NIGERIA HOSTS THE WORLD AS THE 1ST AFRICAN REGIONAL WORKSHOP HOLDS IN ABUJA

The first African Regional Workshop on Prisons and Correctional services took place in Abuja Nigeria between the 30th of March and 1st of April 2009. It was hosted by the Nigerian Prisons, supported by Open Society Initiative of West Africa (OSIWA), Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) and the British High Commission, Abuja. The workshop was also organised in collaboration with the African Prisons/correctional Services Association (ACSA) and the International Prisons and Corrections Association (ICPA). The United Nations Department for Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPKO) also collaborated. The purpose of the conference was six-fold: 1)To explore the role that conference can play in promoting safety and security in the community; 2)To consider strategies to enhance detainee safety by creating effective links between the community agencies and prisons; 3)To explore how ICPA, UNDPKO and various national government agencies can support the efforts of African jurisdictions and, in particular the jurisdiction of the African Correctional Services Association (ACSA), to improve the delivery of effective correctional services; 4)To support the work of ACSA in the development of a forum that will allow African jurisdictions to share best practice both within and beyond the continent particularly promoting community safety and security through best practices; 5)To explore future collaboration (and, in particular, to begin planning for a Pan African Conference on Corrections); and 6)To agree a programme of future work that will draw on the expertise of those attending the conference. All told the workshop was held to proclaim a paradigm shift in the management of Prisons from punitive to constructive corrections designed to promote social proactive action as part of National development processes. Altogether 151 participants from 21 countries attended the workshop. There were delegates from the following International Agencies namely International Corrections and Prisons Association, ICPA; United nations Department for Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPKO), United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), British Department for International Development (DfID) African Corrections and Prisons Services Association (ACSA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) The workshop was held in a two-way format. There was the West African Regional Roundtable designed to provide a forum for Heads of Corrections in West Africa to come together and collectively bind themselves with the move to reform the prisons on the continent. It was also designed to create a platform for the Heads of Corrections in West Africa to identify with the aspirations of ACSA in the promotion of Prisons reforms on the continent. That was why the West African roundtable was heavily attended by both ACSA executives and other members but also by UNDPKO officials present. THE WEST AFRICAN ROUNDTABLE The Roundtable was held on Monday 30th March at the Tafawa Balewa hall of the NICON Luxury Hotels Abuja. The opening ceremony was chaired by Mr Richard Kuuire of UNDPKO and graced by the Honourable Minister of State of the Interior, Alhaji Abdulrahman Adamu. Welcoming the participants to what he described as a very important workshop and the first of its kind in this part of the continent, the Controller-General of Prisons Mr O. A. Ogundipe informed them that in this present globalised world order, Corrections is and should be the cornerstone of social and economic development. He said that without corrections the society stands the risk of being overrun by crime and delinquent behaviour. He informed them that the roundtable was a product of efforts of OSIWA to champion the conference of Heads of Correctional Services on the continent and that the workshop was designed to create a platform for the promotion of Prisons reforms in the West African sub-region, exchange ideas and compare notes on best practices and forge ahead on how best to proceed to take our Prisons systems to the desired level. He pointed out that one sure way of doing that is by coming together as a group to explore areas of mutual cooperation and assistance to promote corrections and enhance the living standards and the operational environment of Prison officers. He also called for the promotion of the rights and dignity of those committed prisoners. Concludingly, he said that the mandate of participant was to take advantage of workshop to workout modalities for Prison reforms in each country noting that they must collaborate to catch up with their counterparts in the Western World, by establishing an enduring legacy of mutual collaboration that will enable the different prisons systems to operate in concert with one another for the mutual benefit of our various communities and the world at large, he said. That is why, he concluded, the African Correctional Services Association (ACSA) executives are attending the roundtable so that collectively they could identify with their aspirations which ACSA also was promoting. Also speaking on the occasion, the Guest of Honour and the Minister of State for the interior welcomed the participants to this unique workshop, which