New African guidelines on arrest, police custody and detention launched

An extensive research process led by the African Commission on Human and Peoples´ Rights (ACHPR) has uncovered a wide range of failures to respect international standards by police services across Africa.

“Particularly the rights to life, liberty, security and a fair trial are limited under current practices,” said Commissioner Med S.K. Kaggwa, Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Condition of Detention in Africa, at the launch of new detention guidelines during the 56^th Ordinary Session of the ACHPR in Banjul, Gambia.

The guidelines aim at “improving the treatment of persons subject to arrest, police custody and pre-trial detention to ensure that the treatment complies with the relevant international norms”. As part of the consultation process, the African Commission called upon its states parties, civil society and other stakeholders to collaborate and provide input to the Guidelines. This included regional consultations held across Africa as well as written submissions received following the publication of the draft guidelines on the ACHPR website. The Guidelines therefore reflect the collective aspirations of a wide range of stakeholders in promoting a human rights-based approach to this critical area of criminal justice.

State obligations outlined

Through many years of experience from working with human rights protection and policing in Africa, the Danish Institute for Human Rights contributed to the process with lessons learned and technical input.

“The guidelines is an important instrument that addresses issues and concerns highlighted by a wide range of stakeholders in the area of arrest, police custody and pre-trial detention,” explains Josiane Tapsoba , Policing and Human Rights Focal Point at the Secretariat of the ACHPR under the Policing and Human Rights cooperation between ACHPR, DIHR and the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF).

“The Guidelines also outline in detail, states’ obligations in relation to arrest and conditions of detention,” she continues.

Human rights abuses are prone to arise in national legal frameworks that do not always respect, promote and protect the human rights of detainees, and the guidelines represent a practical tool in identifying the shortcomings of national human rights systems. The guidelines align with one of the key elements of the Danish Institute for Human Rights´ International Strategy for 2015-2017, namely that the institute works for “the integration of human rights norms into regional and international frameworks and standards”.

“Even though the Luanda Guidelines are directly applicable only in Africa, they were drafted on the basis of extensive consultations, reflecting the various legal systems and traditions in Africa, systems and traditions that mirror most of the global legal systems and traditions. They are also by far the most recent soft law document dealing with these issues. Thus, they are highly relevant when considering issues of arrest, police custody and pre-trial detention on a global level,” underlines Ulrik Spliid, Programme Manager for Africa at the Danish Institute for Human Rights, who has advocated for the global use of the guidelines at the UN.

Everyone must contribute

The next crucial step is the effective implementation of the guidelines, and the ACHPR counts on all stakeholders, including the one that have contributed to their existence, to work for their implementation. State actors are encouraged to make use of the guidelines when drafting new legislation and policy, as they serve an authoritative and practical implementation of the African Charter of the Human and People’s Rights. In many ways, the guidelines appear as a blueprint for reform of the entire criminal justice chain, strengthened by the combined efforts and contributions of all involved stakeholders.

The POLI.HR initiative is seeking to promote the protection of human rights across the National Police Services of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali. The initiative, backed by the Danish Institute for Human Rights, finds the guidelines highly useful for the work of the police.

“The guidelines can be used for basic and in-service training, monitoring places of detention and also in relation to the collection and dissemination of statistical data on arrest and persons in police custody,” emphasised Nigerien Police Commissioner Maman Abdel Kader, permanent secretary to POLI.HR, during the launch.

In addition, the document can provide guidance for civil society engaging in community-level awareness building on human rights in a pre-trial context.