Mr. Simon Walker, OHCHR. Good morning! I am Simon Walker, Chief of the Rule of Law and Democracy Section of the Office of the United High Commissioner for Human Rights. OHCHR is pleased to organise this special event in collaboration with Costa Rica, Colombia, South Africa and Switzerland, the Global Campus of Human Rights, the Penal Reform International and Perseus Strategies. The special event aims to share and discuss findings and recommendations of the OHCHR’s recent report entitled “Human rights and the social reintegration of persons released from detention and persons subjected to non-custodial measures” (A/HRC/60/65); and identify ways forward in the implementation of the recommendations of the report. The OHCHR Study was prepared pursuant to the Human Rights Council Resolution 57/9 on the similar topic. This special event is also aimed at fostering relevant synergies between UN entities based in Geneva and Vienna, enhancing the multiple human rights dimensions of social reintegration for former prisoners in their respective areas of work. The importance of these synergies is recognised in resolution 57/9. Today, at this event, we will begin with an introductory segment, followed by the panel discussion. At the end, I hope that we will have a few minutes for co-sponsors and participants to speak during the open discussion and Q&A session. In 2024, Costa Rica, with a group of countries, sponsored the resolution 57/9 on social reintegration at the Human Rights Council. Other members of the Core Groups are: Gambia, Montenegro, Kazakhstan and Romania. The Core Group continues to advance human rights-based approach to social reintegration at the Human Rights Council.

Ms. A M Calderon Garbanzo, Costa Rica. The HRC has adopted a resolution on social reintegration of offenders. States should consider various social reintegration measures. These measures are needed more than ever now as the UN embarks in UN reforms. Costa Rica commends the OHCHR for the study on social reintegration, highlighting that a human rights-based approach is essential for social reintegration programmes. Millions of people around the world are in criminal justice detention. The majority will return to society. Upon re-entry, they encounter discrimination and stigma, and are denied support systems. This constitutes a vulnerable sector of society, preventing them to enjoy their full human rights. Women, children and minority groups are facing even greater challenges. Costa Rica engages with civil society and takes into account lived experiences in designing and implementing policies. Those impacted by criminal justice have paid their dept to society.

Simon Walker, OHCHR. The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, widely known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, offer a blueprint for protecting the rights of people deprived of their liberty and for good prison management in the 21st century. When adhered to, they ensure safe and efficient governance of prisons, protect human rights, prioritise rehabilitation and ensure dignity for all. The Group of Friends of the Nelson Mandela Rules is chaired by South Africa, Germany and Thailand. The Group of Friends of the Nelson Mandela Rules is chaired by South Africa, Germany and Thailand. The OHCHR is pleased to welcome Mr Thulani Nyembe, Counsellor for Political Affairs at the Permanent Mission of South Africa to the UN in Vienna, to today’s side event. The moderator now invites Mr Nyembe to share his thoughts.

Nyembe, South Africa. We express our appreciation to OHCHR for holding this special event today. This is an auspicious time, with the 10-year anniversary of the Mandela Rules. At the heart of society, we share a sense of community, human rights and dignity must be protected and respected. International standards, norms adopted by the CCPCJ emphasize individual lives and underscore the importance of maintaining family as an essential tool for reintegration. This is also at the core of the Mandela Rules. Adopted in 2015 after more than 5 years. The Mandela Rules represent a universal blueprint for prison management, on how to uphold safety, security and dignity in prison settings. Rule 4.1 stresses the need to protect society from crime and reduce recidivism, ensuring the reintegration of prisoners upon release. We welcome the initiative of the HRC to address the social reintegration of people released from prisons. It also highlights the importance of the Nelson Mandela Rules. The framework emphasizes community involvement and the provision of support services for the reintegration of prisoners. Key components include rehabilitation initiatives, aftercare support, community-based programmes allowing individuals to serve sentences outside of prisons, psychological support and vocational training, the importance of retaining family and community bonds. Through the spirit of shared responsibility, South Africa promotes strategic partnerships for the social reintegration of offenders. We emphasize the role of victims and community mobilisation as these are key to building safer and more cohesive societies. We encourage further study with a strong human rights-based approach. As Nelson Mandela told us: no one should judge society until they have seen the state of their prisons.

