Liberia Publications

A sort criterion
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku June 2008

The media articles report on the following topics: awaiting trial prisoners; prison overcrowding; sentencing and parole; prisoner's rights; security and escapes; and rehabilitation.

Submission by CSPRI to the Portfolio Committee on Social Development on the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Bill [B12-2008]

This submission focuses on the prevention and combating of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment within the context of the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Bill [B12- 2008]. The overall objective is to promote the use of two international instruments (UNCAT and OPCAT) and, more specifically, to assist in creating the enabling legislation to give effect to section 12 of the Constitution.

30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku May 2008

The media reports in this issue include: Lawyer reminds court of appalling prison conditions; Awaiting-trial prisoner admitted to a private clinic after assault; Police officer to stand trial for allegedly interfering with evidence of parolee's breach of parole conditions; Department ordered to reinstate karate training in prison; Bail law is not the problem, researcher reminds ANC President; Judge optimistic that juvenile offender will be rehabilitated after 8 years.

CSPRI Newsletter No. 26 - May 2008

This newsletter focusses almost exclusively on the prevalence of HIV in South Africa's prison system. This article is written by CSPRI's co-ordinator, Lukas Muntingh.

30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku April 2008

Media reports in this issue include: Police officer allegedly tampered with Yengeni's blood sample; Torture in South Africa prisons remains a challenge, Human Rights Commission chief; Department to investigate the cause of prison gang violence; Prisoners awaiting trial for years because of lack of enough judges; Prisoner's relative suggests correctional supervision instead of imprisonment; Five new prisons will cost a lot more than estimated; Department discovers escape of internationally wanted criminal after 8 days.

Submission on South Africa's DCS Budget Vote 2008/09

This submission was made in response to South Africa's Department of Correctional Services tabling of its 2008/09 budget. It addressed the size of the prison population, the seven-day establishment, the PPPs, and the implementation of the White Paper on Corrections.

30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku March 2008

Media reports in this issue include: Prisoners to be monitored electronically; Younger offenders should be sent for correctional supervision; Human Rights Commission criticises death penalty move; Awaiting-trial prisoner's lawyer unhappy with the postponement of client's trial; Awaiting-trial prisoners escape from a police van; Bill could reduce the age of babies living with imprisoned mothers; Department and Portfolio Committee disagree on private prisons; Department of Correctional Services recovers 22 million rand; Department of Correctional Services ordered to reinstate fired warder; Correctional Services Portfolio Committee chairperson says prisoners should be stripped of privileges; and many more newspaper articles on prison-related issues.

CSPRI Newsletter No. 25 - March 2008

This newsletter looks at the Department of Correctional Services' (DCS) Medium Term Expenditure Estimates focussing on five issues: The cost drivers and priorities in the budget; The real and nominal trends in the budget; The internal distribution of the budget between DCS programmes; The prison construction programme; Budget trends and the White Paper on Corrections; and The budget in relation to other budgets in the crime and security cluster.

Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Mission to Equatorial Guinea

"The report also notes the excessive power of the armed forces which effectively control the prisons, carry out arrests, and exercise military jurisdiction over civilians. Secret detentions and the abduction of opposition politicians in neighbouring countries are of particular concern. The report describes cases of people detained for merely exercising their political rights; it looks into the detention of illegal immigrants at police stations, notes the absence of effective defence rights and limitations on legal aid, refers to the physical conditions of detention as a contributing factor to the lack of adequate defence and cites the lack of an effective registration system at prisons and police stations."

Religion, law and human rights in post-conflict Liberia

This article was published in AHRLJ Volume 8 No 2 2008. Liberia has had a turbulent recent history, and today deals with extreme poverty, high crime, ethnic tensions, widespread impunity and corruption. In addition to this, there is a complex and contradictory relationship between law and religion, which further complicates the ongoing efforts towards peace building and reconstruction. This paper aims to highlight the fundamental question of whether certain laws and human rights — in this case, religious or cultural freedom — can or should be actively promoted by the state and by society in such a unique scenario as fragile, post-conflict Liberia. The paper first addresses this question with respect to the country's contradictory dual-justice system, highlighting the problems that arise when the weak state struggles to enforce statutory and human rights law, while much of the population still sees legitimate justice to be rooted in traditional mechanisms, such as trials by ordeal, which oppose these laws. The second section of the paper considers the extent to which all Liberians enjoy religious freedom. It is shown that, while Liberia is de facto a secular state, it is essentially de jure a Christian country. Although there are historically and presently few indications of unrest based strictly on religion, it is argued that there is underlying religious tension that makes it dangerous for the state or society to suggest any major integration of Islam into public life. Some of this tension can be attributed to the growing number of Pentecostal and charismatic churches, which are especially vocal about the encroachment of non-Christians. However, because of Liberia's fragility, it might be the case that promoting religious equality and actively eliminating the Christian bias might cause more harm than good in Liberia today.

