The "Mandela Rules" for the treatment of prisoners were presented, on Wednesday, in a high-level forum organized by South Africa and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at the UN headquarters in New York.
After months of analysis, the Economic and Social Council Chamber received the introduction of a revised project with the minimal standards to ensure humane treatment to prisoners.
The proposal includes practices aimed at protecting prisoners from torture, physical damage and inhumane and degrading treatment.
It also envisages prohibitions like prolonged solitary confinement.
Meanwhile, the President of the UN National Assembly Mogens Lykketoft also called today for a global support to the Mandela Rules, recalling they are the result of five years of consultations and negotiations with an active participation of UN state members, international organizations, civil society sectors and experts.
According to Lykketoft, the rules carry a deep message: "prisoners are human beings who are born with dignity and the right to be safe and their human rights are respected".
According to experts and diplomats, the set of rules are named after Mandela as way to honor an inspiring leader, who served many years in prison for defending freedom and democracy.
Mandela (1918-2013) was in jail 27 years for fighting against the apartheid in South Africa, where he was subjected to various forms of humiliation.
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