he said was a precursor to the main workshop. He told them that the roundtable was primarily designed to bring correction officers on the continent together for the purpose of collaborating in pursuit of excellence in their chosen careers. The idea, he said, is to enable the profession to take its rightful place as a strategic partner in the evolution of peaceful societies of our dream. He urged the participants to join forces with ACSA in order to promote Corrections on the continent while exploring linkages with the ICPA on the global level. He concluded by assuring participants that as no government can ignore Corrections as a tool of modern government, he assured that the Federal Government of Nigeria is totally behind them as they strategise for ways of engendering community safety through Corrections. In the interaction session that followed, the Roundtable was apprised of the problems facing Corrections in the countries in attendance. It was also briefed on the progress made in promoting corrections in these countries. Commissioners or their representatives who spoke in the course of the session include those from Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Senegal and Sudan. Others are UN Missions in Sudan, Darfur, Chad and Democratic Republic of Congo. But the lead discussants for this session were Mr Asiedu, Director General of Ghana Prisons and the Controller General of Nigerian Prisons, Mr Olusola Ogundipe. Both speakers harped on the need to pull resources together in order to advance the course of Prisons reforms on the continent. They harped on the need for all countries to come together on this project. Participants also received a very detailed briefing on the progress made by the Correctional Services on the continent towards the evolution of ACSA as the platform for the promotion of Corrections on the Continent from the ACSA Chairperson, Zambia’s Commissioner of Gibbie Nawa. The briefing covered the years of CESCA, its eventual dissolution and transformation into ACSA. He read the mandate of ACSA as contained in the Livingstone Declaration of September, 2008 (copy attached) and informed the participants that ACSA seeks to provide a credible regional platform for the course of a paradigm shift from prison to Corrections that will overcome the challenges that presently militate against its effectively contributing to public safety in a more sustainable manner. Specifically he stated that ACSA aims to: •Collectively place Correctional/Prisons on a new development path aimed at enhancing its effectiveness in promoting public safety and in ensuring compliance with international and continental protocols on treatment and management of prisoners. •Enhance collective efforts to overcome historical and inherent challenges facing penal systems across the continent including overcoming the spread of HIV/AIDS, mainstreaming correctional as a profession to reckon with. •Build knowledge base through strengthening research, sharing of best practices, harmonising policies/strategies programmes, as well as establishing effective monitoring/evaluation and reporting systems. He said that ACSA enjoys membership of 27 member States covering all the key regions of the continent including the SADC,ECOWAS, COMESA and the ARAB League. The ultimate aim of ACSA is to mobilise all African Correctional Systems to join in order to enhance Prison reforms and social peace and security. He therefore invited the Heads of Corrections who have not joined the move, to identify with the aspirations of ACSA both for the sake of their systems and for Corrections and ultimately for the society’s sake at large. Participants were also treated to a lecture on the need as imperatives of achieving Corrections through ICT in West Africa. The lecture which was presented by the ICT consultant at the ECOWAS Secretariat Abuja, Dr Sola Afolabi threw up the many advantages derivable to the Correctional system in West Africa adopted ICT in their day to day management of their prisons system. Participants also reviewed the proposal to form a forum of Heads of Corrections in West Africa. They were told that the ACSA sub-regional platform will do. It was therefore agree that the sub-regional ACSA platform shall provide the umbrella for sub-regional integration of ACSA and the needed body to canvass for the promotion of Prisons reforms in the sub-region as well as in Africa. With Mr Ogundipe as Vice Chairperson West Africa, It was expected that a forum of West African heads of Corrections will continue to meet as part of the efforts to fulfil the expectations of the conveners of the roundtable. This West African forum becomes even more imperative because of the need to put structures on ground to enable collaborative processes to continue to be sustained leading to the production of annual evaluative reports of progress made on the reforms agenda. Such collaborative efforts it was agreed will lead to standardised agreement on processes leading to the enthronement of sound corrections in the West African Region. These will cover general Prisons management, training both of prisoners and staff; promoting legislative empowerment as well as articulating modalities for engaging civil society groups in constructive interface for the purpose. At the end of