Early next month, the UK will be examined by the United Nations Committee against Torture, an expert body that monitors implementation of a key human rights treaty: the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. A major focus of the review is likely to be the dire situation in prisons across the UK.
This will not be the first time that the Committee against Torture considers the state of the UK prison system. In its most recent review of the UK in 2013, the Committee expressed concerns over “the problem of overcrowding, and its impact on suicide rate, cases of self-injuries, prisoner violence and access to recreational activities”, “deficiencies in the access to appropriate mental health care” as well as the use of “techniques of restraint that aim to inflict deliberate pain on children in Young Offender Institutions”.
Since then, the situation in UK prisons has only gotten worse. In its latest annual report, the prison watchdog for England and Wales documents “some of the most disturbing prison conditions” ever witnessed by inspectors. Years of funding cuts have led to chronic overcrowding and understaffing in many prisons and safety levels have declined dramatically, with prisoner suicide and self-harm showing an alarming rise.
