Nelson Mandela International Day

On Nelson Mandela International Day we remember a titan who played a major role in overcoming evil forces and undoubtedly changed the world for the better. We reflect on his legacy. Nelson Mandela endured a great deal of adversity, not least of which, was a lengthy and inhumane imprisonment, in his struggle to achieve a state of peaceful and just coexistence for all people in his native South Africa.

That mission has always resonated with Jamaicans, which is why we hold the late President Mandela in the highest regard. This day of remembrance, however, is also meant to call attention to the plight of prisoners and correctional staff around the globe.

Throughout President Mandela’s imprisonment he remained a focal figure of the cause he championed. A mere four years after his release from prison he was elected President of a renewed South Africa. Thus, Mandela’s experience is a fitting reminder that those who our justice system has sentenced to a term of imprisonment are not quite removed from society, but rather remain a continuous part of our whole. Most of those in our custody within correctional facilities will rejoin society. Their treatment while in state custody is therefore of critical concern: it does not serve our society to provide anything less than dignified and rehabilitative care to these individuals.

At the end of 2015, the United Nation’s established their Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, otherwise called the Nelson Mandela Rules. These rules constitute a framework for managing correctional institutions in a just and humane manner, while recognizing both the dignity of individuals in the custody of the state and the value of correctional staff as a social service. Since 2016, the Mandela Rules have helped inform the approach Jamaica’s Ministry of National Security and Department of Correctional Services have taken in modernizing the administration of corrections.

The progress thus far has been admirable but insufficient! Bringing our correctional institutions up to standard necessitates greater support for & training of our correctional officers.

We endeavour to ensure additional improvements are made to the correctional services as we  at the Ministry of National Security strive to honour Nelson Mandela’s legacy and uphold principles of equity, fairness and justice.