Federal Prison Proclamation No. 1174-2020 (Ethiopia)

Federal Negarit Gazette, Published: February 17, 2020

This blog post provides a comprehensive summary of Federal Prison Proclamation No. 1174/2020, issued by the House of Peoples’ Representatives of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. This Proclamation aims to reform and regulate the federal prison system, focusing on human rights, rehabilitation, and efficient administration.

1. Introduction and Purpose of the Proclamation

The Federal Prison Proclamation No. 1174/2020 was enacted with the primary goal of reorganizing the Federal Prison Commission. Its core objectives are to:

• Ensure the enforcement of court decisions.
• Uphold the Ethiopian Constitution, relevant laws, international agreements, and internationally accepted standards for prisoner treatment.
• Emphasize respect for the “human dignity and rights” of prisoners.
• Implement correctional strategies tailored to individual circumstances.
• Establish systems for reintegrating prisoners into society.
• Address the need for prisoner classification based on dangerousness, vulnerability, gender, and pre-trial status.
• Create a legal framework for efficient, equal, and fair service provision to prisoners and the public.

2. Establishment and Structure of the Federal Prison Commission

The Proclamation re-establishes the Federal Prison Commission (“the Commission”) as an autonomous federal government body with legal personality.

• Accountability: The Commission is accountable to the Federal Attorney General.
• Headquarters: Its main office is in Addis Ababa, with branches permitted throughout the country as needed.
• Composition: The Commission is led by a Commissioner General and Deputy Commissioner Generals appointed by the government, supported by prison police members and civilian staff.
• Independence: The Commission is granted “professional and operational independence.”
• Transparency and Accountability: It is mandated to operate transparently, ensuring accountability to the law, government, and public. It must also ensure a system free from discrimination, respecting the rights of all prisoners equally.
• Personnel Standards: The proclamation calls for the establishment of a prison system staffed by individuals who are “law-abiding, ethically and professionally competent, incorruptible and at the service of society.”

3. Core Objectives and Powers of the Commission

The main objective of the Commission is to enforce court orders and sentences by “receiving, protecting, respecting the rights of, preserving the human dignity of, and meeting the basic needs of prisoners.” It aims to facilitate “attitudinal and ethical change” in prisoners through “psychological, educational, and vocational training,” enabling them to become “law-abiding, peaceful, and productive citizens.”

The Commission’s extensive powers and duties include:

• Training and Development: Establishing its own training institute for prison police and social science professionals, and facilitating overseas training opportunities for prison police.
• Personnel Management: Implementing systems for promotion, pay raises, allowances, and benefits for prison police, and building residential camps for them.
• Prisoner Management: Receiving, protecting, managing, escorting, producing in court, and reforming prisoners as per court orders.
• Basic Provisions: Ensuring prisoners receive “food, shelter, clothing, and free medical care.”
• Rehabilitation and Productivity: Organizing “educational and training institutions” for prisoner development, constructing and managing new correctional centers, and establishing industries to help prisoners develop “sufficient theoretical knowledge and skills” and become “productive workforce.”
• Release Processes: Submitting lists of prisoners eligible for parole or pardon to relevant authorities and implementing release decisions.
• Resources and Technology: Procuring necessary equipment such as security apparatus, vehicles, communication devices, search and riot control equipment, and CCTV cameras.
• Research and Data: Conducting research to improve prison services nationwide and collecting, compiling, and analyzing prisoner data and statistics.
• Financial Management: Utilizing internal revenues for social service improvements and capacity building, in addition to government budgets.
• External Relations: Engaging with governmental and non-governmental organizations on matters related to its mandate.
• Regional Collaboration: Establishing and coordinating a “Joint Assembly” with regional prison administrations to strengthen relationships and promote national standards.
• Alternative Measures: Implementing “alternative correctional measures” as per court orders.
• Post-Release Monitoring: Collaborating with relevant bodies to monitor the behavior of released prisoners.

4. Community Leaders Committee

A Community Leaders Committee is established under the proclamation to monitor and oversee prisoner treatment.

• Composition: This volunteer committee will comprise “well-known and accepted community leaders,” including religious leaders, traditional system leaders, elders, human rights advocates, and prominent individuals, ensuring gender balance.
• Appointment: Members, convenor, and deputy convenor are appointed by the government based on nominations from the Attorney General.
• Term: Committee members serve for five years.
• Mandate: The committee ensures that the Commission’s treatment of prisoners respects the Constitution, international human rights agreements ratified by Ethiopia, and other relevant laws. It will work with stakeholders to improve prisoner treatment and report any non-compliance to the Attorney General for corrective action.
• Support: The committee will have its own office organized by the Attorney General and is required to meet at least quarterly.

