United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules)
A/RES/70/175
2.
Expresses its appreciation to the Government of Argentina for hosting
and financing the meeting of the Expert Group held in Buenos Aires from
11 to 13 December 2012 and to the Government of Brazil for its financial contribution
to the meeting of the Expert Group held in Vienna from 25 to 28 March 2014;
3.
Acknowledges the valuable work accomplished by the bureau of the
meeting of the Expert Group held in Vienna in 2014 in preparing, with the
assistance of the Secretariat, the documentation for the meeting of the Expert Group
held in Cape Town in 2015, in particular the revised consolidated working paper; 25
4.
Notes that in the Doha Declaration on Integrating Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice into the Wider United Nations Agenda to Address Social and
Economic Challenges and to Promote the Rule of Law at the National and
International Levels, and Public Participation, adopted by the Thirteenth United
Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in Doha from
12 to 19 April 2015, 26 the Thirteenth Congress welcomed the work of the Expert
Group, and took note of the draft updated Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners, as finalized by the Expert Group at its meeting held in Cape
Town in March 2015;
5.
Adopts the proposed revision of the Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners, annexed to the present resolution, as the United Nations
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;
6.
Approves the recommendation of the Expert Group that the Rules should
be known as “the Nelson Mandela Rules”, to honour the legacy of the late President
of South Africa, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison in the
course of his struggle for global human rights, equality, democracy and the
promotion of a culture of peace;
7.
Decides to extend the scope of Nelson Mandela International Day,
observed each year on 18 July, 27 to be also utilized in order to promote humane
conditions of imprisonment, to raise awareness about prisoners being a continuous
part of society and to value the work of prison staff as a social service of particular
importance, and to this end invites Member States, regional organizations and
organizations of the United Nations system to celebrate this occasion in an
appropriate manner;
8.
Reaffirms, in the context of paragraph 5 above, the preliminary
observations to the Nelson Mandela Rules, underscores the non-binding nature of
the Rules, acknowledges the variety of Member States’ legal frameworks, and in
that regard recognizes that Member States may adapt the application of the Rules in
accordance with their domestic legal frameworks, as appropriate, bearing in mind
the spirit and purposes of the Rules;
9.
Encourages Member States to endeavour to improve conditions in
detention, consistent with the Nelson Mandela Rules and all other relevant and
applicable United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal
justice, to continue exchanging good practices in order to identify challenges faced
in implementing the Rules and to share their experiences in dealing with those
challenges;
_______________
UNODC/CCPCJ/EG.6/2015/2.
Resolution 70/174, annex.
27 See resolution 64/13.
25
26
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