INALIENABLE
RIGHTS
Applying international
human rights standards to the
U.S. criminal justice system

www.afsc.org

AFSC New York Metropolitan Regional Office (NYMRO)
Criminal Justice Program, Prison Watch Project
972 Broad Street, 6th Floor
Newark, NJ 07102
Phone: (973) 643-3079
FAX: (973) 643-8924
E-mail: bkerness@afsc.org
www.afscprisonwatch.org
Cover art by Todd Tarselli

CONTENTS
Introduction 		

1

Major issues in U.S. prisons
Compensation/reparation 		

3

Death penalty		

4

Prison conditions and the behavior of prison officials	

6

Medical care 		

8

Treatment of people in prisons 		

12

Political prisoners 		

13

Torture/Isolation 		

14

Racism/Discrimination 		

18

Rape

	

22

Treatment of Female Prisoners

	24

Treatment of Children in prisons

	29

Annex I: Correlation of issues to international
conventions, treaties, and declarations		

36

	 Annex II: Where to find online versions of treaties, conventions, 		
	 minimum standards, rules, declarations, and principles 	
38
	 Annex III: Treaty ratification by the United States

	

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INTRODUCTION

International treaties, conventions, and declarations provide basic guidelines for the treatment of prisoners. However, those guidelines are routinely ignored by the U.S. criminal justice system. Meanwhile, the United
States continues to criticize other countries for violations of prisoners’
human rights.
“Inalienable rights: Applying international human rights standards to
the U.S. criminal justice system” is meant to help illuminate—and eliminate—this hypocritical double standard.
For decades, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has spoken
out against the torture and abuse of prisoners. AFSC criminal justice programs nationwide have received thousands of calls and letters from prisoners and their families that document egregious violations of international human rights standards, including the Convention Against Torture,
ratified by the U.S. in 1994. The list of abuses is long and horrifying: Use
of stun guns and restraint tables, rape, prison chain gangs, and refusal to
provide adequate medical care, to name just a few.
And, since 1992, the AFSC Prison Watch Project in Newark, New Jersey,
has monitored the use of extended sensory deprivation and devices of
torture in prisons across the country. We continue to receive complaints
of sexual assault of women in prison, detention of minor children in adult
facilities, use of isolation on young people in youth detention, racism, brutality, and other violations of human rights.  
It’s clear that the concepts of human rights law need to find their way
into the U.S. police, court, and prison justice systems. One way this can
happen is if prisoners, their families and loved ones, and prisoner rights
advocates weave the language of international standards and treaties
into their arguments for humane prison conditions and treatment of
prisoners.

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To that end, this resource guide correlates the major issues and conditions in U.S. prisons to the most relevant international standards as stipulated in international human rights agreements. Annex I provides a clear,
easy-to-follow chart that summarizes the relevant correlations. Annex II
provides the status of ratification by the U.S. of the most relevant international human rights treaties and conventions, along with a definition of
treaty terms. And Annex III compiles URLs to the complete official documents of the relevant human rights instruments.
This guide is born of the valiant attempts by prisoners to keep lawyers,
advocates, loved ones, and family members alert to what is happening to
the powerless. We hope it will become a valuable tool in all our work and
future dealings with the U.S. criminal justice system.
Nardos Assefa, Assistant to the Regional
Director for Special Projects
Bonnie Kerness, MSW
Coordinator, Prison Watch Project
Second edition, August 2009
(First edition, June 2003)

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COMPENSATION/REPARATION
One way to begin on the road to healing justice is to work for
reparations and compensation for a wide range of injustices
perpetuated, especially against people of color.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
Article 14
(6) When a person has by a final decision been convicted of a criminal
offence and when subsequently his conviction has been reversed or has
been pardoned on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows
conclusively that there has been a miscarriage of justice, the person who
has suffered punishment as a result of such a conviction shall be compensated according to law, unless it is proved that the non-disclosure of the
unknown fact in time is wholly or partly attributable to him.

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination (CERD)
Article 6
States Parties shall assure to everyone within their jurisdiction effective
protection and remedies, through the competent national tribunals and
other State institutions, against any acts of racial discrimination which
violate his human rights and fundamental freedoms contrary to this Convention, as well as the right to seek from such tribunals just and adequate
reparation or satisfaction for any damage suffered as a result of such discrimination.

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DEATH PENALTY
To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice.
				

Desmond Tutu

Having lost my father and grandmother to gun violence, I understand
the deep hurt and anger felt by the loved ones of those who have
been murdered. Yet I can’t accept the judgment that their killers deserve to be executed. This merely perpetuates the tragic, unending
cycle of violence that destroys our hope for a decent society.
					

Rev. Bernice King

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)
Article 6
(1)	 Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be
protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.
(2)	 In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in
accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the
crime and not contrary to the provision of the present Covenant and
to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime
of Genocide. This penalty can only be carried out pursuant to a final
judgment rendered by a competent court.
(5) 	Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by person below eighteen years of age…

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Free Ray Gray

(6) Nothing in this article shall be invoked to delay or to prevent the abolition of capital punishment by any State Party to the present Covenant.

Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those
facing the death penalty
Article 9
Where capital punishment occurs, it shall be carried out so as to inflict the
minimum possible suffering.

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PRISON CONDITIONS AND THE
BEHAVIOR OF PRISON OFFICIALS
From the United Nations Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly, resolution 45/111 of
December 14, 1990:
Principle 1: All prisoners shall be treated with the respect due to their
inherent dignity and value as human beings.
Principle 5: Except for those limitations that are demonstrably necessitated by the fact of incarceration, all prisoners shall retain the human
rights and fundamental freedoms set out in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
Article 10
(1)	 Each State Party shall ensure that education and information regarding the prohibition against torture are fully included in the training of
law enforcement personnel, civil or military, medical personnel, public officials and other persons who may be involved in the custody,
interrogation or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of
arrest, detention or imprisonment.
(2) 	Each State Party shall include this prohibition in the rules or instructions issued in regard to the duties and functions of any such person.
Article 11
Each State Party shall keep under systematic review interrogation rules,
instructions, methods and practices as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention
or imprisonment in any territory under its jurisdiction, with a view to preventing any cases of torture.
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Article 12
Each State Party shall ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a
prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground
to believe that an act of torture has been committed in any territory
under its jurisdiction.

Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
Rule 27
Discipline and order shall be maintained with firmness, but with no more
restriction than is necessary for safe custody and well-ordered community life.

Willie Singleton

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MEDICAL CARE
In a system where 95 percent of people in prison return to our communities, the impact of cruelty and poor medical practices isn’t just a matter of human decency. They involve, among other things, serious public health concerns with both immediate and long term implications.
Public health issues concerning people coming out abound with mental and physical issues including Hepatitis C, Tuberculosis, HUV, mental
illness and symptoms related to post traumatic stress disorder. Many
leave prisons without any of the medication which formed the bedrock of their treatment, thereby risking diffusion of these diseases.
	
	

Bonnie Kerness (From speech, “Slavery to the Prison System –	
Human Rights Violation in America)”

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (CESCR)
Article 12
(1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical
and mental health.

Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners
Principle 9
Prisoners shall have access to the health services available in the country
without discrimination on the grounds of their legal situation.

Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any
Form of Detention or Imprisonment
Principle 24
A proper medical examination shall be offered to a detained or imprisoned person as promptly as possible after his admission to the place of
detention or imprisonment, and thereafter medical care and treatment
shall be provided whenever necessary. This care and treatment shall be
provided free of charge.
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Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
Rule 10
All accommodation provided for the use of prisoners and in particular all
sleeping accommodation shall meet all requirements of health, due regard being paid to climatic conditions and particularly to cubic content of
air, minimum floor space, lighting, heating and ventilation.
Rule 12
The sanitary installations shall be adequate to enable every prisoner to
comply with the needs of nature when necessary and in a clean and decent manner.
Rule 13
Adequate bathing and shower installations shall be provided so that every
prisoner may be enabled and required to have a bath or shower, at a temperature suitable to the climate, as frequently as necessary for general
hygiene according to season and geographical region, but at least once a
week in a temperate climate.
Rule 22
(1)	 At every institution there shall be available the services of at least
one qualified medical officer who should have some knowledge of
psychiatry. The medical services should be organized in close relationship to the general health administration of the community or nation.
They shall include a psychiatric service for the diagnosis and, in proper
cases, the treatment of states of mental abnormality.
(2)	 Sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred
to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals. Where hospital facilities
are provided in an institution, their equipment, furnishings and pharmaceutical supplies shall be proper for the medical care and treatment of sick prisoners, and there shall be a staff of suitable trained
officers.
(3)	 The services of a qualified dental officer shall be available to every
prisoner.

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Rule 25
1) 	 The medical officer shall have the care of the physical and mental
health of the prisoners and should daily see all sick prisoners, all who
complain of illness, and any prisoner to whom his attention is specially directed.
Rule 26
(1) The medical officer shall regularly inspect and advise the director
upon:
(a) The quantity, quality, preparation and service of food;
(b) The hygiene and cleanliness of the institution and the prisoners;
(c) The sanitation, heating, lighting and ventilation of the institution;
(d) The suitability and cleanliness of the prisoners’ clothing and bed		
	 ding;
(e) The observance of the rules concerning physical education and
sports, in cases where there is no technical personnel in charge of
these activities.
Rule 62
The medical services of the institution shall seek to detect and shall treat
any physical or mental illnesses or defects which may hamper a prisoner’s
rehabilitation. All necessary medical, surgical and psychiatric services shall
be provided to that end.