5. Rights and Obligations of Prison Police

The proclamation details the rights and obligations of prison police officers:

• Rights: Entitlement to salary according to federal scales, rations, allowances, uniforms, medical services, legal representation at the Commission’s expense for liabilities incurred in duty, and retirement benefits as per public servant pension laws.
• Obligations: To discharge duties by “fully respecting the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution and treaties ratified by Ethiopia,” and in accordance with the Commission’s operational rules and institutional setup, assuming joint and several responsibilities.
• Oath: Recruits must take an “oath of loyalty to the Constitution.”
• Ranks: A detailed hierarchy of prison police ranks is established, ranging from Constable to Commissioner General, each with corresponding insignia.
• Awards: The Commissioner General can award medals, ribbons, certificates, and other prizes for outstanding service.
• Retirement Age: Retirement ages are set based on rank (e.g., 50 for Constable to Chief Sergeant, 55 for Chief Inspector to Commissioner), with provisions for service extension.

6. Treatment of Prisoners

This section outlines comprehensive standards for prisoner treatment:

• Admission: Prisons cannot admit anyone without a court order or decision.
• Record Keeping: Prisons must maintain a “modern record keeping system” for each prisoner, including personal details, offense type, court information, sentence length, property, family contacts, medical examination results, photos, and fingerprints. All information is confidential, but prisoners have the right to access their own records.
• Medical Examination: All prisoners must receive a general medical examination upon admission, with appropriate follow-up.
• Family Notification: Prisoners have the right to immediately inform their family or lawyer of their whereabouts. For foreign nationals, their embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must be notified.
• Rights and Obligations Information: Prisoners must be informed of their rights and obligations upon admission.
• Personal Property: The Commission will prepare a list of permitted and prohibited items, to be kept safely and returned upon release.
• General Principles of Treatment: Prisoners have the right to treatment that respects their “human rights, dignity, and health.” “Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment” is prohibited. Discrimination based on “gender, age, nationality, race, language, reason for detention, religion, political outlook, economic and social status, or any other similar conditions” is forbidden.
• Segregation: Prisoners must be segregated based on gender, age, reason for detention, and health conditions (e.g., women from men, juveniles from adults, convicted from remand, civil detainees from others, high-security prisoners from others).
• Accommodation: Accommodation must preserve prisoners’ dignity, security, and health. Overcrowding is prohibited. Cells must have adequate and clean sanitation, bathing, and toilet facilities. Each prisoner must be provided with a clean bed, mattress, blanket, and sheet.
• Clothing: The Commission can mandate uniforms for security and order, based on prisoner classification, but may allow personal clothing when necessary.
• Food: Prisons must provide “sufficient and balanced diet three times a day” for health and physical fitness. Food should consider prisoners’ “religion, culture, and other circumstances” where possible. Clean drinking water must be available. Special diets must be provided for medical reasons.
• Medical Services: Prisoners have the right to free medical services equivalent to those available to other citizens. The Commission must organize a 24-hour medical facility with qualified professionals and adequate equipment. Prisoners needing specialized care must be transferred to a government hospital. Confidentiality of medical information must be maintained.
• Freedom of Religion and Belief: Protected, provided it does not infringe on others’ rights or violate prison security.
• Sports and Recreation: Prisoners have the right to engage in sports. Prisons must provide adequate open space for physical activities and organize cultural, social, and recreational programs.
• External Communication: Prisoners have the right to communicate with spouses, relatives, friends, religious advisors, doctors, and legal advisors in person or in writing, subject to reasonable security controls that maintain confidentiality.
• Social Affairs Leave: Procedures will be established for prisoners to attend to social matters outside prison during government working hours, subject to security limitations.

7. Rehabilitation and Correctional Services

The proclamation outlines services aimed at prisoner rehabilitation:

• Social and Counselling Services: Prisoners receive psychological support through individual, group, and peer counseling from the start of their detention. Legal awareness, civic education, and ethics are taught.
• Education and Vocational Training: Prisoners have the right to improve their knowledge and skills. The Commission will organize educational or vocational training to help prisoners become “ethically rehabilitated, productive, and capable citizens.” Illiterate prisoners are obliged to learn. Libraries must be established.
• Reintegration: Prisoners are to be organized into associations and participate in development work to develop “work and saving culture.”
• Work Assignments: Prisoners have the right to work. Prisons can compel prisoners to participate in productive work for reasonable payment, without payment for common services. Accused persons, civil detainees, and elderly prisoners cannot be compelled to work. Market linkages for prisoner-produced goods can be established.
• Transfer of Prisoners: Convicted prisoners can be transferred to a prison near their families or between federal and regional prisons, or between federal prisons, based on their request.