the deliberations, participations agree to engage with ACSA in the pursuit of its avowed objectives. The appointments of Mr William K. Asiedu as ACSA (VP), Mrs H. Falana as the Vice Treasurer and Mr Ogundipe as the Regional Vice chairperson were acknowledged and accepted. It was also agreed that in pursuit of the transformation of the Correctional systems in the sub-region, the ideals of ACSA will not only be pursued, the body also agreed to pursue closer collaboration with the ICPA through the ACSA platform. But more importantly, the Roundtable emphasised that •The change process in Africa should be led from within Africa and international agencies and partners should serve as a support to an African-driven process; •Any programme of reform must be based on an evidence-driven, practical approach that is outcome-focused; and •All steps should be taken to ensure that there is close collaboration between the various agencies working to support justice and security sector reform and, wherever possible, the work of these agencies should be done in partnership; and •Justice sector reform initiatives must acknowledge the crucial role played by correctional agencies in promoting community safety on the African continent. Below are the detailed Resolutions of the West African Roundtable: The major thrust of the workshop is to re-align the West African regional arm with ACSA preparatory for its inclusion in to the ICPA agenda so as to actively participate in the promotion of community safety through correctional reforms. Believing therefore that the outcome of the deliberations shall cause a national social rebirth and economic empowerment in the various African countries, the workshop resolved as follows: RESOLUTIONS •Strengthen existing infrastructures, expansion and construction of new ones in tandem with the UN minimum standards for the humane treatment of offenders to combat overcrowding. •To arrest the increasing spate of congestion, Heads of correctional institutions in Africa should endeavour to be in constant liaison with the Courts and particularly involve in sentence planning that will pave way for the use of non-custodian measures e.g. Probation orders, parole system and community service. •That reformatory and correctional activities should focus on remedial education and vocational skill acquisition in order to enhance productivity on return of offenders to the society. •That if the philosophy behind corrections is to be made realistic, staff training and welfare must be taken seriously by all in the African jurisdiction; hence the various national Governments should be persuaded in that direction including counterpart training programmes and exchange of best practices. •All Heads of correction services should strive to engage intensive legislative activism in order to up-turn most of the Prisons laws and regulation which are colonial heritage and for now unnecessary and inapplicable, so also is the removal from any national legislation a clause that bars an ex-convict from being absorbed in Public Service. •Correctional Heads were also sensitized to embrace the civil society in their participation in penal reforms initiatives including the crusade against rejection of ex-convicts and stigmatization/status degradation ceremonies. •The workshop equally resolved that ASCA should strive to be ICT compliant and draw up modalities for regional cooperation and development of Prisons administration in West Africa, by accessing ECOWAS with the desire to be part of its agenda. •Heads of Correctional Institutions should strive to impress on various national governments in Africa to place corrections at the centre stage in its national policy and strategy. •Collaborate effectively with non-governmental agencies and propose the adoption of Public Private Partnership to reduce prisons overdependence on government in terms of funding. Appreciating therefore the nexus between the goals and concerns of ACSA and ICPA, the duo sought and indeed created a filial stalk necessary to facilitate the sharing of Criminal Justice and Corrections research and best practices throughout the International Correctional community: and consequently resolved as follows •Share relevant information with each other in areas of mutual interest; •Seek opportunities to work together to advance professional corrections; •Seek opportunities to develop their collaboration in positive and innovative ways, in keeping with their shared objectives; •Organise joint activities when appropriate (and , in particular, a Pan African Corrections/Prisons Reform conference in 2010); •Publicise each other`s activities when appropriate; and •Form a project committee together with other partners that will serve as planning and implementing arm of this agreement. The Global dimension to the workshop took place on the 31st of March and 1st of April, 2009. This workshop which was listed back to back with the West African Roundtable, had in attendance participants from the International Prisons and Correction Association (ICPA) the African Corrections and Prisons Association (ACSA), the United Naions Department for Peace Keeping Operation (UNDPKO) several local and international Civil Society Organisations as well as Prisons Systems. Altogether, 22 countries and 151 participants