Principles of Medical Ethics relevant to the Role of Health Personnel, particularly Physicians, in the Protection of Prisoners
and Detainees against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Principle 1
Health personnel, particularly physicians, charged with the medical care
of prisoners and detainees have a duty to provide them with protection
of their physical and mental health and treatment of disease of the same
quality and standard as is afforded to those who are not imprisoned or
detained.
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TESTIMONIES
I arrived here on 2/3/06 but immediately received a skin infection that
took till about 8/10/06 to get rid of due to the medical neglect and
incompetence here at ADC. I had golf ball size dripping OOZING sores
and medical refused to see me for MONTHS at a time. They also gave
me the wrong antibiotics, and on and on. It is beyond a long incredible
story. The medical neglect of inmates here is criminal.
Arizona, Eyman (I)
It’s a waste of time to even talk to the psychologist while in ad-seg
because as long as I’m able to hold a rational conversation, I’m considered manageable. They only help ad seg prisoners when the prisoner is so far gone mentally that he is an actual threat to staff. Every
few months [sees the psychologist], only to ask ‘how ya doing? Okay,
goodbye, don’t got time today, gotta go.’ Sometimes they actually
say all that in one breath as they’re walking by my cell. Other times the
interviews only last long enough to say the one sentence. [Has been in
long-term segregation since 1998.]
Michigan, Marquette Branch Prison
I am a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. I have also been deprived
protective custody for years. As a result I have spent three years in solitary. Prison officials cut off my anti psychotic Seroquel. Three months
later…I went deeply psychotic and I was placed in the IMU strip cell.
Because I was insane I don’t know how many days I was in there but
the guards deliberately passed by my cell and would not feed me.  I
was naked. I had nothing. The bare concrete was contaminated with
feces. The water was shut off and I had to drink out of the toilet.
Washington, Monroe Corrections Complex
(Washington State Reformatory)

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TREATMENT OF PEOPLE IN PRISONS
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its
prisons.
							

Dostoevsky

Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners
Principle 1
All prisoners shall be treated with the respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings.

Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under
Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment
Principle 1
All persons under any form of detention or imprisonment shall be treated
in a humane manner and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)
Article 10
(1) 	 All per persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the dignity of the human person.
(3)	 The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the essential of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation.

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
Article 13
Each State Party shall ensure that any individual who alleges he has been
subjected to torture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to
complain to, and to have his case promptly and impartially examined by,
its competent authorities. Steps shall be taken to ensure that the complainant and witnesses are protected against all ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of his complaint or any evidence given.
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POLITICAL PRISONERS
While the U.S. denies that there are people being held for political reasons, there was no way at the time, to work with prisoners without
hearing repeatedly of the existence of such people, including individuals who clearly fit the United Nations definitions of political prisoners
and prisoners of war – and the particular treatment they endured
once in prison.  As early as 1978, Andrew Young , who was US Ambassador to the United Nations, was quoted in a newspaper interview
that “there were hundreds, perhaps thousands of people I would describe as political prisoners” in U.S. prisons.
[From a speech by Bonnie Kerness
Chicago, March 31, 2008]

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 19
Everyone has the right to
freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes
freedom to hold opinions
without interference and
to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas
through any media and
regardless of frontiers.

©Todd (Hyung-Rae) Tarselli

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TORTURE/ISOLATION
Article 1 of the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) prohibits policies and practices that “constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading
punishment.” The UN Human Rights Committee, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against
Women, and the UN Committee on Torture have all cited the United
States prison conditions as violations with international standards,
particularly the CAT, which states:
1. Each state party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial,
or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its
jurisdiction.
2. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war
or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public
emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.

[CAT, Article 2c]

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)
Article 7
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
Article 1
…the term “torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering,
whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such
purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is
suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third
person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such
pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent
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©Todd (Hyung-Rae) Tarselli

or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official
capacity.
ARTICLE 4
(1)	 Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offenses
under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit
torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or
participation in torture.
(2)	 Each State Party shall make these offenses punishable by appropriate
penalties which take into account their grave nature.

Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
Rule 30
(1)	 No prisoner shall be punished except in accordance with the terms of
such law or regulation, and never twice for the same offence.
(2)	 No prisoner shall be punished unless he has been informed of the offence alleged against him and given a proper opportunity of presentINALIENABLE RIGHTS 	

			

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ing his defence. The competent authority shall conduct a thorough
examination of the case.

Rule 31
Corporal punishment, punishment by placing in a dark cell, and all cruel,
inhuman or degrading punishments shall be completely prohibited as
punishments for disciplinary offences.

Rule 32
(1) 	 Punishment by close confinement or reduction of diet shall never be
inflicted unless the medical officer has examined the prisoner and
certified in writing that he is fit to sustain it.
(2) 	The same shall apply to any other punishment that may be prejudicial
to the physical or mental health of a prisoner. In no case may such
punishment be contrary to or depart from the principle stated in rule
31.
(3) 	The medical officer shall visit daily prisoners undergoing such punishments and shall advise the director if he considers the termination
or alteration of the punishment necessary on grounds of physical or
mental health.

