Govt to improve conditions in prisons

Minister of Prison Reforms, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Hindu Religious Affairs D.M. Swaminathan said today that the Sri Lankan government is keen to undertake prison reforms to ensure improved humanitarian conditions.

"There is no overcrowding in prisons and that the categorization of detainees is in line with offences so that prisons can be managed more efficiently and effectively", he said while addressing at the third Asia- Pacific Regional Correctional Managers Conference from May 10-13.

The conference is organized by the Department of Prisons in Sri Lanka with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"Additionally, detainees should be assured of proper vocational training, counselling, sufficient time for family visits and access to legal aid and adequate medical facilities, while carrying out police searches to detect the use of drugs in prisons. Against this backdrop, the Asia- Pacific Regional Correctional Managers Conference will help countries to share lessons learnt and to formulate reforms that will make prisons more effective correctional centres," he said.

According to a statement from ICRC regional office in Colombo, the first Asia- Pacific conference was held in 2012 in Manila, Philippines and the second in 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Both focused on the issue of overcrowding in prisons.

"This event in Sri Lanka, which builds on the success of the two previous conferences, provides a unique opportunity for senior prison managers to share experiences, challenges and best practices", said Claire Meytraud, the head of the ICRC delegation in Sri Lanka. "We are committed to working closely with the authorities of all these countries and to supporting their efforts to improve conditions of detention."

In Sri Lanka, the ICRC has been visiting places of detention since 1989 in keeping with its global humanitarian mandate; the aim is to help the authorities to provide adequate conditions of detention and humane treatment for all detainees.

Nearly 50 senior officials from the Ministry of Prison Reforms, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Hindu Religious Affairs, the Department of Prisons and the Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation in Sri Lanka, and from the prisons departments of Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Thailand will attend the seminar. ICRC delegations from most of these countries will also be represented at the event.