United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
Eoin Young
17 July 2007
A five day seminar on the reform of the Congolese prison system, involving the DRC Ministry of Justice, the European Union, France and MONUC takes place in Dr. Shaumba University in Kinshasa from 17 to 21 July 2007.
The aim of the five day seminar, which also involves prison authorities from all over the DRC, is to find solutions to the problems facing the DRC prison system, where over 90% are in a poor and overpopulated condition, with the majority constructed before independence.
During the conference, participants will work, through presentations and panels, on various aspects of the DRC prison system, including its administration, management, regulation, staff, and legislation.
DRC Justice Minister Georges Minsay Booka said that at the end of the seminar he hoped that a law will be formulated regarding the organization and functioning of the prison system in the DRC, as well as a law regarding the statute of prison staff, according to international judicial law on the detention and treatment of inmates.
"The Prison service forms part of the mission of public security, and is an instrument in the fight against impunity and foundation of the rule of law in the state. It is a not a secret for anyone that the prison regime in this country is in a precarious state, with prison staff working in difficult conditions and the inmates living in subhuman conditions," he explained.
The issues of most concern include the separation of different categories of inmates, the state of prison cells, hygiene, food, medical care, information for inmates, contact and communication with the outside world, as well as work, religion and physical exercise within the prisons.
Training and adequate renumeration for prison staff is also of paramount importance, as the majority of prison staff in the DRC lack proper qualifications, training and salaries, in what French ambassador in the DRC Bernard Prévost said is 'a difficult but important job for society at large.'
"As a former director of the prison system in France, I'm very sensitive to the issues at hand. One judges a society by the way they treat the most vulnerable, which includes prisoners. Reinsertion (for prisoners into society) is very important, and the central question for this conference is the state in which the prisoners will emerge, will they become important members of society?" he said.
"This seminar is the product of a fruitful partnership between the DRC Ministry of Justice, the French government, the EU and MONUC, in a multilateral cooperation involving experts aimed at improving the DRC penal system," Mr. Prévost added.
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