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Prison monitoring office opens in BT
By
Hamish Badenoch - 19-08-2002 |
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An office for the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa, Vera Chirwa, has been opened in the country.
Since her appointment two years ago by the African Commission for People and Human Rights (ACHPR), Chirwa had no office for her to work from.
“For the past two years the resources have not been available to set up an office here in Malawi. As a result Chirwa’s work was being coordinated by Penal Reform International (PRI) in France with assistance from other Malawian based NGOs,” explained Mize Anastacio, at the launch of the office in Blantyre last Thursday. Anastacio was appointed by PRI to establish the office here in Malawi.
Now, however, ACHPR and PRI have been able to set up the office thanks to funding from the Norwegian Development Agency.
The office, which will also employ Felix Tandwe as an Executive Assistant, will assist with the administration of the Special Rapporteur’s work and enable her to achieve her goals more effectively, explained Chirwa.
“Our aim is to improve prison conditions throughout Africa both for inmates and prison officers. A key mechanism for achieving this is through visiting Prisons, filing reports to lobby governments and conducting research. The office will greatly assist in doing these things,” Chirwa said.
Chirwa said she would like to see many more prisons become self-reliant through the production of crops and the manufacturing of handicrafts. This would bring benefits both to the prisoners and the taxpayer, she explained.
She said apart from shortage of resources, one of the greatest obstacles to prison reform is the attitude of politicians and society.
“People believe prisoners bring misery on others and that they should be punished. They think we want to turn prisons into hotels. This is not the case. We simply believe that prisoners should be given basic amenities compatible with their human dignity,” she said, adding that her experience in prison has shows that people who are treated badly only become bitter and never reform. |
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