attended the workshop. This ACSA/ICPA joint workshop was chaired by Justice Alfa Belgore (rtd) ably represented by the erudite professor Epyphanus Azinge the Director-General of the National Law Reform Commission. In his speech at the occasion, the Chairman thanked the organisers for inviting him to chair such an international workshop. He discussed the theme of the workshop which is “Promoting Community Safety through Correction” as not only instructive but timely. He noted that at a time when economic recession and financial meltdown is confronting the world, the criminal justice systems of most nations are bound to be stretched to their limits. He pointed out that correctional institutions which are the final institutions in the Criminal Justice Systems could not be spared the vagaries of the economic crunch. He praised the Prison systems of the developed countries which he said had long been transformed from the ideology of punishment and deterrence to institutions of social integration. He regretted, however, that this paradigm shift in Corrections has not reflected on the policies of most governments in the developing countries. He stated that these countries are at the moment grappling with limited facilities in prison, overcrowding and violence, poor food services, proliferation of illicit drugs in prison, non-existent medical services, violation of basic human rights and lack of vision for rehabilitation and re-integration of ex-prisoners into the wider society. He argued that the vision of the Correctional System is to restore the unity of relationships, life and ways of living between the offenders, the public and the general society. He therefore urged the workshop to strive to address the issues he raised and try to see how the correctional systems can produce law-abiding citizens who realises their mistakes, improve their behaviour so that they will not repeat their offending behaviour. He called for social acceptance of reformed ex-offenders so that they can participate in their own development and be able to live lives as good and responsible citizens. He urged participants to address the issues of funding of Correctional Institutions , the task of expanding the facilities to accommodate the increasing, number of inmates capacity building for trainers and supervisors, ensure protection of human rights and encourage the application of best practices in our Correctional Institutions. He noted especially that African Correctional experiences was ot comparable to what obtains in Europe, America and parts of Asia. But, he insists, the time has come for Corrections to be enthroned in Africa as a mechanism for social integration. He said that given the calibre of people attending the workshop, he was sure a lot will be achieved. In his welcome address the Controller-General of the Nigerian Prisons Service Mr Olusola Ogundipe welcomed the participants to this first ever international regional workshop on prisons and corrections to hold on the continent of Africa. He said the gathering was unique because it was a gathering corrections officers from Africa and the rest of the world. He paid glowing tributes to the Prison Systems in the central, Eastern and Southern Africa who years ago realised that for their national systems to make progress, they needed to come together and push for reform from within. He attributed that union which was to be the Conference of Eastern, Southern, Central African Corrections Association, (CESCA) which help the region to advance to their present levels of advancement and sophistication. He stated that it was the need to promote the reforms on the continent that led to CESCA in Arusha Tanzania in 1999, to set the timeframe for the transformation of CESCA to an Africa-wide body. He stated that this dream was realised nine years later in 2008 with the Livingstone Declaration of September 26th giving birth to the African Correctional Prisons Association (ACSA) as a platform for the promotion of Corrections in Africa. He told the audience that the workshop represents the efforts of ACSA aimed at drumming up support for the expansion of the scope of its activities on the continent with enthroned Corrections as its ultimate aim. The CGP stated that rather fortuitously, at the Annual General Meeting of the ICPA held in Prague Czech Republic on October 2008, the ICPA leadership lamented the poor state of Correctional Services on the African Continent and expressed a strong resolve to come to Africa to reinforce the framework for the development of the profession. The workshop was therefore the culmination of this ideal. He stated that the workshop was originally planned to engage heads of Corrections in West Africa to achieve the following goals (a)Create a forum for exchange of ideas and sharing new experiences in the management and control of crimes in the sub-region; (b)Create an opportunity for members to collaborate in terms of dealing with trans-national criminals especially those involved in drugs , human trafficking, terrorism and other international crimes; (c)Create an opportunity for members to share from each other’s experiences on training and manpower development for corrections in the sub-regions; (d)Afford members the opportunity of creating as sub-regional platform for advancing the