A/HRC/11/8
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(b) Except for those limitations that are demonstrably necessitated by the fact of
incarceration, all prisoners should retain the human rights and fundamental freedoms set out in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and where the State concerned is a party, the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol thereto, as well as such other rights as are set
out in other United Nations covenants (art. 5);
(c) All prisoners should have the right to take part in cultural activities and education
aimed at the full development of the human personality (art. 6).
23. The right to education is now accepted as encompassing the provision of an education that
is available, accessible, adaptable and acceptable.14 No text allows for forfeiture of this right and,
more essentially, forfeiture is not necessitated by the fact of incarceration.
24. A number of international instruments deal specifically with prisons and conditions of
detention and offer guidance for good prison management.15 There are many of these, but other
than the Basic Principles adopted by the General Assembly in 1990 (see para. 22 above),
perhaps the most prominent for the purposes of the present report are the Standard Minimum
Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, adopted by the Economic and Social Council in its
resolution 663 c (XXIV) of 31 July 1957, and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for
the Administration of Juvenile Justice of (1985).16 According to rules 77 (1) and (2) of the
former, “Provision shall be made for the further education of all prisoners capable of profiting
thereby, including religious instruction in the countries where this is possible. The education of
illiterates and young prisoners shall be compulsory and special attention shall be paid to it by the
administration … . So far as practicable, the education of prisoners shall be integrated with the
educational system of the country so that after their release they may continue their education
without difficulty.” Rule 26.2 of the latter states that, “juveniles in institutions shall receive care,
protection and all necessary assistance - social, educational, vocational, psychological, medical
and physical - that they may require because of their age, sex, and personality and in the interest
of their wholesome development”.
14
See E/CN.4/1999/49 and general comment No. 13 of the Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights on the right to education (E/C.12/1999/10).
15
Such as “Human Rights and Prisons”, a training package for prison officials available on the
website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(www.ohchr.org).
16
Also relevant are the Body of Principles for Protection of All Persons under Any Form of
Detention or Imprisonment, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 43/173
of 9 December 1988 and the Hamburg Declaration on Adult Learning, adopted at the fifth
International Conference on Adult Education.
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