A/HRC/44/37 17. Other United Nations entities also work on the protection of persons deprived of their liberty. They include, but are not limited to, UNODC, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the World Health Organizations (WHO), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. In addition, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) plays an important role in the protection of persons deprived of their liberty, including in the context of international and non-international armed conflict. Numerous civil society organizations also provide assistance for the protection of person deprived of their liberty. Examples from some of the above entities are included in the present report. A. Respect for the inherent dignity of persons deprived of their liberty: conditions of detention 18. The power to detain comes with a corresponding responsibility to provide for basic needs, including food, adequate shelter and medical care, and to protect detainees from serious threats of harm. The basic principles of the Mandela Rules are that prisoners must be treated with respect for their inherent dignity and value as human beings and should be treated according to their needs, without discrimination. The Mandela Rules provide guidelines on the minimum requirements for accommodation and living conditions in places of deprivation of liberty. These include rules related to cell conditions, hygiene, accommodation and food and water in detention.10 Supporting those rules are rules 83–85 in which the importance of internal and independent inspections is recognized. In the Bangkok Rules, it is further recognized that the conditions of detention, including policies, services and infrastructure are often not adapted to women’s needs. 19. In the Tokyo, Mandela and Bangkok Rules the impact of overcrowding on conditions of detention is recognized and is often linked to excessive use of pretrial detention, a key area of focus for OHCHR monitoring. Following the publication in 2014 of an OHCHR report entitled “Prisons in Tunisia: international standards versus reality”, 11 a working group to implement the recommendations set out in the report was established in the Ministry of Justice and the General Directorate of Prisons and Rehabilitation. In the report OHCHR identified a number of critical issues, based on its monitoring, including overcrowding, with levels in some prisons reaching 150 per cent of capacity. In partnership with Penal Reform International, OHCHR supported the General Directorate of prisons in organizing a workshop to develop a national strategy for reducing overcrowding in prisons. In April 2015, the Ministry of Justice adopted a national strategy to reduce overcrowding in prisons and committed to reforming the Criminal Code as part of the effort to reduce overcrowding in prisons. In 2017, the Government abolished the mandatory minimum sentence of one year for drug-related crimes. OHCHR continues to monitor places of detention and in 2019, published a second thematic report based on the Mandela and Bangkok rules, entitled, “Separating categories of detainees and their treatment in Tunisian prisons”.12 20. In 2016, OHCHR undertook monitoring related to the situation of women in prisons in Burundi. In its subsequent report, OHCHR recommended that the State authorities undertake measures to improve the conditions of detention in line with the Mandela and Bangkok Rules. As a result, the Minister of Justice established a commission to conduct a census of the prison population in both male and female prisons, in order to address overcrowding, prolonged pretrial detention, and expedite judicial procedures. In addition, mobile courts were established to relieve overcrowding in prisons. Conditional release measures were also implemented for some women, including those who were living with their children in prison, breastfeeding mothers and elderly women. OHCHR supported a legal aid fund that enabled 65 per cent of the female prison population to gain access to legal assistance. 21. In Nigeria, the OHCHR Human Rights Adviser supported the National Committee against Torture in undertaking visits to places of detention. The visits of the Committee to 10 11 12 Mandela Rules Nos. 1–5, 12, 14–16, 18–22, 35, 42, 43 and 113. Available in Arabic only. Available in Arabic only. 5