Rule 33
Instruments of restraint, such as handcuffs, chains, irons and strait-jacket,
shall never be applied as a punishment. Furthermore, chains or irons shall
not be used as restraints. Other instruments of restraint shall not be used
except in the following circumstances:
a) 	 As a precaution against escape during a transfer, provided that they
shall be removed when the prisoner appears before a judicial or administrative authority;
b) 	 On medical grounds by direction of the medical officer;
c) 	 By order of the director, if other methods of control fail, in order to
prevent a prisoner from injuring himself or others or from damaging
property; in such instances the director shall at once consult the medical officer and report to the higher administrative authority.

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Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners
Principle 7
Efforts addressed to the abolition of solitary confinement as a punishment, or to the restriction of its use, should be undertaken and encouraged.

TESTIMONIES
That is why I attempted suicide. I was done with watching the beatings, torture, and horror and done with the harassment 24-7 and the
continuous torment and torture — fingers wrenched out of joint
while applying handcuffs, clamped in the skin against the bone, the
leg chains clamped on so tight that my feet turned purple, constant
various threats by staff, being woke up all during the night for various
reasons- to deliver mail at 2 am, deliver the paper at 3 am, wake me up
to ask me if I am asleep at 4 am . I was done.
Maricopa – 4th Ave Jail [Arizona]
I am housed in a “secured housing” area, I only get out of my cell two
hours per day (two man cell of five feet by twelve feet). I only get three
hours per week of ... “outdoor recreation,” which is only a room about
40 feet by 25 feet ... all brick on three sides, top and bottom. One wall is
mesh to see out and get the air outside. I haven’t seen or felt the sun in
over a year and a half.
Santi N. – Los Angeles, California, 1/8/00
I have worked in LCI’s [Limon Correctional Institute] segregation building as [a] porter since August 1987 and have observed the following:
Ten to twelve prisoners cuffed and shackled for 24 hours per day in ...
strip cells. (These are ... segregation cells [in] which they turn the water off and cover the toilet with plastic and tape.) They keep the door
open, video[tape] all that occurs and have a guard on duty to watch 24
hours a day. Many of the guards are female. They continue this until the
prisoner has at least five bowel movements.
Jim B. – Limon, Colorado, 3/30/98
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RACISM/DISCRIMINATION
From the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination:
Article 1: Discrimination between human beings on the ground of
race, color or ethnic origin is an offense to human dignity and shall
be condemned as denial of the principles of the Charter of the United
Nations as a violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms
proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights….
Article 2: No State institution, group or individual shall make any discrimination whatsoever in matters of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in the treatment of person, groups of persons or institutions on the ground of race, color or ethnic origin.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth
or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political,
jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a
person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or
under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom,
either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

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International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Article 27
In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture,
to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.

International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Racial Discrimination (CERD)
Article 2
States Parties condemn racial discrimination and undertake to pursue by
all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms and promoting understanding among all races,
and, to this end:
(a) 	Each State Party undertakes to engage in no act or practice of racial
discrimination against persons, groups of persons or institutions and
to en sure that all public authorities and public institutions, national
and local, shall act in conformity with this obligation...
Article 5
States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination
in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the
law….
(a) 	The right to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs
administering justice;
(b) 	The right to security of person and protection by the State against
violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government officials or
by any individual group or institution.

Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners
Principle 2
There shall be no discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, prop
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Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under
Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment
Principle 5 (1)
These principles shall be applied to all persons within the territory of any
given State, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion or religious belief, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
(1)	 Prisoners who are foreign nationals shall be allowed reasonable facilities to communicate with the diplomatic and consular representatives of the State to which they belong.
(2)	 Prisoners who are nationals of States without diplomatic or consular
representation in the country and refugees or stateless persons shall
be allowed similar facilities to communicate with the diplomatic representative of the State which takes charge of their interests or any
national or international authority whose task it is to protect such
persons.

TESTIMONIES
It’s unbelievable how much hatred these officers have for blacks ...
displayed through the gross abuse of their absolute authority. Ninety
five percent of the COs are white, most of them have never seen a
black man and some top officers [are] associated with ... racist associations. Ninety five percent of the [prisoner] population is black
or minority.
[During a period of four months] I’ve been through 39 abusive strip
searches and 39 cell shake downs, my cell being left junked up and
my personal and legal mail read. I’ve also been moved from cell to
cell 17 times [in that same period], placed in filthy cells.
Juan E. – Wallens Ridge State Prison,
Big Stone Gap, Virginia, 1/16/00
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On 11/28/99 due to the yard extraction, a state of emergency was
declared solely against the Mexican prisoners ... Due to the state of
emergency [we] Mexican prisoners were denied access to the concrete exercise yard all the way until January 7, 2000 - forty days. Even
new Mexicans arrived into [unit] were denied yard access. The treatment [we] Mexicans received ... was discriminatory and was meant
to punish, demean and [to] show us who was boss.
Juan C. Pérez - High Desert State Prison,
Susanville, California, undated
[The prisoner and 18 other Mexican prisoners had been extracted
from a yard using pepper spray.]
Two young black prisoners were transferred here and put into strip
cells. [In strip cells the prisoner is in the nude and there is no bedding.
There is only the concrete floor.] One was beaten and maced twice a
day for several days. Guards came from other wings as if they were
participating in an old fashioned lynching.
Rose S. – Starke, Florida, writing for Florida prisoners, 4/27/99