Screening of short film on social reintegration.

Simon Walker. Before I invite our panellists to take the floor, I would like to highlight key recommendations of the OHCHR Study: The Study discusses various efforts aimed at addressing barriers to effective social reintegration. Such efforts include:

• the development of comprehensive and sustainable reintegration programmes, initiatives to shift public perceptions and combat stigmatization and discrimination,
• the participation of individuals with lived experience in the development of programmes, support for family and community connections, and
• the adoption of gender-responsive and inclusive approaches.

The Study emphasizes the importance of a human rights-based approach to social reintegration that complements broader crime prevention and criminal justice strategies. It concludes with recommendations to promote more inclusive and effective reintegration practices, including developing operational guidance on implementing a human rights-based approach. In the OHCHR study, international human rights mechanisms are encouraged to strengthen their focus on social reintegration, including by increasing their monitoring of social reintegration efforts and providing recommendations to assist States in meeting their human rights obligations and enhancing the effectiveness of their reintegration policies. We are pleased that we have experts from two human rights mechanisms. OHCHR is pleased to have the United Nations Sub-Committee on the Prevention of Torture at this panel. The Sub-Committee- a human rights treaty body, closely works with the National Prevention Mechanisms on the Prevention of Torture at the national level.

Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture. We welcome the OHCHR’s initiative to study social reintegration. We contributed to this important study by sharing our field experience in this regard. We should stress how the SPT can advance a human rights-based approach and provide guidance. Our mandate is of practical and visiting character. Most of our knowledge and experience comes from working in the field. Following the visits, preparing reports, and designing recommendations for States and NPMs, we use our experience to benefit their work. We can then share our experience with NPMs, States Parties and relevant stakeholders. SPTs have almost 2 decades of experience in visiting places of deprivation of liberty. Our recommendations serve as examples of how our mandate is used to promote social reintegration. I want to stress few examples of issues the SPT addressed in our past reports to address social reintegration. ON normative and policy frameworks, we have recommended that states parties adopt measures to reorient legal frameworks towards rehabilitation. On social reintegration measures in prison, prison administrations should provide opportunities for work, education and physical exercise. It’s important for their physical well-being and social reintegration. We also focus on women deprived of liberty, as well as children and adolescents. We noticed a lack of training and activities for women even when such activities are available for men. In respect of people with drug use disorders, we recommended providing effective treatment in prison. For people with mental health conditions, we emphasize the importance of comprehensive health strategies. I hope that some of our experience will be food for thought for OHCHR colleagues.

Simon Walker. Thanks, Mr. Czepek. Emphasizes the critical role of SPT and NPMs in protecting human rights of persons deprived of their liberty. I now turn to Ms. Cormy. I would like to recognize UNODC’s valuable contribution in the preparation of the OHCHR Study. In her opening remarks, Ms. Garbanzo (Costa Rica) highlighted the importance of the Model Strategies.  The OHCHR study referred to these Strategies. How could the implementation of the recommendations of the report could be advanced while in the the implementation of the Kyoto Model Strategies is moving forward.

Ms. Comry, UNODC. It’s a pleasure to join this timely event. This OHCHR study resonates with the work we undertook over the past 10 years on reducing reoffending, the Kyoto Model Strategies, initiated by the Kyoto Crime Congress. I had the pleasure of following the process for its last 6 months. In line with a rights-based approach, the Model Strategies aim to stop the revolving door and improve criminal justice effectiveness while treating people with dignity, and constructing a criminal justice system that aims to reduce reoffending. The Model Strategies are structured around various key pillars. The first principle of individualised management – people in conflict with the law are not a homogenous group. The second promotes the use of non-custodial sentences with prisons used as a last resort. For those detained, the third principle promotes rehabilitative custodial environments to ensure compliance with human rights and support reintegration. Forth, address root causes of offending including drug use, etc. We need to ensure coordinated support with health, labour and other services. Fifth, holistic partnerships and community support are absolutely key, so that communities are prepared to receive individuals and ensure employment for those released. Sixth, we call for systematic data collection, research and evaluation to assess what works and direct funds towards effective interventions. We appreciate the OHCHR’s study’s focus on social reintegration. The normative roles are now comprehensive. We now need to move towards their implementation. The Kyoto Model Strategies bridge this gap, representing a paradigm shift, recognising that the vast majority of prisoners will eventually return to society. We have developed a roadmap to move from theory to practice.

