| dc.description.abstract | Africa’s prisons are a long-standing concern for rights defenders given the prevalence
of rights abuses, overcrowding, poor conditions of detention and the extent to which
the criminal justice system is used to target the poor. The paper surveys 24 southern
and east African countries within the context of COVID-19. Between 5 March and 15
April 2020 COVID-19 had spread to 23 southern and east African countries, except
Lesotho. The overwhelming majority of these countries imposed general restrictions
on their populations from March 2020 and nearly all restricted visits to prisons to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The pandemic and government responses demonstrated the importance of reliable and up to date data on the prison population, and
any confined population, as it became evident that such information is sorely lacking.
The World Health Organization recommended the release of prisoners to ease congestion, a step supported by the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture.
However, the lack of data and the particular African context pose some questions
about the desirability of such a move. The curtailment of prison visits by external persons also did away with independent oversight even in states parties to the Optional
Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT). In the case of South Africa,
prison monitors were not listed in the ensuing legislation as part of essential services
and thus were excluded from access to prisons. In the case of Mozambique, it was
funding being placed on hold by the donor community that prevented the Human
Rights Commission from visiting prisons. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted
long-standing systemic problems in Africa’s prisons. Yet African states have
remained remarkably reluctant to engage in prison reform, despite the fact that poorly
managed prisons pose a significant threat to general public health care. | en_US |
