders would not have been realised. How much does crime cost the state and how much does the state get to save for having established SACRO as well as alternatives to sentencing.

Moving away from the general human rights legal documents, there was a need to craft documents that would speak to offenders’ treatment and other matters incidental thereto. That is when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules on the Treatment of Offenders on August 30, 1995, which speaks to treatment of offenders in accordance with human rights.

Expected

These rules are not binding but they form the necessary guideline on how those incarcerated are supposed to be treated and what is it that is expected from them. South Africa passed the Correctional Services Amendment Act in 2008 which is a replica of the UN Minimum Rules.
This new legislation sought to attain an international standard in upholding human rights, especially the rights of inmates. I was hoping that the country would copy what our neighbours have done, as we are dreaming of a first world status in 2022.

The rules will not only assist as a guiding tool for other Correctional Services Department but for other organisations like SACRO who are major stakeholders in the promotion of rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-offenders. I must also hasten to mention that there is value in the establishment of the two institutions and I would like to motivate not only the public, but also the state to walk the talk towards adopting the UN Minimum Rules and also to continue and increase the level of support towards a better life for an offender.

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