By Lebone Rodah Mosima
South Africa wants to establish itself as an international hub for prison training, using the Nelson Mandela Rules Academy to bring together correctional officials and experts from around the world to improve prison management and the treatment of inmates.
Department of Correctional Services National Commissioner Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale outlined the plan on Monday during a visit by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Executive Director Monica Juma to the Academy at Drakenstein Correctional Facility.
Thobakgale said the department wanted to position the academy, established earlier this year with technical support from UNODC, as a centre of excellence for correctional training and the promotion of international standards.
“The vision was to say we need to go beyond the Nelson Mandela Rules by giving them practical expression by establishing an actual academy,” he said.
The Nelson Mandela Rules, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, establish minimum international standards for the treatment of prisoners when it comes to human dignity, healthcare, disciplinary measures, prison conditions and staff training.
They were named in honour of South Africa’s first democratically-elected president, Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for his role in the struggle against apartheid.
Thobakgale said the academy was “a physical home where minds could meet, knowledge could be exchanged and experiences could be shared, both physically and virtually”.
He said the department envisioned a platform that would bring together correctional practitioners, experts, policymakers and institutions from across the world to examine ways of improving the management of correctional facilities and the treatment of inmates.
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He said the department recognised from the outset that it could not do that without external support.
“We were equally conscious that this was not a journey we could undertake alone. We therefore recognised that UNODC had a critical role to play in turning this vision into reality.”
He thanked UNODC for its continued partnership and technical assistance, saying the organisation had responded positively to the department’s request for support.
“We are grateful that your office responded positively to our call, and that we have since built a partnership that continues to give substance to this vision,” he said.
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“Ms Juma, your visit is both timely and valuable as we continue to position the Nelson Mandela Rules Academy as a centre of excellence for correctional training and the promotion of international standards.”
He said the challenges confronting correctional systems were not unique to individual countries and that meaningful progress required countries to exchange experiences, knowledge, expertise and innovative approaches.
