V-O-C-A-L
V-Vote
Are you registered to vote? If not and eligible, register now!!!
The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which is the foundation of human rights treaties of the United Nations states in Article 21 that everyone can vote. This includes people in prison.
Later, this was expressed legally in Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which almost all countries support. See you-tube Prisoners Register to Vote in South Sudan.
Are there other countries that allow people in prison to vote? There does not seem to be an official list but we have tried to put together a list.
Our list of countries is the following: Albania, Austria, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.
More countries and states are moving in our direction. For examples, Vermont, Maine and Puerto Rico, Washington DC, allow voting by people in prison in the United States while even China allows some prisoners to vote.
O-Optionals
Optionals are substantive areas related to a treaty. There are two optionals that International CURE totally supports.
(1) The ICCPR’s Second Optional Protocol aims at the abolition of the death penalty.
Also, International CURE is a member of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. See its website for the list of countries who have ratified this Second Optional Protocol concerning the abolition of the death penalty.
(2) OPCAT link to Making It Work: the Optional Protocal to the Convention Against Torture and website for the Association of Torture Prevention
C-Conditions
Prisons are used only for people who absolutely must be incarcerated. And for these who are incarcerated, they should be given all the rehabilitative opportunities they need to turn their lives around.
Prisoners should have:
- Safe, sanitary living conditions
- Access to adequate medical care
- Contact visitation
- Access to send and receive mail
- Ability to contact family by telephone
- Proper and nutritious diet
- Meaningful work
- Adequate mental health care where appropriate
- Access to meaningful grievance process
CURE believes that a person is sent to prison as punishment and not for punishment!
A-Advocacy
Consider participating in CURE's international conferences.
6th was in 2014 in Thailand link to Press Conference on Human Rights and Criminal Justice Reform Link to Transforming Justice and Prison Systems Ultimate Purpose/4 goals/30 Steps Forward
Evaluations of Prisons in Americas and Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas.
Prison Advocacy DOWNLOAD PDF
L-Litigation
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