Sierra Leone : DIGNITY is pushing for positive changes in prisons

DIGNITY and local partner Prison Watch ensures political commitment to ambitious revision of prison legislation in Sierra Leone.
It has been 55 years since the last revision of prison rules in the West African country, but over the past few years the prison authorities – now known as Correctional Services - have shown the will to revise again.

Recently, the key stakeholders mandated to revisit the legislation made use of DIGNITY’s offer to help support the process. DIGNITY is providing expertise to ensure that the revision is ambitious and attuned to the newest international standards, and in line with good prison management practice. This led to a constructive workshop with the participation of about 20 representatives including civil society, the human rights commission, high level correctional staff, Prison Watch, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI), the Kenyan Prison Service (KPS), UNDP, and DIGNITY’s Legal Advisor Ilvija Puce and Senior Researcher Andrew M. Jefferson.

Prison Watch has been active in the Sierra Leonean prisons for a long time advocating for change. But this is the clearest example of them having an opportunity - with our help - to affect so clearly future policy and practice, says DIGNITY’s Andrew M. Jefferson.

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