883 former SPLA combatants graduate as prison personnel

Juba, 21 November 2007: The Prisons Service of Southern Sudan has graduated 883 former Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army (SPLA) officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) at the end of 75 days of intensive training, in a step to transfer the former Southern Sudanese combatants into professional prison personnel.

The trained personnel, 101 of whom were female, represent a new generation with whom Southern Sudan aspires to improve itsPrisons management and enforce minimum human rights standards for the treatment of prisoners and inmates.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony at Juba Football Stadium, amid presence of key government ministers, UN representatives and a large numbers of citizens, the Director General of Southern Sudan Prison Service, Major General Agasio Akol Tong noted that “One of the functions of the prison service is to build the capacity of our staff through effective recruitment, training and development to increase skills, abilities and standards.”

Re-emphasizing the need for a changed mind set and new role for the graduating personnel, Major General Tong asserted that “prisons are correctional and rehabilitative institutions; treatment that is cruel, inhuman, degrading of prisoner’s dignity or that may expose their health to danger shall be prohibited and punishable by law”.

The training programme has been carried out under UNDP’s Foundational Support to the Prisons Services of Southern Sudan Project and jointly funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) of the Government of Canada. The project is aimed at helping the Government of Southern Sudan address the after-effects of the more than 20 years of civil war that devastated the region’s basic infrastructure including law enforcement institutions.

“The war also left a heavy toll on prisons facilities and all staff training centres were unfortunately destroyed” said Major General Tong. He added “The prisons service is addressing this with the support of the UN and countries within the region.What we are witnessing today is an example of these reforms being supported”.

Addressing the same occasion, Minster of Labour and Human Resource Development in Southern Sudan, H.E. Ms. Awut Deng, called on the Prisons authorities to respect the rights of prisoners and to improve their living conditions.

“I called on Prisons Service to bring about reform in our prisons and to ensure that male, female and child inmates are kept in separate cells” urged H.E. Ms. Deng in reference to the situation prevalent in some prisons in Southern Sudan prior the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 when male and female inmates including delinquent children were kept in one prison cell.

H.E. Ms. Awut Deng inspecting parade

“The foundation of this reform is our mission to enhance the safety of the community by providing secure and humane containment and facilitating the rehabilitation of prisoners through developing and valuing staff”, explained Major General Tong. He emphasized the commitment and adherence of the Prison Service to what he described as “our long term vision that the Prisons Service of Southern Sudan be a highly professional, responsive and ethical organization that contributes to public safety and security”.

The Minister of Internal Affairs in Southern Sudan, H.E. Paul Mayom, described the occasion as a great achievement by the Prisons Service in collaboration with UNDP, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and the donor countries.

Major General Tong commended the role of UNDP and UNMIS Corrections Advisors for planning and implementing the prison projects as well as the Multi-Donor Trust Fund, the Department of International Development (DFID) of the Government of the UK, the British Council and the Canadian Government for funding the prisons training projects.

“The reform of the Southern Sudan Prisons Service is a long- term process and we are in its early stages, but I am confident that with continued support from donors, the Prisons Service will fulfil its mission and vision”, concluded Major General Tong.

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For more information please contact:

Joseph Tabani, Communication Analyst: joseph.tabani@undp.org

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UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.