RIGHTS BEHIND BARS A Study of Prison Conditions In Zimbabwe 2018 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The primary objectives of this study were to assess the compliance of selected prisons with international and domestic standards on conditions of detention; to consolidate the findings from the prison monitoring project conducted by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (the Forum) and its membership; to make recommendations for reforms and propose key priority areas. The central aim was to determine whether the conditions in our prisons are consistent with the international and domestic standards that are provided for in international instruments, the Constitution and the Prisons Act [Chapter 7:11]. To make this determination, the Forum, in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO), carried out prison monitoring visits at seven (7) correctional or custodial institutions representing different types of prisons in the country. The custodial institutions selected for the study include Connemara Open Prison; Bindura Farm Prison; Mutare Farm Prison; Tabudirira Satellite Prison in Mutoko; Whahwa Young Offenders Prison; Mlondolozi Prison (which predominantly houses prisoners with mental health challenges) and Harare Remand Prison. As can be gleaned from the list of correctional or custodial institutions visited, the idea was to select prisons or places of detention that operate under very different circumstances in order for the Forum and ZACRO to be able to understand what the situation is like at different institutions. Besides, it was necessary to select institutions detaining persons under different circumstances to ensure that there is adequate representation of all types of prisons in this report. For these reasons, the selected prisons included a ‘prison without walls’ (ie an open prison); two farm prisons; one satellite prison; one young offenders’ prison; one prison housing detainees with mental health challenges and one remand prison. Mlondolozi also gives an insight into women issues as it houses women as well. To address these objectives of the study and to identify which instruments and standards were relevant to the study, the Forum compiled a list of key issues that arose from the Prison Monitoring Visit Reports. A survey of these reports indicated that the topical issues in our prisons include pre-trial detention; prisoners’ dignity, cell conditions and sanitation; bedding; adequate clothing; the right to sufficient food; the right to safe, clean and potable water; the right to health care services; access to education, vocational training and work; and a number of issues relating to juveniles deprived of their liberty. When it comes to juveniles deprived of their liberty, the main issues that arose from the reports revolved around the child offender’s rights to be kept separately from detained persons over the age of 18 years and to be treated in a manner and kept in conditions that take account of the child’s age. This Executive Summary narrates the main findings and recommendations made with regards to each of these themes in the order they have been outlined above. With regards to pre-trial detention, it is worth noting that the periods for which many prisoners have been placed in remand violate the standards set out in the Constitution and international human rights instruments. In most of the trials that fail to kick off, the reason is often the result of the State’s failure to proceed with the trial. As demonstrated below, detained persons continue to be deprived of their liberty as a result of such minor challenges as the shortage of fuel or the lack of knowledge regarding 8 EGAP