©Todd (Hyung-Rae) Tarselli

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RAPE
The horrors experienced by many young inmates,
particularly those convicted of nonviolent offenses, border
on the unimaginable. Prison rape not only threatens the lives
of those who fall prey to their aggressors, but it is potentially
devastating to the human spirit. Shame, depression, and
a shattering loss of self-esteem accompany the perpetual
terror the victim thereafter must endure.
Harry A. Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court Justice,
Farmer v. Brennan

Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
Article 2
Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be
limited to, the following:
(a)	 Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household,
dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and
other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence
and violence related to exploitation;
(b) 	Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and
intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;
(c)	 Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned
by the State, wherever it occurs.

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TESTIMONIES
...for over two years I have been sexually abused by male prison
guards and male civilian personnel at this institution....This abuse
started in 1998 ... by touching, then oral sex, then intercourse. [A]t
one time, one of the officers felt I was pregnant and quickly administered some pills he brought in to “bring it down,” as he stated to me.
I remember becoming very [sick] from this. One of the officers was
very brutal with me and one day actually slammed me against the
wall while his hands held me tightly around the neck; [he stated] he
[would] kill me if I ever said anything. Then the sergeant who had the
most sexual acts with me threatened me a few times saying if I [or
anyone else] dare[d] ruin his career that he [would] kill me. I strongly
feared for my life and did as [I was] told each time I was called upon.
...[T]he word “no’” does not exist in our vocabulary and when we
dare say [it] we get punished.
Judy V. – Edna Mahon Correctional Facility
Clinton, New Jersey, 6/1/01

©Todd (Hyung-Rae) Tarselli

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TREATMENT OF FEMALE PRISONERS
Pregnant women shackled to the bed during childbirth. Long
periods of isolation as punishment for minor infractions. No
privacy in the bathroom; no right to dress without the risk of
being observed by male guards. Being separated by thousands
of miles from your children. Yet to me, the most insidious,
damaging attack on women prisoners in the U.S. is the routine
pat search by male guards, repeated several times daily. React
with anger (as you might if a man molested you that way on the
street) and you will be punished and sent to the hole. The very
rules of the institutions constitute human rights violations.
					

Laura Whitehorn

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Article 1
… the term “discrimination against women” shall mean any distinction,
exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or
purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise
by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of
men and women, or human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civic or any other field.
Article 2
(d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination
against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions
shall act in conformity with this obligation
(g) 	To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination
against women.

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INALIENABLE RIGHTS	

Article 5
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures:
(a) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and
women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and
customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the
inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped
roles for men and women ...

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)
Article 3
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the equal
right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights
set forth in the present Covenant. 

Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
Article 2
Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be
limited to, the following:
(c) 	 Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.
Article 4
States should condemn violence against women and should not invoke any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their
obligations with respect to its elimination.
States should pursue by all appropriate
means and without delay a policy of eliminating violence against women and, to
this end, should:
(c) 	 Exercise due diligence to prevent,
investigate and, in accordance with
national legislation, punish acts of
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©Todd (Hyung-Rae) Tarselli

25	

violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons

©Todd (Hyung-Rae) Tarselli

(i) 	Take measures to ensure that law enforcement officers and public officials responsible for implementing
policies to prevent, investigate and punish violence against
women receive training to sensitize them to the needs of
women.

Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons
under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment
Principle 5
(2) 	Measures applied under the law and designed solely to protect the
rights and special status of women, especially pregnant women and
nursing mothers, children and juveniles, aged, sick or handicapped
persons shall not be deemed to be discriminatory. The need for, and
the application of, such measures shall always be subject to review by
a judicial or other authority.

Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
Rule 8
Men and women shall so far as possible be detained in separate institutions; in an institution which receives both men and women the whole of
the premises allocated to women shall be entirely separate.
Rule 23
(1)	 In women’s institutions there shall be special accommodation for all
	 necessary pre-natal and post-natal care and treatment. 			
	 Arrangements shall be made wherever practicable for children to be
	 born in a hospital outside the institution. If a child is born in
	 prison, this fact shall not be mentioned in the birth certificate.
(2)	 Where nursing infants are allowed to remain in the institution with
their mothers, provision shall be made for a nursery staffed by qualified persons, where the infants shall be placed when they are not in
the care of their mothers.
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INALIENABLE RIGHTS	

Rule 53
(1)	 In an institution for both men and women, the part of the institution
set aside for women shall be under the authority of a responsible
woman officer who shall have the custody of the keys of all that part
of the institution.
(2)	 No male member of the staff shall enter the part of the institution set
aside for women unless accompanied by a woman officer.
(3)	 Women prisoners shall be attended and supervised only by women
officers. This does not, however, preclude male members of the staff,
particularly doctors and teachers, from carrying out their professional duties in institutions or parts of institutions set aside for women.

