RIGHTS BEHIND BARS A Study of Prison Conditions In Zimbabwe 2018 4.2. Prisoners’ dignity, cell conditions and sanitation The right to dignity is an important right which forms the basis of most international human rights instruments.20 Some of these instruments explicitly provide for the right of all persons deprived of their liberty to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.21 In addition, several minimum rules, principles and guidelines reiterate the State’s obligation to treat all prisoners with the respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings.22 A critical element of prisoners’ cell conditions is the need for adequate sanitary facilities to enable prisoners to comply with the needs of nature in a clean and decent manner and the need for adequate bathing or shower facilities that are consistent with the climatic conditions and geographical conditions.23 Maintaining prisoners’ health and cleanliness further requires that the prisons are properly maintained and cleaned at all times; and that each prisoner should have a separate bed with clean and sufficient bedding which is kept in good order and is regularly changed.24 In the same vein, the Zimbabwean Constitution grants every person inherent dignity in both their private and public life; as well as the right to have the dignity respected and protected. In the context of detention, the Constitution provides that ‘any person who is arrested or detained…has the right to conditions of detention that are consistent with human dignity, including…the provision at State expense of adequate accommodation, ablution facilities, personal hygiene’.25 Thus, the right to dignity requires that the State ensures the provision of these and other minimum conditions of detention. 4.3. Bedding Whilst none of the international human rights instruments explicitly provide for prisoners’ rights to bedding, this right is implied in ‘the right to an adequate standard of living’ which is provided for in a number of these instruments.26 The Mandela Rules explicitly provide for every prisoner’s right to be provided with a separate bed and with separate and sufficient bedding which shall be clean when issued, kept in good order and changed often enough to ensure its cleanliness.27 These conditions are necessary for purposes of curbing the rise and spread of diseases in the prison system. At the domestic level, the Zimbabwean Constitution does not explicitly refer to the bedding of inmates, but provides for the right to ‘conditions of detention that are consistent with human dignity…adequate accommodation’.28 Accordingly, constitutional rights of universal application such as the right to dignity and to have that dignity protected should be read broadly to require the State to provide enough bedding 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 16 See the Preambles to the UN Charter, ICCPR and ICESCR. See article 10 of the ICCPR; article 5 of the ACHPR; and articles 3 and 24 of the AWP. Rule 1 of the Nelson Mandela Rules; Principle 1 of the Body of Principles; Rule 1 of the Beijing Rules See Rules 15 and 16 of the Mandela Rules. Nelson Mandela Rules, Rule 21. Constitution of Zimbabwe, Section 50(5)(d). See articles 25 of the UDHR; 11(1) of the ICECSR; 25(1) of the CRPD and 16 of the AWP. Rule 21 of the Mandela Rules. Constitution of Zimbabwe, Section 50(5)(d). EGAP