Luanda — The Angolan government is carrying out programmes to ensure satisfactory levels of human dignity for the prison population, the Secretary of State for the Interior José Paulino da Silva said Thursday.
He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Joint International Conference of the Penitentiary Service and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, under the slogan "Right to Live with Dignity in Prisons.
According to the Secretary of State, by ratifying the "UN Nelson Mandela Rules ", the Angolan Government has provided adequate solutions to the access to health, food, housing, training, legal and family assistance, in order to transform the prisoner into a "new man".
He said that the Penitentiary Service (PS), an organ of the Ministry of Interior, is committed to guaranteeing the fundamental rights of prisoners, based on the Constitution, the Penitentiary Law and the United Nations minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners: "Mandela Rules".
He assured that the actions of the Ministry of Interior, through the SP, aim to safeguard the right to food, medical and medication assistance, decent housing, personal hygiene, clothing and bedding, the practice of exercise and sports, contact with the outside, information, library, religion and training.
He recalled that food and medicine assistance constitute the fundamental pillar to guarantee the physical and mental stability of the inmates.
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He also assured that a huge effort is being made for the reactivation of the agro-livestock activity with small development poles, involving private companies to reinforce the inmates' diet.
He noted that the perspective of the body is to make autonomous the service in the agro-livestock domain.
The State Secretary noted that improving these services in the country was a challenge, not only for the SP, but above all for the Angolan government, "as we are fully aware that in modern societies the prison system can be used as a barometer to measure compliance with human rights.
According to him, all the rights provided by law help prisoners to abandon the world of crime and to reflect on their actions.
The Penitentiary Service has, currently, under its control more than 24,000 prisoners, compartmentalized at the level of the 40 penitentiary facilities in the country.
He added that the organ has been carrying out a deep work of regional education of its staff, under the scope of the legislation in force, aiming at the humanisation of the services.