TESTIMONIES
Women write from Arizona, Texas, Missouri, New York:
The guard sprayed me with pepper spray because I wouldn’t take
my clothes off in front of five male guards. Then they carried me to
a cell, laid me down on a steel bed and took my clothes off. They left
me there in that cell with that pepper spray in my face and nothing
to wash my face with. I didn’t give them any reason to do that, I just
didn’t want to take my clothes off.
When I refused to move into a double cell, they came into my cell
and dragged me out and threw me on my back. I was beaten about
my face and head. One of the guards stuck his finger in my eye deliberately. I was rolled on my stomach and cuffed on my wrists with leg
irons on my ankles ... I was made to walk a thousand feet with the
leg irons. Then they put me in a device called a restraint chair. When
they put you in this chair your hands are cuffed behind your back and
tucked under your buttocks. They stripped me naked ...and kept me
there over nine hours until I fouled myself on my hands which were
tucked underneath me through a hole in the chair.

INALIENABLE RIGHTS 	

			

27	

I am tired of being gynecologically examined every time I am
searched.
That was not part of my sentence to ... perform oral sex with
officers.

Judith Vazquez

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INALIENABLE RIGHTS	

TREATMENT OF CHILDREN
IN PRISONS
Despite the decline of violent juvenile crime, 43 states have passed
laws making it easier for children to be tried as adults. Campaigns
to criminalize children have done away with the term “child” altogether. African descended, Latino, and Native young people in AFSC
programs tell us that the police feel like an occupation army in their
communities. They speak about school systems feeding young people
of color into youth detention, and adult jails and prisons where they
experience isolation, use of chemical and electronic restraints, racism,
and sexual abuse. The treatment of imprisoned juveniles in the United
States was cited by the UN Committee on Torture in 2000 as violating
international law.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)
ARTICLE 6
(5) 	Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by
person below eighteen years of age and shall not be carried out on
pregnant women.
Article 10
(3) 	The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the
essential of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation.
Juvenile offenders shall be segregated from adults and be accorded
treatment appropriate to their age and legal status.

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Article 1
For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means every human
being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to
the child, majority is attained earlier.
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29	

Article 6
1. 	 States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life.
2. 	 States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.
Article 37
States Parties shall ensure that:
(a) 	No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor
life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for
offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age;
(b) 	No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily.
The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort
and for the shortest appropriate period of time;
(c) 	 Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and
respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age.
In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from
adults unless it is considered in the child’s best interest not to do so
and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family
through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances;
(d) 	Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt
access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right
to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before
a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority,
and to a prompt decision on any such action.
Article 40
1. 	 States Parties recognize the right of every child alleged as, accused
of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a
manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity
and worth, which reinforces the child’s respect for the human rights
30					

INALIENABLE RIGHTS	

and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account
the child’s age and the desirability of promoting the child’s reintegration and the child’s assuming a constructive role in society.
2. 	 To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of international instruments, States Parties shall, in particular, ensure that:
(a) No child shall be alleged as, be accused of, or recognized as having
infringed the penal law by reason of acts or omissions that were
not prohibited by national or international law at the time they
were committed;
(b) 	Every child alleged as or accused of having infringed the penal law
has at least the following guarantees:
(i) 	To be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law;
(ii) To be informed promptly and directly of the charges against
him or her, and, if appropriate, through his or her parents or
legal guardians, and to have legal or other appropriate assis-

©Todd (Hyung-Rae) Tarselli

INALIENABLE RIGHTS 	

			

31	

tance in the preparation and presentation of his or her defence;
(iii) 	To have the matter determined without delay by a competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body in a
fair hearing according to law, in the presence of legal or other
appropriate assistance and, unless it is considered not to be in
the best interest of the child, in particular, taking into account
his or her age or situation, his or her parents or legal guardians;
(iv) 	Not to be compelled to give testimony or to confess guilt; to
examine or have examined adverse witnesses and to obtain
the participation and examination of witnesses on his or her
behalf under conditions of equality;
(v) 	If considered to have infringed the penal law, to have this
decision and any measures imposed in consequence thereof
reviewed by a higher competent, independent and impartial
authority or judicial body according to law;
(vi)	 To have the free assistance of an interpreter if the child cannot understand or speak the language used;
(vii) 	To have his or her privacy fully respected at all stages of the
proceedings.
3. 	 States Parties shall seek to promote the establishment of laws, procedures, authorities and institutions specifically applicable to children
alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal
law, and, in particular:
(a) 	The establishment of a minimum age below which children shall
be presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the penal law;
(b) 	Whenever appropriate and desirable, measures for dealing with
such children without resorting to judicial proceedings, providing
that human rights and legal safeguards are fully respected.
4. 	 A variety of dispositions, such as care, guidance and supervision orders; counselling; probation; foster care; education and vocational
training programmes and other alternatives to institutional care
32					

INALIENABLE RIGHTS	

shall be available to ensure that children are dealt with in a manner
appropriate to their well-being and proportionate both to their circumstances and the offence.