Simon. The Study emphasized that prisoners should be prepared for release and receive post-release support. This should ensure humane conditions and treatment, family contact and safe transitions home, as well as access to healthcare, housing, meaningful work, education and vocational training, without discrimination. Research and experience show that the most effective reintegration programmes adopt a multidimensional approach, addressing both immediate and long-term needs; including access to opportunities for employment. The OHCHR Study emphasized the participation of individuals with lived experience in the development of social reintegration. The Study also acknowledged the important roles played by civil society, community and private section. Now, I am pleased to invite our third panellist- Darren Burns is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the Timpson Group and the Head of the Timpson Foundation, focusing on recruiting and retaining ex-offenders and others with barriers to employment. He manages Timpson’s prison training academies and oversees the transition from custody to the workplace. He is a former police officer and also a former prisoner. Burns, please tell us your won story; and as part of the private sector enterprises, how is your business supporting former prisoners through access to opportunity for employment?

Darren Burns, Timsons Group. We are a UK-based organisation, we are the largest employer of formerly incarcerated people (12% of our workforce) in the UK. We have a diverse recruitment pathway, including for people still incarcerated. We also have prison training academies so that we can give people a uniform and a job. People who have left prison or with a conviction can apply, and after an assessment we give them a job. This is based on kindness, compassion and support. We don’t focus on people’s past, we focus on what they can achieve in the future. Prisons are a pool of talent. Many of us have had great careers through the Timsons Group. Employment is a key factor for preventing reoffending. The rate of reoffending is 60%, it goes down to 15% when people find employment. Employment also saves money, makes communities safer and reduces crime. It offers people opportunities of reinventing themselves. It provides dignity and self-work. I was a former police officer, I committed a crime, I ended up in prison for 4 years. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but came across the Timsons Group which offered me a job. I was grateful for the opportunity. Being released from prison is often worse than when you come into prison in the first place. This is an important example of the role that the private sector can do to support social reintegration. We are supporting 19 prisons in the UK. We have an employment advisory board that supports sustainable employment outcomes post-release. This has contributed to a 40% increase in the number of prisoners in employment after release.

Simon Walker. The OHCHR Study found that effective social reintegration programmes should also promote community restoration, tackle systemic discrimination and address stigma. Constructive family involvement, gender-responsive strategies for women and culturally grounded, community-based approaches further enhance outcomes. The Study recommends States to reform punitive practices, including through increase the use of non-custodial measures. It also recommends standardizing definitions and methodologies in reintegration work, invest in rigorous evaluation frameworks and enhance impact assessments, including through improved collection of disaggregated data, monitoring and independent mechanism. With this note, I would like to invite our next panellist Ms. Hannah Pierce-Carty.  She is the Director of International Policy & Advocacy of Perseus Strategies Ltd.   Jointly with several NGOs and former prisoners’ organisations, Perseus Strategies has been advocating for a human rights and gender based and stigma free social reintegration

Hanna Pierse-Carty, Perseus Strategies. Since 2023, my team has worked alongside NGO partners to support a core group of member states in Geneva led by Costa Rica which has advanced the topic of social reintegration at the HRC, which led to the resolution resulting from the OHCHR study. A global coalution of 100+ NGOs is now supporting this effort. Social reintegration is not a matter of reducing reoffending. It’s a human rights issue. People face unsurmountable obstacles post-release, confronting barriers to empoiyment, housing, healthcare, family ties, voting, etc. This is an outright violation of human rights, in particular for those facing intersecting discrimination. The study makes clear that human rights complement the work undertaken here in Vienna. We welcome the work of CCPCJ, UNODC and the Crime Congress, the States that supported the Kyoto Model Strategies. But gaps remain. Reintegration is primarily viewed through prison management. A rights based approach begins from a different premise: people decarcerated are full right holders as human beings. The term dignity and human rights in the Kyoto Model Strategies only appears only twice. There are many norms that focus on prisoners and prison release, and these are legal obligations. There are no references in the Model Strategies to these obligations nor thresholds. One practical state to take is to replace stigmatising labels with inclusive language. While the UN has modernise language on women, disability and children’s rights, this has not been the case here. New language, person-centred, improves positive outcomes. Avoiding pejorative terminology is a necessary component for reducing reoffending and upholding human rights.

