Prisoners’ Right To Adequate Standard Of Living: A Critical Assessment in Yem Special Woreda Saja Prison Institute, Snnprs of Ethiopia

Abstract

The prisoners’ rights to adequate standard of living is one of the prisoners’ fundamental human rights recognized under international human rights law. The protection of this right is required and guaranteed by various international and regional legal instruments such as, UDHR, ICCPR, ICESCR, ACHPR, and other relevant instruments. In Ethiopia, both the FDRE and the SNNPRS constitution guaranteed the prisoners right to adequate standard of living. This right also gets important attention under specific legislations both at Federal and SNNPRS level. Accordingly, the objective of this research is to assess the prisoners’ rights to adequate standard of living, which include the prisoners’ right to food and water, right to adequate health care services, the right to accommodation, the right to sanitation, the right to bedding and clothing in Yem Special Woreda Saja Prison Institute. The study, additionally, examines the performance of public prosecutors on the enforcement of the above-mentioned prisoners’ rights. In order to achieve the research objectives, the researcher employed both questionnaire and interviews with different key informants. Accordingly, the finding of the study shows that, in the study area, the food provision in the prison institute is inadequate both in its quality and quantity. There is no provision of separate food items for detainee having health problems. Regarding accommodation, the dormitories are not well equipped with sleeping facilities. There is no adequate bedding service. There is no mattress and sheet service. There is no clothing service. The dormitories are overcrowded with insufficient entrance of natural light and fresh air. The sanitary facility of the prison institute is also not adequate. Further, prisoners are not getting adequate sanitary facilities to keep their person and cloth clean. And the performance of public prosecutors on the enforcement of the above prisoners’ rights is very limited. The study, finally, makes recommendations that different measures to be considered by the SNNPR Government, Regional Prison Administration Commission and Yem Special Woreda Saja Prison Institute to enhance the effective implementation of prisoners’ right to adequate standard of living in Saja Prison Institute.