United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the
Administration of Juvenile Justice
Rule 13

Detention pending trial
Detention pending trial shall be used only as a measure of last resort and
for the shortest possible period of time.
(1)	 Whenever possible, detention pending trial shall be replaced by alternative measures, such as close supervision, intensive care or placement with a family or in an educational setting or home.
(2)	 Juveniles under detention pending trial shall be entitled to all rights
and guarantees of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners adopted by the United Nations.
(3)	 Juveniles under detention pending trial shall be kept separate from
adults and shall be detained in a separate institution or in a separate
part of an institution also holding adults.
(4)	 While in custody, juveniles shall receive care, protection and all necessary individual assistance-social, educational, vocational, psychological, medical and physical-that they may require in view of their age,
sex and personality.
Rule 19
Rule 19 aims at restricting institutionalization in two regards: in quantity
(“last resort”) and in time (“minimum necessary period”). Rule 19 reflects
one of the basic guiding principles of resolution 4 of the Sixth United Nations Congress: a juvenile offender should not be incarcerated unless
there is no other appropriate response. The rule, therefore, makes the
appeal that if a juvenile must be institutionalized, the loss of liberty should
be restricted to the least possible degree, with special institutional arrangements for confinement and bearing in mind the differences in kinds
of offenders, offences and institutions. In fact, priority should be given to
INALIENABLE RIGHTS 	

			

33	

“open” over “closed” institutions. Furthermore, any facility should be of
a correctional or educational rather than of a prison type.
Rule 21
(1)	 Records of juvenile offenders shall be kept strictly confidential and
closed to third parties. Access to such records shall be limited to persons directly concerned with the disposition of the case at hand or
other duly authorized persons.
Rule 26

Objectives of institutional treatment
1. 	 The objective of training and treatment of juveniles placed in institutions is to provide care, protection, education and vocational skills,
with a view to assisting them to assume socially constructive and productive roles in society.
2. 	 Juveniles in institutions shall receive care, protection and all necessary assistance-social, educational, vocational, psychological, medical
and physical-that they may require because of their age, sex, and personality and in the interest of their wholesome development .
3. 	 Juveniles in institutions shall be kept separate from adults and shall
be detained in a separate institution or in a separate part of an institution also holding adults.
4. 	 Young female offenders placed in an institution deserve special attention as to their personal needs and problems. They shall by no
means receive less care, protection, assistance, treatment and training than young male offenders. Their fair treatment shall be ensured.
5. 	 In the interest and well-being of the institutionalized juvenile, the parents or guardians shall have a right of access.
6. 	 Inter-ministerial and inter-departmental co-operation shall be fostered for the purpose of providing adequate academic or, as appropriate, vocational training to institutionalized juveniles, with a view
to ensuring that they do not leave the institution at an educational
disadvantage.
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INALIENABLE RIGHTS	

Rule 27
1. 	 The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and related recommendations shall be applicable as far as relevant to the
treatment of juvenile offenders in institutions, including those in detention pending adjudication.
2. 	 Efforts shall be made to implement the relevant principles laid down
in the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners to the
largest possible extent so as to meet the varying needs of juveniles
specific to their age, sex and personality.
Rule 29
Efforts shall be made to provide semi-institutional arrangements, such as
half-way houses, educational homes, day-time training centres and other
such appropriate arrangements that may assist juveniles in their proper
reintegration into society.

United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of
their Liberty
Rule 11	
For the purposes of the Rules, the following definitions should apply:
(a) 	A juvenile is every person under the age of 18. The age limit below
which it should not be permitted to deprive a child of his or her liberty
should be determined by law;
(b) 	The deprivation of liberty means any form of detention or imprisonment or the placement of a person in a public or private custodial setting, from which this person is not permitted to leave at will, by order
of any judicial, administrative or other public authority.

INALIENABLE RIGHTS 	

			

35	

ANNEX I
Correlation of Issues to International
Conventions, Treaties, and Declarations
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)
International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination
(CERD)
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW)
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment (CAT)
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

In addition to this chart, each issue contains additional text drawn
from the following UN Declarations, Standard Rules and Principles.
Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners
Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention
or Imprisonment
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women
Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Principles of Medical Ethics Relevant to the Role of Health Personnel, particularly
Physicians, in the Protection of Prisoners and Detainees against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death
penalty
United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty
United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile
Justice

36					

INALIENABLE RIGHTS	

INALIENABLE RIGHTS 	

			

37	

YOUTH

WOMEN

RAPE

RACISM/DISCRIMINATION

TORTURE, ISOLATION

PRISONERS

POLITICAL PRISONERS

MEDICAL CARE

Article 5 (2)