Simon Walker. Thank you for reminding us of the importance of language to reduce stigma and discrimination. I already have several requests from the floor: Switzerland, Colombia and UNODC.

Switzerland. Switzerland is pleased to cosponsor this important side event. We welcome the new OHCHR report and support its comprehensive rights based guidance. This is vital for the dignity of all individuals and for inclusive societies. We reinforce the need for combatting stigma, promoting gender-responsive policies, and aligned with the Mandela Rules and Kyoto Model Strategies. We encourage greater coherence across UN processes. We stress the need to reinforce the bridges between Geneva and Vienna, on the intersection of human rights, health and drug policies – this is essential for effective, dignified and rights-centred cooperation. We welcome cooperation with UNODC, civil society, OHCHR and others going forward.

Colombia. We are pleased to be one of the cosponsors. The social reintegration of people is not only a good practice, it’s a legal and constitutional obligation. The resocialisation of individuals deprived of their liberty is needed. We welcome the OHCHR report providing guidance to States focusing on dignity and rights. Colombia has adopted national policies for the humanisation of prisons and penitentiary systems this year, facilitating new opportunities to facilitate healthcare and work, as well as family ties. Colombia, through the national development plan 2020-2026 has focused on prison policy as a priority, including access to essential services, restorative justice, psychosocial support and working with families and transition routes. This is based on the Mandela Rules. We highlight the importance of synergies between Vienna and Geneva and will continue to work on this issue.

Global Caucus for Human Rights. We welcome you all for this important conversation. Our work on children deprived of liberty shows how children are particularly affected. When children do enter justice systems, reintegration is critical, they face broken education, family ties. We must ensure continuity of education and continuous family ties, as well as combatting stigma that will perdure throughout their lives. Operational guidance must include provisions for children and young people. Peer-led, community-led engagement is absolutely critical. Grass-roots NGOs led by women provide gender-sensitive, trauma-informed solutions.

Japan. I extend my gratitude to OHCHR for this event. We express our appreciation for highlighting the Kyoto Model Strategies. It is a new UN standard and norm, part of the legacy of the Kyoto Congress. We hope that the strategies will not merely remain on paper but will serve as guidelines to contribute to social reintegration.

Youth RISE. Thank you for the event. My intervention is more of a question. I congratulate the Global Caucus on the impact of young people impacted by deprivation of liberty. How can we ensure that those impacted by drug policies are covered by these approaches?

UNODC. Thank you for inviting us. We all work on various aspects of the criminal justice system and prison settings. The report addresses the issue of people in contact with prisons for using drugs. I want to underly this specifically. People with drug use disorders should be treated, not punished, we need a health response. It’s a matter of life and death. People exiting from prison are more vulnerable to health issues as they might relapse, lose their tolerance, and encounter overdoses that can be often fatal. We developed many tools with colleagues on crime prevention and criminal justice and with the HIV unit. We are presenting one of these tools today at 1:30 pm in this very room. Please come. It will be a practical tool. We talked with many member states on how to do this.

UNODC. Thanks to the organisers and speakers. Thanks for reminding us of a human rights approach. We need to ensure uninterrupted services for people in prison. This is essential for communicable and non-communicable diseases. It is an integral part of reintegration and of the Nelson Mandela Rules.

East and Southern Africa Commission on Drugs. We are an EU-funded project and working to assessing drug trafficking. We want to refocus efforts towards high-level traffickers. We know police officers will be promoted when they arrest more people in the field. But they need more training and refocus on high-level trafficking. This is important as more overdoses are happening when people are released from prison. Care should also be provided inside of prisons.

Simon Walker. Thank you so much to our speakers and interventions from the floor. We will continue to work with UNODC and others to ensure the implementation of our recommendations going forward.