course of corrections not only in West Africa but Africa as well. He informed the meeting however, that the momentum generated by the dissolution of CESCA and the formation of the ACSA meant that the scope of the interactions must be expanded. That is why, he said, ACSA and the ICPA have come under one roof to do just one thing – accord Corrections its rightful place in the Scheme of things. He said that his earnest expectation is that this workshop and the global collaboration that will arise there-from will not only lead to the improvements in the practice of Corrections on the continent but also to increase the awareness of Policy makers on the need to embrace contemporary corrections and reform their prisons. For him the security of the society is tied to sum total of proactive measures put in place to deal with crime and criminality. For him, Governments all over the world must realise that social peace cannot be by arrest of criminals alone. Social peace for him is predicated upon the condition of the offender when he gets out of custody. He concluded by saying that the sole determinant of internal peace and community safety is the efficient correctional mechanism put in place to reform deviants who are by-products of the social systems. He paid glowing tributes to the President of Nigeria Alhaji Umaru Yar’adua who has not left anyone in doubt as to his determination to push for Criminal Justice Sector reforms. He also commended OSIWA and other development partners for their support. Many goodwill messages were given at the occasion. Mr Tony Cameron, the Presidnet of the ICPA, Mr James Peters the British High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr Gibbie Nawa ACSA Chairperson, Mr Richard Kuuire Policy Adviser DPKO. Dr Uju Agomoh , Executive Director, PRAWA, etc. In his speech, Mr Kuuire expressed the view that a lot of people would have been wondering what the UNDPKO should be in the workshop. He went on to say that it was not only the UNDPKO headquarters that was in the workshop but also the field missions in Sudan, South Sudan, Darfur, Somalia, Liberia. He posited that Prison officers became part of the international peacekeeping missions after the report of commission set up the United Nations to review peace. He said that this reversal of policy was informed by the realisation of that fact that piecemeal treatment of criminal justice challenges in post-war regions did not help. he stated that before now, only the Police went into peace keeping duties. But the Ibrahim report of 2000 which reviewed peacekeeping operations revealed that the exclusion of the other component of the CJS i.e the Judiciary and the Prison made nonsense of previous operations especially in the promotion of internal peace and security. That was why the peacekeeping operations from 2003 invited Prison and judicial officers. Given therefore that it is Africa that provides the bulk of peacekeeping prison officers, Mr Kuuire believes that not only will this workshop discuss it as a new development on the Correction horizon but it will also be one of the ways through which Corrections could be established on the continent as a veritable tool for the promotion of community peace and security. This is because according to him, before you help others improve on their prison systems, you should be able to improve on your own. he pointed out that by contributing prison staff to peace keeping operations, we are indirectly exposing our officers to best practices thereby enabling them to join an international network of prison experts and practitioners. He went on to say that penal Reform International (PRI) has done a lot of work on prison reform in Africa and we do not intend to re-invent the wheel but to build on what has already been done by others. We also acknowledge the important role being played by ICRC in both post conflict and other countries which usually provide for the urgent needs of prison systems such as water, medical, sanitation and in some cases, food. We also know that there cannot be effective prison reforms without the important roles being played by NGOs and civil society. In this regards, we applaud the role being played by PRAWA especially in prison issues in Nigeria and elsewhere. DPKO will complement efforts by others and develop stronger partnerships especially with other UN agencies with rule of law mandates, NGOs, academia, research institutions, regional groups like AU and ECOWAS, and professional bodies such as ICPA and ACSA. In this connection, DPKO/UNODC/ICPA and other partners intend to organise a Pan African conference on prisons early year to strategise together on how to address and implement approaches to improve prison situations in Africa to meet International Standards. We intend that the Africa Correctional Service Association (ACSA) should be our strong strategic partner in this regard. Indeed, DPKO considers ACSA, ECOWAS ansd the AU and their main organs as our main partners to conduct business about prisons on the continent of Africa. Concluding, he informed the gathering that it has always been said that the challenges of the criminal justice system cannot be dealt with in a piecemeal manner. For a long time, the police have been associated with peacekeeping operations, leaving out the other two