Challenges in the Prison System in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic Silvia Bernardo April 3, 2020

Challenges in the Prison System in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“Addressing challenges in the prison system during a public health crisis?: Sharing experiences and lessons learned in Latin American and Caribbean regions, and the world, in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 is testing countries in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region in many aspects. In the area of security and justice, the crisis that this situation is causing in prisons is placing this sector as one of the priorities. Exposure to the spread of any disease is a latent risk for the prison population, as well as for their relatives and prison officers. In this context, different initiatives to respond to this public health crisis are emerging in LAC countries and the world.

In response to this pressing challenge for the region, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) having as partners IPS Innovative Prison Systems, the ICPA International Corrections Association and the COMJIB Conference of Ministers of Justice of the Ibero-American countries, has decided to carry a Virtual Regional Dialogue “Addressing challenges in the prison system during a public health crisis?: Sharing experiences and lessons learned in LAC and the world in managing the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Given the opportunity to demonstrate regional unity and solidarity to face this challenge, this Virtual Regional Dialogue reached the objective to exchange knowledge among high authorities of the penitentiary sector of the Latin America and the Caribbean countries (ministers and vice-ministers and heads of prison services), experts and specialists, to identify promising practices and interventions to face the crisis and prevent mass contagion in the prison system.  The event that took place on the 3rd of April 2020 counted with more than 200 participants from 25 countries, including

The agenda, documents and presentations can be accessed here

 

For more info, please do not hesitate to address your questions to us @ ips@prisonsystems.eu