Irish Penal Reform Trust

International

The work of IPRT is led by a number of standards developed by international bodies, organisations and courts in relation to imprisonment and wider issues of the State’s penal policy. In particular, our work is based on the commitment to implement in Ireland a human rights-based approach to penal policy.

With this in mind, IPRT’s research, policy and awareness-raising campaigns are developed to support and monitor the implementation in the context of penal policy in Ireland of the United Nations and Council of Europe standards.

The IPRT is also committed to the promotion of best practice examples that have proved effective in other jurisdictions. To this end, we aim to provide a comprehensive library of good practices that can be accessed and used by practitioners, academics, prisoners, and anyone else interested in penal reform and penal policy. The Library is updated on a regular basis to take into account most recent developments in this area.

Mapping Solitary Confinement project

31st January 2024

IPRT contributed to the Mapping Solitary Confinement project, which seeks to draw a picture of how, when, why and for how long people can be placed in solitary confinement (also known as 'segregation' 'isolation' and 'secure care', amongst other names) in different countries across the world, and what their daily lives look like. The project, published in January 2024, also aims to identify common patterns and issues as well as good practice, and help inform reform efforts.

UK: College of Policing - Imprisonment and other custodial sanctions

30th November 2023

Results from over 100+ studies in the UK show that on average, evidence suggests that custodial sanctions increase reoffending compared to non-custodial sanctions.

Liberties EU Rule of Law Report 2023

21st February 2023

IPRT contributed to the Liberties EU Rule Of Law report 2023. It lays out the most striking developments concerning justice, corruption, civic space, media freedom, checks and balances, and systemic human rights issues across 18 states.

IPRT responds to the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) Concluding Observations

9th February 2023

Following the recent examination of Ireland under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, IPRT responds to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) Concluding Observations.

IPRT Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

15th August 2022

This IPRT submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child makes 22 recommendations relating to child justice and children with a family member in prison in Ireland.

Consideration of Ireland by the UN Human Rights Committee under ICCPR

5th July 2022

Consideration and questioning of Ireland by the UN Human Rights Committee under ICCPR took place on 4-5 July 2020. Here, we summarise the main questioning relating to penal reform.

IPRT presentation to Universal Periodic Review (UPR) pre-session

7th October 2021

IPRT was one of the civil society organisations chosen to make a statement at the pre-session meeting of Ireland’s UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 7th October 2021.

'SPACE I' Annual Penal Statistics: Prison Populations 2020

8th April 2021

The Council of Europe (CoE) has published 'SPACE I' Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations 2020. The report contains a detailed breakdown of penological trends across Europe. IPRT summarises key findings from both European and Irish perspectives.

'SPACE I' Annual Penal Statistics: Prison Populations 2019

7th April 2020

The Council of Europe (CoE) has published 'SPACE I' Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations 2019. The report contains a detailed breakdown of penological trends across Europe. See IPRT's summary of key findings from both European and Irish perspectives.

IPRT Submission to the UN Committee against Torture: Information for List of Issues

27th January 2020

In this submission, IPRT outlines the progress made by Ireland on the 2017 Concluding Observations and further highlights a number of matters that might merit scrutiny during the next reporting cycle of the UN Committee against Torture.

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