No one is born a criminal. Criminals are products of the social, economic and environmental conditions. It is believed that if the criminals are educated and trained, they can be made competent to behave well in the society. Our existing legal framework has inadequate provisions regarding proper reintegration of prisoners to the society. This article will throw light on the issue of rehabilitation of prisoners under international legal instruments and national legislations, along with the recent developments that took place in this area in Bangladesh.
International obligations and guidelines
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948 laid the groundwork for prisoners’ rehabilitation under International law, although it did not expressly use the term “rehabilitation.” The first covenant that brings the issue of rehabilitation in international limelight is the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, best known as ICCPR. In Article 10, ICCPR pronounced that the penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners, the essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation.”
By using the word “shall,” article 10 creates a mandatory requirement to provide rehabilitation. Moreover, convention on the Rights of the Children (CRC) declares that incarcerated minors should 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 and fundamental freedoms of others. Similar tones were reiterated in 1984 Convention against Torture, 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Migrant Workers, 1998 Rome Statutes of International Criminal Court. Bangladesh being a signatory of all these international instruments is duty-bound to ensure proper rehabilitation of prisoners in society.
Another issue is pertinent here that, in 1955 United Nations (UN) approved “Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.” These Rules are not legally binding, but nonetheless can have powerful soft law impact, especially given their promotion by the UN. Rule 58 is very important to our discussion, which states that the purpose and justification of a sentence of imprisonment is ultimately to protect society against crime. This end can only be achieved if the period of imprisonment is used to ensure that upon his return to society the offender is not only willing but able to lead a law abiding and self-supporting life.
Rehabilitation under Bangladeshi Legal Framework
The concept of rehabilitation is not expressly provided in the constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. However, the essence of some articles can be extended to cover the rehabilitation issue. For instance, Article 11 provides that “the Republic shall be a democracy in which fundamental human rights and freedoms and respect for the dignity and worth of the human person shall be guaranteed.” Again, Article 35(1) states that “No person shall be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence. The social stigmatisation impliedly inflicts more punishment to an ex-prisoner who already served his times. Such stigmatisation and different treatment is a clear violation of the right to equality and equal protection of law enshrined in Article 27 of the constitution.
Prison system in Bangladesh still follows the outdated statute books of the British colonial rulers, which were framed in the 19th century. Jail Code consists of the provisions of Prisons Act of 1894, Prisoners Act of 1900, and the Identification of Prisoners Act of 1920. According to these old statutes, the main objective of the prison system is the confinement and safe custody of prisoners through suppressive and punitive measures. There has been no significant modification in the jail code, nor have the vital recommendations of the Jail Reform Commission, 1978 been implemented.
After independence of Bangladesh, though several discussions had emphasised on humanisation of the conditions in the prisons, a modified Prisons and Prisoners Act emphasising on rehabilitation has not been enacted.
Major challenges
The reformative or rehabilitative practice in prison is not working for several factors. The existing legislations have become outdated and the missing provisions of counseling, capacity building, etc are making the process a complex one. Infrastructure problems, overcrowding in prison, inordinate delay in trial, prevalent corruption and extortion, staff shortage, insufficient prison programmes, etc are working as barricades towards ensuring proper rehabilitation process.
Moreover, Bangladesh made some reservations and declarations to the ICCPR to limit its application especially on the first part of paragraph 3 of Article 10 relating to reformation and social rehabilitation of prisoners. Bangladesh put herself away on account of financial constraints and for lack of proper logistical support.
The positive developments
In order to ensure rehabilitation and uphold the flag of reformative theory, only law and legal reform is not enough. First and foremost, we all need to grow the consensus among us that “Hate the wrong, not the wrongdoer.” We need to change our attitude towards the persons who serve times in prison. Despite the prevalent lacunas in our legislations, the government especially the Ministry of Law has already undertaken processes towards reforming the Jail Codes.
Recently, Moulvibazar central jail authority reportedly undertook some income generation, skill development and education programmes for prisoners. A garment factory having 26 knitting machines was established in the Dhaka central jail aiming towards skill development and rehabilitation of the prisoners.
Recent years witnessed significant judicial intervention in order to mitigate the plight of juvenile offenders. In the cases of State v Md Roushan Mondal alias Hashem and State v Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Khulna and others, the higher court emphasised that young offenders should be at all times kept separate from the adult offenders from the time of their apprehension, during the trial and during confinement to ensure the facilities for proper education and upbringing of youth. Another good initiative was taken by the government last year by enacting the Children Act, 2013 repealing the earlier Children Act of 1974. The new Act conforms to the provisions of the Convention of the Rights of Child.
What more can be done
Now what is urgently required is a full-fledged legislation precisely for rehabilitation purposes like that of UK’s Rehabilitation of Offenders Act of 1974. This Act enables some criminal convictions to be ignored after a rehabilitation period. Its purpose is that people do not have a lifelong blot on their records because of a relatively minor offence in their past. In our society, even one night prison time puts the label of criminal on a person’s face; a Rehabilitation Act can help people to maintain their self-esteem.
Policy makers should also focus on promoting the human dignity of prisoners as a legal value within national discourse, as this strategy can encourage legal recognition of a concrete right to rehabilitation. Prison authorities should make available to all detainees, whether sentenced or under trial, education programmes and other co-curricular vocation activities. Education programmes should be integrated with the public system so as to allow for continuation of education upon release.
In conclusion, the basic principles and the purpose of punishment is
not to torture a person but to reform him, re-integrate him in the society and ultimately make him a good citizen. This is only possible if the government, international partner, local NGOs and civil society work hand-in-hand. People need to bear in mind that, isolating any person from society enhances the risk of further criminality.
A service oriented, pro-active and human rights-conscious police force is equally important in this journey especially for the effective functioning of the criminal justice system. Coordination and cooperation among the bodies related with the criminal justice sector can play a vital role in ensuring the rehabilitation of prisoners.