Law, religion and human rights in Nigeria

This article was published in AHRLJ Volume 8 No 2 2008. This paper explores the relationship between law, religion and human rights in Nigeria. The level and intensity of religious strife in Nigeria justify this inquiry, whose aim should be the design of a framework that enables individuals to enjoy the freedom of religion and ensures that religious conflicts are managed in Nigeria’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious context. Almost a decade to the introduction of Islamic criminal law in the 12 northern states of Nigeria, there is no longer any doubt that religion is fundamental to the survival of Nigeria. The basic thesis of this paper is that the key to understanding the relationship between law, religion and human rights in Nigeria lies in the unacknowledged dominance of Islam and Christianity, which I characterise as de facto state religions, and the resulting neglect of other religions. It is this reality, its denial and misunderstanding of attendant constitutional obligations that define the relationship between the Nigerian state and religion.

30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku February 2008

This issue contains media articles on: Children; Governance and Corruption; Prisoner's Rights; Trial & Sentencing; Overcrowding; Prison reform in other African countries.

Conditions of Police Cells in Namibia

This report written by University of Namibia academics discusses the distinction between police cells and holding cells, and the conditions of police cells in terms of Namibia's legal obligations.

30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku December 2007 - January 2008

Note from the Editors: Due to the festive season and general winding down of activities at the end of 2007, a December 2007 issue of CSPRI 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku was not circulated. This issue covers two months; December 2007 and January 2008. We will also welcome any feedback on this newsletter and whether or not our readers find it useful. Any suggestions on improvement are welcome; Lukas Muntingh, Julia Sloth-Nielsen & Jamil Mujuzi; This issue has media reports on: Safety and security (including a report on Load- shedding compromising prison work); Deaths in custody; Unsentenced prisoners; Governance (including an article on the Court orders prison doctor should get his job back); Corruption (including an article on Correctional Services tenders should be investigated, Democratic Alliance); Prison conditions; Health care (including an article on HIV prevalence rate is higher among prisoners).

CSPRI Newsletter No. 24 - December 2007

In this CSPRI Newsletter, Senior Researcher, Lukas Muntingh, writes on Prison Oversight in South Africa. He asks the question: Has it come of age? Reflections on the Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons and the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services

On Colonial Laws and the Treatment of Young Female Delinquents in Senegal: The Case of Léonie Guèye

This article provides a rethinking of juvenile delinquency in colonial Senegal using gender as a critical category of analysis. It focuses on the case of Léonie Guèye, a thirteen-year-old girl sentenced three times for robbery. Acquitted in all three trials in virtue of Article 66 - as having acted without discernment - Léonie was nevertheless sent to Bambey penitentiary, a male institution. Wiener Zeitschrift für kritische Afrikastudien

Prisons in South Africa's Constitutional Democracy Prisons in South Africa's Constitutional Democracy

Prisons serve a set of complex, mutually conflicting and hard-to-achieve goals. Prisons must house people in a humane manner but simultaneously appeal to the punitive nature of prisons — order and security must be maintained while providing an effective deterrent, and appease political opinion. It is in this “inherent policy vagueness” that stakeholders (for example, politicians, bureaucrats and civil society) must find a compromise (Boin, James and Lodge, 2005: 7). Can a constitutional democracy, such as South Africa, find an acceptable compromise, and what would “acceptable” mean under the rules of a constitutional democracy? This report investigate these questions and looks at what are the constitutional requirements for prisons as well as the threats and stumbling blocks en route to meeting these.

Jali Commission Report - Summary and Comment Jali Commission Report - Summary and Comment

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of Corruption, Maladministration and Violence in the Department of Correctional Services – The Jali Commission - wrote a comprehensive report that investigated various areas of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). The Jali Commission established that the DCS had various problems that made it function in a manner that left a lot to be desired. The Jali Commission made various recommendations (114+) in its 1800+ page report. The CSPRI summarised the Jali Commission report and put in a user-friendly language for most of us who do not have time to read and comprehend the whole report and also for ease of reference.

30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku November 2007

This issue has South African media reports on the topics: Governance and Corruption; Unsentenced prisoners; Security & Escapes; Parole & Sentencing; Conditions of Detention; and Media reports from other African countries.

30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku October 2007

This issue contains media reports on: parole & sentencing (including the article on permission granted to Mrs Najwa Petersen to attend her father's funeral); deaths in custody; a report on a movie shot at Pollsmoor Prison; Inmates observe Corrections Week; Prison news in other African countries.