Seychelles part of group set up to monitor Somali prisons |21 October 2014

The superintendent of Seychelles Prisons Maxime Tirant was part of an international group who visited the UNODC mentored prisons in Garowe (Puntland) and Hargeysa (Somaliland) recently.

The International Monitoring Committee (IMC) was set up to govern the operation of the mentored prisons where pirates convicted in regional prosecuting countries have been transferred to serve their sentence.

Other members of the IMC are representatives of the UNODC, representatives from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom.

UNODC’s work in Somaliland and Puntland finds its foundation in the January 2011 report of the secretary general’s special advisor on legal issues related to piracy off the coast of Somalia which called for the construction of two prisons, each of 500 beds, in Puntland and Somaliland.

The IMC is the mechanism that has been established in accordance with the agreements between UNODC and the governments of Puntland and Somaliland.

Its aim is to assess the implementation of minimum international standards in the said detention facilities and provide recommendations on how to promote compliance with the same.

The IMC is tasked with conducting periodic inspections of Hargeysa central and Garowe prisons. This visit constituted the first of its kind and marked the start of operations of the IMC. To perform its duties the IMC is granted full access to the detention facilities, including holding talks with the prisoners.

The IMC stayed in Somalia from October 5-7 during which time the members visited Garowe prison in Puntland and Hargeysa prison in Somaliland.

During the visit meetings were also held with national authorities in respective locations to review the status of the current agreements, discuss future transfers of convicted pirates and more broadly explore opportunities for further cooperation in the areas of criminal justice and correctional services.

The IMC positively assessed the visit to both prisons and elaborated specific recommendations for national custodial services to address with the support of UNODC.

The implementation of the recommendations set forth, along with the review of general detention conditions, will be the object of the next IMC visit which will take place in approximately six months.

The President of Puntland and the Ministry of Justice in Somaliland reiterated their support to UNODC and the international donor community and acknowledged the advancement of the condition of prisoners and benefits that UNODC programmes have brought about in the areas of criminal justice and detention.