Pretoria - South Africa is hosting a four-day meeting of the Inter-governmental Expert Group on the Review of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMRs) in Cape Town.
The meeting of the UN Expert Group, expected to end on Thursday, is the fourth session of the UN Expert Group established by the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) to revise the SMRs.
Since its establishment, the UN Expert Group has been negotiating change proposals using international best practices, various national legislations and international laws governing the incarceration of those in conflict with the law.
The Expert Group of officials from various countries of the world held its other meetings in Vienna, Austria, from 31 January to 2 February 2012; in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 11 to 13 December 2012 and in Vienna from 25 to 28 March 2014.
South Africa agreed to host the fourth meeting and over 41 countries will be represented at the Cape Town meeting this week.
The Expert Group is working on reaching a consensus on identified areas and specific rules for revision.
It is expected to draft and submit specific proposals to change some of the rules of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for consideration by the Thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) to be held in Doha, Qatar, from 12 to19 April 2015.
Members of the Expert Group are expected to make time before leaving South Africa to visit Robben Island, where South Africa’s founding father of democracy, Nelson Mandela, spent many years in prison.
The Expert Group meeting will be conducted in accordance with the applicable rules of the UN and is not open to media and the public. – SAnews.gov.za
