PRISONERS IN A SITUATION OF VULNERABILITY Prisoners in a situation of vulnerability are those who, due to their characteristics, real or attributed, social attitudes and the condi- What are the State obligations concerning prisoners in a situation of vulnerability? States and therefore its agents have a general duty to protect all detainees, including those in situations of vulnerability. This general duty includes three types of obligations: tions of their detention, are at a higher risk than ordinary prisoners of having their basic human rights violated. Examples: Women - vulnerable due to prevailing gender stereotypes and isolation and gender-based violence Children - vulnerable because of their lack of understanding of the law, prison order and venues to complain, deprivation of family support and physical weakness Prisoners with disabilities – vulnerable because of the lack of accom- DUTY TO RESPECT DUTY TO PREVENT DUTY TO ACCOMMODATE Prison staff must not violate the rights of prisoners in a situation of vulnerability. In particular they should be careful not to discriminate on the specific ground, which generates the vulnerability, such as a prisoner’s disability or gender. modation of the physical environment, stigma, lack of appropriate medical treatment and rehabilitation The State must adjust the conditions of detention to address and reduce the specific vulnerability of the particular prisoner or group, e.g. by providing an appropriate physical environment, sanitary and other materials, education for those of compulsory school age, interpreters etc. The authorities have to identify vulnerability, anticipate possible risks, take precautions against them and organize the detention facilities with the aim to protect individuals and groups in a situation of vulnerability from any assault on their human rights, regardless of the perpetrator. Foreign prisoners – vulnerable due to their social isolation, differences in language, culture, customs and religion, lack of family ties and National Preventive Mechanisms, established under the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention against contacts with the outside world Torture (OPCAT), are mandated to visit places of detention to prevent torture and ill-treatment and Ethnic minority and indigenous prisoners – vulnerable because of their examine factors that contribute to its occurrence. As vulnerability is associated with a higher risk of any social status, prejudices and stereotypes they face in society type of human rights violation, NPMs should give priority to identifying groups and individuals in a situation of vulnerability in detention and to monitoring and reporting on their human rights situation. What do international standards say? What are the international standards relating to prisoners in a situation of vulnerability? What should prison staff and administrations consider? 1. in your jurisdiction and what makes them vulnerable? Standards derive from the major international human rights treaties, customary international law (e.g. on protection against torture). At the EU level, Directive (EU) 2016/800 provides for legally binding standards for treatment of children in detention. In addition, different UN, Council of Europe and EU bodies have adopted soft law documents, which are either exclusively dedicated to or contain specific provisions for the protection of prisoners in a situation of vulnerability. There are three types of soft law standards: 2. 1. 3. Thematic soft law documents Provisions in general soft law docu- National standards on groups of dedicated exclusively to specific ments concerning groups in a situation prisoners that are recognized as groups of vulnerability, e.g. foreign prisoners, vulnerable based on contextual prisoners criteria in the specific state with disabilities, ethnic minority and indigenous prisoners Examples: Examples: Women: UN Bangkok Rules UN Nelson Mandela Rules, A/RES/70/175 https://undocs.org/A/RES/70/175 https://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/res45_113.pdf Children: UN “Havana Rules”, https://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/res45_113.pdf CoE, https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Bangkok_Rules_ENG_22032015.pdf https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Bangkok_Rules_ENG_22032015.pdf UN “Beijing Rules”, CoE Rec CM/Rec(2008)11 https://www.euromed-justice.eu/en/system/files/20090428164903_CouncilofEurope.RecommendationCM200811ontheEuropeanRulesforjuvenileoffenderssubjecttosanctionsormeasures.doc.pdf https://www.euromed-justice.eu/en/system/files/20090428164903_CouncilofEurope.RecommendationCM200811ontheEuropeanRulesforjuvenileoffenderssubjecttosanctionsormeasures.doc.pdf Foreign prisoners: Prison Rules, Rec(2006)2-rev https://www.ohchr.org/documents/professionalinterest/beijingrules.pdf https://www.ohchr.org/documents/professionalinterest/beijingrules.pdf CoE Rec https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/41781569/42171329/CMRec+%282012%29+12+concerning+foreign+prisoners.pdf/a13a6dc6-facd-4aaa-9cc6-3bf875ac8b0f https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/41781569/42171329/CMRec+%282012%29+12+concerning+foreign+prisoners.pdf/a13a6dc6-facd-4aaa-9cc6-3bf875ac8b0f https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/41781569/42171329/CMRec+%282012%29+12+concerning+foreign+prisoners.pdf/a13a6dc6-facd-4aaa-9cc6-3bf875ac8b0f https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/41781569/42171329/CMRec+%282012%29+12+concerning+foreign+prisoners.pdf/a13a6dc6-facd-4aaa-9cc6-3bf875ac8b0f https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/41781569/42171329/CMRec+%282012%29+12+concerning+foreign+prisoners.pdf/a13a6dc6-facd-4aaa-9cc6-3bf875ac8b0f CM/Rec(2012)12 LGBTI: SPT, 9th annual report https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G16/059/73/PDF/G1605973.pdf?OpenElement https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G16/059/73/PDF/G1605973.pdf?OpenElement https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G16/059/73/PDF/G1605973.pdf?OpenElement 2. How do we identify prisoners and groups in a situation of vulnerability? 3. What measures do we need to adopt to respect and prevent human rights violations of prisoners in a situation of vulnerability? 4. What measures do we need to adopt to accommodate the specific needs of prisoners and groups in a situation of https://bit.ly/3co8M7i Imprisonment, 2nd ed., New York, 2014 https://bit.ly/3co8M7i -CHRHR, Protecting Children Against https://bit.ly/3fpANgC Torture in Detention: Global Solutions https://bit.ly/3fpANgC for a Global Problem, May 2017 https://bit.ly/3fpANgC -UNDOC, Handbook on prisoners with https://bit.ly/3w0nR6V special needs, UN Office on Drugs and https://bit.ly/3w0nR6V -UNODC, Handbook on Women and Crime, Vienna, 2009. https://bit.ly/39gFRjy https://bit.ly/39gFRjy -APT, Towards the Effective Protection vulnerability? 5. Additional resources of LGBTI Persons Deprived of Liberty: A What would you improve for prisoners in a situation of Monitoring vulnerability if you were in charge? Examples: https://bit.ly/3clLCyF European Which are (groups of) prisoners in a situation of vulnerability https://bit.ly/3tPiEgo European Parliament, Prison systems and conditions, Res of 5 October 2017 “Permanently unemployed prisonhttps://bit.ly/39b2So6 ers" as defined by the Czech law, https://bit.ly/39b2So6 recognized as vulnerable by the https://bit.ly/39b2So6 Czech Public Defender of Rights https://bit.ly/39b2So6 To find out more about complaints consult our Handbook: https://bit.ly/2Q5Ngfe “Prisoners in a Situation of Vulnerability” https://bit.ly/2Q5Ngfe https://bit.ly/2Q5Ngfe For further information on other thematic issues, please refer to our publications on: https://bit.ly/32lZO4E Solitary confinement, https://bit.ly/3dpxbdr Prison violence, Complaint procedures https://bit.ly/2Qycv9R

Select target paragraph3