Articles 10				
(1&2), 11, 12

Article 3	

Articles 6 	
(1), 10 (1)

Article 5 (b)

Articles 1,
2(d), (g), 5 (1)

	
Article 10 (3)				
					

			
			

Articles 1, 6,
37, 40	

Articles 1,		
Article 5
4,(1), (2)				

					

	
Article 7			
				
		
		
Articles 2(a)
		
(a)

	
	

								
						
Article 19

Article 12 (1)			

				
				

Article 6					
(1), (2), (5)

	
	

DEATH PENALTY

INSTITUTIONS/OFFICIALS

Article 14 (6)	 Article 6

	

ISSUES

COMPENSATION/REPARATIONS

	

I N T E R N AT I O N A L C O N V E N T I O N S , T R E AT I E S A N D D E C L A R AT I O N
ICESCR	
ICCPR	
ICERD	
CEDWA	
CAT	
CRC	
UN DECLARATION
						
OF HUMAN RIGHTS

ANNEX II
Where to find online versions of treaties, conventions, minimum
standards, rules, declarations, and principles
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
tinyurl.com/kwhjbq
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)
tinyurl.com/2d5lag
International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial
Discrimination (CERD)
tinyurl.com/15hq5j
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW)
tinyurl.com/y48lxe
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
tinyurl.com/dap9vc
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
tinyurl.com/nlesv8
Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners
tinyurl.com/kr7dag
Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form
of Detention or Imprisonment
tinyurl.com/klnnt9
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women
tinyurl.com/2rgw6n
Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
tinyurl.com/kqom8p
Principles of Medical Ethics relevant to the Role of Health Personnel,
particularly Physicians, in the Protection of Prisoners and Detainees
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
tinyurl.com/kwqbw4
38					

INALIENABLE RIGHTS	

Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
tinyurl.com/nq8a20
Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing
the death penalty
tinyurl.com/mwdxk6
United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived
of their Liberty
tinyurl.com/lkptak
United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration
of Juvenile Justice
tinyurl.com/lvv8mc
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
tinyurl.com/cgnkmq

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39	

ANNEX III

Treaty Ratification by
the United States
TREATY	
International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (CESCR)	

SIGNATURE	

RATIFICATION

October 5, 1977	

International Convention on Civil
and Political Rights (CCPR) 		

June 8, 1992

Optional Protocol to the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(CCPR-OPT	
Second Optional Protocol to the
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, aimed at the abolition
of the death penalty (CCPR-OPT2) 	
UN Convention on the Elimination of
all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) 		
UN Convention on the Elimination of all
forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) 	

October 21, 1994

July 17, 1980

The Optional Protocol to the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW-OP)	
UN Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CAT) 		

October 21, 1994

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC) 		

February 16, 1995

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on
the Rights of the Child (CRC-OP-AC) on the
involvement of children in armed conflict	

July 5, 2000

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on
the Rights of the Child (CRP-OP-SC) on the
sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography	

July 5, 2000

International Convention on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and

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INALIENABLE RIGHTS	

Definitions of treaty terms
Ratification: Defines the international act whereby a state indicates its
consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties intended to show their consent by such an act. In the case of bilateral treaties, ratification is usually
accomplished by exchanging the requisite instruments, while in the case
of multilateral treaties the usual procedure is for the depositary to collect
the ratifications of all states, keeping all parties informed of the situation.
The institution of ratification grants states the necessary time-frame to
seek the required approval for the treaty on the domestic level and to
enact the necessary legislation to give domestic effect to that treaty.
Signature Subject to Ratification, Acceptance, or Approval: Where the
signature is subject to ratification, acceptance, or approval, the signature
does not establish the consent to be bound. However, it is a means of
authentication and expresses the willingness of the signatory state to
continue the treaty-making process. The signature qualifies the signatory
state to proceed to ratification, acceptance or approval. It also creates an
obligation to refrain, in good faith, from acts that would defeat the object
and the purpose of the treaty.
Acceptance and Approval: The instruments of “acceptance” or “approval” of a treaty have the same legal effect as ratification and consequently
express the consent of a state to be bound by a treaty. In the practice of
certain states acceptance and approval have been used instead of ratification when, at a national level, constitutional law does not require the
treaty to be ratified by the head of state.
Accession: The act whereby a state accepts the offer or the opportunity
to become a party to a treaty already negotiated and signed by other
states. It has the same legal effect as ratification. Accession usually occurs after the treaty has entered into force. The Secretary-General of the
United Nations, in his/her function as depositary, has also accepted accessions to some conventions before their entry into force. The conditions
under which accession may occur and the procedure involved depend on
the provisions of the treaty. A treaty might provide for the accession of
all other states or for a limited and defined number of states. In the absence of such a provision, accession can only occur where the negotiating
states were agreed or subsequently agree on it in the case of the state in
question.
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41	

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