NCJ Number
94441
Date Published
1983
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the achievements of the periodic United Nations congresses for the prevention of crime and treatment of offenders and current issues regarding revisions in the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
Abstract
The first Congress, held in 1955, adopted the Standard Minimum Rules and discussed prison labor. The 1960 Second Congress focused on short-term imprisonment, while the 1965 session addressed preventing recidivism, staff training, and adult probation. The Fourth Congress in 1970 reassessed the Standard Minimum Rules, identifying problem areas. The 1975 Congress explored the Rules further, along with alternatives to imprisonment and factors in correctional reform. It adopted the Declaration on the Protection of all Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment which subsequently was adopted by the General Assembly. The main accomplishment of the Sixth Congress in 1980 was adopting the Caracas Declaration which emphasized that the administration of criminal justice ultimately depended on improving social conditions and enhancing the quality of life. The trend toward alternatives to imprisonment may require new Standard Minimum Rules, and other revisions should address linkages between offender rehabilitation and social services; the problems of foreign, elderly, and women offenders; and prisoners' grievances. Overall, the Congresses reveal a trend toward treatment in the community instead of institutional detention and a concern with the humanization of justice. The paper contains six footnotes.