Better Prisons : A Short Introduction to More Humane Prison Planning and Design

In 2018, the ICRC published “Towards Humane Prisons: a principled and participatory approach to prison planning and design” to describe the key humanitarian elements to consider when building new prisons. Taking as a foundation the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) the publication’s aim is to support countries to avoid the shortcomings that the ICRC too often observes where resources are wasted and opportunities for improvement are lost. Its purpose is to help ensure that prison design, in its many contexts, empowers and enables prison staff to provide humane and dignified treatment and living conditions for detainees. This In-Brief covers the same themes and topics with the intention of opening discussion on these important subjects and serves as an introduction to the larger text.

For more information on prison planning and design, please click here to download a web version or to order the book ‘Towards Humane Prisons: a principled and participatory approach to prison planning and design’.