A/HRC/44/37 I. Introduction and methodology 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 42/32, in which the Council requested OHCHR to prepare a report to be submitted to the Human Rights Council at its forty-fourth session. The report serves as a basis for a panel discussion under agenda item 10 on the activities and plans of OHCHR, other relevant United Nations agencies and, where applicable, regional organizations, to support the efforts of States to promote and protect the human rights of prisoners. 2. The year 2020 marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules) and the sixty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (revised as the Nelson Mandela Rules in 2015). In its resolution 42/32, the Human Rights Council recognized the importance of human rights in crime prevention and the administration of justice. In the resolution, the Council recognized the importance of technical assistance, capacity-building and the voluntary exchange of good practices and the challenges faced in the implementation of the Mandela Rules and the Bangkok Rules. In the resolution, the Council requested OHCHR to highlight practical examples of the promotion and protection of the human rights of prisoners, including women prisoners and offenders. 3. To prepare the present report, OHCHR gathered information from its headquarters and field presences, including regional and country offices, human rights components of United Nations peace missions and human rights advisers to United Nations country teams. Those contributions, together with information provided by United Nations entities, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and United Nations human rights bodies and mechanisms, as well as civil society, constitute the basis for the present report. OHCHR is grateful for the contributions received from Honduras, Italy, Lebanon, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, UNODC and Penal Reform International in the preparation of the present report.1 4. Recognizing that the most important element in the protection of all persons deprived of their liberty is to ensure the implementation of human rights norms and standards at the national level, OHCHR provides an overview of practices that are representative of technical cooperation and advisory services. It further highlights examples of how technical cooperation and capacity-building programmes are supporting States in the implementation of the Mandela and Bangkok Rules. The present report covers the period from 2015 to 2019. During its finalization, concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in prisons were raised by the United Nations and many other stakeholders. 2 5. The report is arranged according to the key areas covered in the Bangkok and Mandela Rules. Interrelated rules are grouped in order to illustrate relevant technical cooperation activities related to: (a) respect for the inherent dignity of persons deprived of liberty; (b) non-custodial measures; (c) health care; (d) protection of vulnerable groups; and (e) training, awareness-raising and research. For reasons of space constraints, the present report is not exhaustive, but rather focuses on a number of concrete examples to facilitate an exchange of views and experiences during the panel discussion. Framework for technical cooperation: the protection of all persons deprived of their liberty 6. Technical cooperation is an integral part of OHCHR programmes and is central to implementing the High Commissioner’s global mandate under General Assembly resolution 48/141 to promote and protect the enjoyment and full realization, by all people, of all human rights, everywhere. OHCHR undertakes technical cooperation at the request and with the agreement of States. Technical cooperation programmes are designed on the basis of dialogue with relevant stakeholders and based on a comprehensive assessment of the human rights situation in a given country. Depending on the human rights situation, technical cooperation 1 2 2 Contributions will be available on the OHCHR website. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/COVID19Guidance.aspx.