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INTERNATIONAL PRISONS

Primary Document: The First U.N. Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders

In 1957 the United Nations held its first U.N. Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. The result of these meetings was a comprehensive list of standards for prisons around the world. The Congress addressed the physical nature of prison facilities, the training personnel should receive and programs that should be made available to inmates. These standards cannot be achieved if prions are experiencing overcrowding and, in fact, the Congress points to overcrowding as evidence that the prison does not meet its standards.

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Prisons in the time of COVID-19

In response to the spread of Covid-19, The Human Rights Watch released a statement bringing attention to the vulnerability of those who are in prison, pointing out that the “risk is particularly acute in places of detention, such as prisons, jails, and immigration detention centers”. This risk factor is even more alarming when you consider the widespread problem of overcrowded detention facilities.

Arab Bargouthi, Organizer Salt Water Challenge

The United States has the largest prison population in the world and is home to 2.7 million children with an incarcerated parent—that’s 1 out of every 28 children. There are 1.2 million incarcerated parents whose children are under the age of 18, and two-thirds of these parents are serving prison sentences for non-violent crimes.

A Case Study: Decriminalization in Portugal

The ideology that binds government and civil society together in the service of those who are in need, is rooted in these three tenets:

1. There are no such categorizations as a hard or a soft drug, only a healthy or unhealthy relationship with drug(s).

2. A person’s unhealthy relationship with drugs is the result of a troubled relationships with loved ones, the world around them, and/or with themselves.

3. The eradication of all drugs is impossible.

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