Right to a Healthy Prison Environment: Health Care in Custody under the Prism of Torture
![handle is hein.journals/ndjicl9 and id is 44 raw text is:
RIGHT TO A HEALTHY PRISON ENVIRONMENT: HEALTH CARE
IN CUSTODY UNDER THE PRISM OF TORTURE
JUAN E. MtNDEZ*
INTRODUCTION ..................................................40
1. FROM STANDARD MINIMUM RULES TO NELSON MANDELA RULES.......41
II. CONDITIONS OF DETENTION .............................. 42
III. MEDICAL CARE AND HEALTH SERVICES IN PRISON ... ..................42
IV. WOMEN AND OTHER VULNERABLE PERSONS IN PRISON OR DETENTION.. .44
V. ISTANBUL PROTOCOL AND NELSON MANDELA RULES.... ...............46
CONCLUSION.....................................................48
INTRODUCTION
In 2011, advancements in international law and correctional science drove
the United Nations General Assembly to establish an intergovernmental expert
group to assess best practices and to revise the United Nations Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Standard Minimum Rules).
During my term as the Special Rapporteur on Torture, I was able to observe
the work of the expert group and review the scope and application of the
Standard Minimum Rules. In 2013, I presented to the General Assembly my
Interim Report on the Standard Minimum Rules from the perspective of
prohibiting and preventing torture or other ill-treatment, which both as a matter
of law and of policy should be applied to all cases of deprivation of liberty. I
also emphasized areas of the Standard Minimum Rules that required revision
to reflect developments in international law.2 In 2015, the General Assembly
adopted the new United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), a revision and update of the Standard
Minimum Rules. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and a few
highly specialized international non-governmental organizations continue to
address implementation of the Nelson Mandela Rules to improve prison
conditions, prison management, and the humane treatment of prisoners.3 I have
been encouraged by the support that my report has received and by the
Professor of Human Rights Law in Residence, Washington College of Law, American University.
Former U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture (2010-2016). The assistance of Vanessa Drummond, J.D.,
Santiago Martinez, L.L.M., and Cynthia Park, J.D., is gratefully acknowledged.
' Economic and Social Council Res. 663 C (XXIV), Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners (Jul. 31, 1957); Economic and Social Council Res. 2076 (LXII), Standard Minimum Rules for
the Treatment of Prisoners (May 13, 1977).
2 Juan E. M6ndez (Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment), Interim Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel,
Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, U.N. Doc. A/68/295 (Aug. 9, 2013) [hereinafter
Interim Report].
G.A. Res. 70/175, United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the
Nelson Mandela Rules) (Jan. 8, 2016) [hereinafter The Nelson Mandela Rules]; OSCE, ODIHR & PRI,
Penal Reform International, Guidance Document on the Nelson Mandela Rules, Implementing the
United Nations Revised Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (2008).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/ndjicl9&div=5&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Right to a Healthy Prison Environment: Health Care in Custody under the Prism of Torture
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