8. Security and Disciplinary Systems

• Necessity of Security and Control: Prisons must establish security and control systems to protect prisoners and the prison community, maintain order, and ensure a peaceful environment, including disciplinary measures.
• Risk Assessment: Prisons must assess each prisoner’s character, history, and other factors to classify them as high, medium, or low risk, with commensurate security. Risk levels are regularly reviewed.
• Searches: Prisons can search visitors, incoming property/food, and prisoner areas for security. Searches must not be degrading. Internal body searches are generally prohibited but may be conducted under strict conditions by same-sex personnel.
• Control Measures: Prisoners attempting escape, harming others, or refusing to obey rules may be placed in separate cells for a limited period.
• Prohibited Practices in Separate Cells: Keeping prisoners in separate cells for over 15 consecutive days, in dark cells, preventing natural light, housing in inadequate/unhealthy/unlit cells without beds/mattresses/bedding, isolating vulnerable groups if it exacerbates their health, or restricting contact with family/lawyers beyond disciplinary investigation time are prohibited.
• Use of Force: Prison police may use proportionate force as per criminal law.
• Use of Restraints: Handcuffs may be used for high-risk prisoners or during transport but are prohibited in courts, medical facilities, or other public/private institutions. Restraints must not be used to degrade or intimidate.
• Disciplinary Measures: The Commission will issue directives detailing permissible and prohibited disciplinary actions.
• Prohibited Disciplinary Actions: Beating or flogging, degrading acts, insults, threats, restricting food/water/medical services, restricting contact with family/lawyers, group punishment, or inflicting punishment that exacerbates a prisoner’s health condition are strictly forbidden.

9. Special Treatment for Vulnerable Prisoners

The proclamation outlines specific provisions for vulnerable groups:

• Female Prisoners: Living areas guarded only by female police. Children under 24 months may stay with mothers. Special care and nutrition for pregnant, birthing, and post-natal women.
• Juvenile Prisoners (15-18 years): Systems for social, psychological, educational, and recreational services. Compelled to participate in educational programs. Separate visiting areas for parents and families.
• Persons with Disability: Appropriate treatment systems for individuals with physical or mental impairments to enable self-help. Accessible living, dining, sanitation, and visitation areas.
• Prisoners on Remand: Their “presumption of innocence” must be respected.
• Other Prisoners: The Commission is responsible for establishing appropriate care systems for prisoners needing special treatment due to health, age, disability, or any other reason.

10. Prisoner Obligations and Prohibited Acts

Prisoners have obligations beyond those specified in the proclamation’s regulations and directives:

• Obligations: Accepting handcuffing when ordered for escort, obeying lawful orders, reporting criminal activities, respecting cell count times, respecting other prisoners’ human rights, properly maintaining government property, accepting counseling, wearing uniforms, and fulfilling other social responsibilities.
• Prohibited Acts (in addition to Criminal Code): Inciting/participating in strikes, riots, or group conflicts; insulting, degrading, or intimidating others; attempting to bring, bringing, possessing, or using prohibited items.

11. Oversight and Grievance System

The proclamation establishes mechanisms for oversight and prisoner complaints:

• General: The prison must establish internal and external oversight and allow third-party visits to uphold human dignity and rights, prevent torture, and achieve its objectives. It must also respect prisoners’ right to complain.
• Internal Oversight: A permanent internal oversight system will be established, detailed by Commission directives. The Attorney General may send supervisors. The Community Leaders Committee provides continuous oversight.
• External Oversight:
  • Authorized Bodies: The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, relevant parliamentary standing committees, the Ombudsman Institution, the Attorney General, and other legally empowered bodies have the right to visit prisons at any time without prior notice.
  • Civil Society/Researchers: Civic organizations, research institutions, or researchers focused on prisoner rights can undertake oversight activities with prior permission.
  • International Bodies: Commissions, committees, rapporteurs, and similar bodies under international treaties ratified by Ethiopia can visit, inspect, and report with the Attorney General’s permission.
  • Media Access: The Commission can allow media visits to improve prisoner treatment and ensure public access to information, subject to security concerns.
• Grievance Submission: Prisoners have the right to submit complaints. Confidentiality is ensured, and retaliation is prohibited. Detailed procedures will be determined by Commission directives.
• Judicial Power: If a prisoner does not receive a response or if a complaint is rejected at the administrative level, they can submit the complaint to a first-instance court within two months.

12. Special Benefits and Release

• Incentives for Good Behavior: Prisons can offer incentives to prisoners who demonstrate good behavior, including transfer to lower-security prisons, external work with better pay, and allowing low-risk prisoners nearing release to visit family unescorted.
• Parole and Release: For prisoners meeting parole criteria, the prison will request parole from the sentencing court. Upon release, the prison is obligated to return any money and property held for the prisoner.

13. Legal Framework and Transition

• Repealed Law: Proclamation No. 365/2003 (as amended) regarding the establishment of the Federal Prison Commission is repealed by this new proclamation.
• Supremacy: Any conflicting laws, regulations, directives, or operational practices are superseded by this proclamation.
• Transfer of Rights/Obligations: All rights and obligations previously conferred under Proclamation No. 365/2003 are transferred to the re-established Federal Prison Commission.
• Power to Issue Regulations: The Council of Ministers may issue regulations for the implementation of this proclamation, and the Commission may issue directives for the implementation of those regulations.
• Effective Date: The proclamation came into force upon its publication in the Federal Negarit Gazette on February 17, 2020