pillars of the criminal justice system, namely the courts and prisons. In 2000, the Brahimi report was issued by the UN HQ, which gave a comprehensive review of the question of peacekeeping operations and recommended dealing with the issue of justice in a post-conflict country in a holistic manner. DPKO has since 2003, been dealing with prisons issues in peacekeeping operations but since 2006, the Secretary General of the UN has approved division of labour in the area of rule of law in the UN system which has DPKO playing role in prison issues beyond peacekeeping context in concert with other Un agencies such as UNODC, OFCHR, UNICEF and UNDP. Their roles are not exclusive but they work in a contemporary manner to deliver one UN system approach to issues of prison reforms. DPKO has also been working with Regional organisations, academia, prison professional associations such as ICPA, NGOs and other partners in the context of prison reform. He also added that there is the need for more specialisation in the work of prison officers to address the complexities of prison work which go beyond just locking up prisoners without thinking seriously about how they will reintegrate into society after their release. Most prisons have many challenges but notable amongst them are overcrowding, prolonged pre-trial detention, food and health, and re-integration back into society. Community safety has to be linked with the way we treat prisoners. Communities will not be safe if the prisons turn into training grounds for hardened criminals. We are not referring to providing luxury for prisoners beyond what the surrounding communities have but dealing with prisoners in manner that three month sentences do not turn into death sentences because the prisoners die from inadequacies of the prison system. Declaring the workshop open, the Honourable Minister of the Interior Maj Gen Abbe, DSS, CFR, mni (rtd) welcomed the participants on behalf of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the very first Regional Workshop on Prisons and Corrections. He told them that the workshop could not have come at a better time pointing out that the Federal Government of Nigeria shares the ideals of promoting Corrections as a key component of nation-building and social development. He told the audience that the policy thrust of the Government is predicated upon the fact that every incarcerated person has a date he or she must return to society, including those on death row. He said that the government of Nigeria places high premium on the conditions in which these people return to the society. As a mark of government’s determination to promote public safety through pragmatic action Gen Abbe stated that the present administration has decided to pay the desired attention to Criminal Justice Sector Reforms in all its ramifications, hinting that the thought of Government on the matter is that our democratic aspirations will not be complete if our people do not have access to free and fair justice. That is why, he said, efforts are being made to ensure quick dispensation of Justice in our courts while the capacity of the police to respond to crime and criminality as being improved. On the Prisons itself, the Minister said that since incarceration is the end product of pour criminal Justice process, the Government was busy repositioning the Prison system to act as a true agent of Correction and reformation. To this end, he stated that a systematic improvement of the physical infrastructure of the Prisons has commenced which will lead to the replacement of colonial cells with modern ones by 2011. He also stated that human capacity development and the procurement of materials for the educational and vocational training of prisoners had commenced in full swing. Apart from that, he also informed the workshop that aftercare centres have been established across the country with the mandate of equipping and supervising discharged inmates so that they could become economically productive and independent as they return to freedom. He said that Nigeria no doubt was not alone in these building-up processes and called on African nations to begin to accept best Correctional practices as a pillar of progress and development. He informed the participants that the forum offered them opportunities to compare notes and share ideas on issues concerning their professional challenge. He urged them to try to expose areas of failures and inadequacies and try to learn from experts from other parts of the world on how to make the best of the situation. The Minister did not miss out on the challenges posed to Corrections by the current global economic meltdown. He told the participants that the changing global economic climate will surely reflect in their endeavours and urged them to be proactive in order to ensure community safety. He reminded the participants that the world was looking forward to the outcome of their deliberations which he said will assist in the review of the efforts towards the globalisation of Criminal Justice Sector reforms which the citizens of the world are yearning and hoping for. He thereafter declared the workshop open. Highlights of the opening ceremony included cultural dance by the Afri Theatre dance group.

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