Amnesty International Senegal organized a training workshop for prison administration staff, focusing on the national and international legal framework for protecting prisoners' rights. This initiative is part of the ongoing partnership between the human rights NGO and the Directorate General of the Prison Administration.

According to Papa Diène Diop, president of Amnesty International Senegal, this training aims to strengthen the skills of prison officers regarding international standards, particularly the Nelson Mandela Rules, in order to guarantee respect for human dignity in prisons. "Detainees are only deprived of their freedom of movement. They retain all other fundamental rights recognized to every citizen," Papa Diène Diop emphasized.

He stressed the need to better protect vulnerable people in detention, particularly women, children and people living with disabilities, emphasizing that prison officers play a central role in their daily care.

The president of Amnesty International Senegal welcomed the efforts made by the Senegalese state to improve detention conditions, including the recruitment of professional cooks in prisons; the increase in capacity to reduce overcrowding; and the gradual abandonment of body searches in favor of electronic searches, which are considered more respectful of human dignity.

However, he calls for going further, so that Senegal is no longer faced with difficult detention conditions.

In his plea, Mr. Diop also called for the status and treatment of prison staff to be aligned with those of the elite corps of the defense and security forces, in accordance with the recommendations of the Nelson Mandela Rules.

Inspector Aliou Ciss, Director General of the Penitentiary Administration, thanked Amnesty International and commended the daily commitment of prison officers. "The protection of prisoners' rights stems from the evolving function of punishment and the recognition that prisoners retain their fundamental rights, with the exception of freedom of movement," he emphasized.

He noted that while officers receive solid initial training, ongoing training remains essential to adapt to changes in the prison environment, in accordance with Rule 75-3 of the Nelson Mandela Rules.

He noted that between 2021 and 2024, 389 prison officers, including the heads of the court and post of the 37 prisons in Senegal, were trained as part of this partnership. This training led to positive changes in behavior and improved treatment of prisoners.

Despite this progress, the prison administration still faces several major challenges, including prison overcrowding, long periods of pre-trial detention, insufficient specialist staff and the stigmatization of former prisoners.

Thus, the workshop aims to strengthen the capacities of 74 prison officers around themes such as the identification of the human rights of prisoners; the role of prison staff in their protection; the prevention of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; strategies to combat human rights violations in prison.

This initiative complements the efforts of public authorities to improve both detention conditions, the social reintegration of prisoners and the working conditions of prison staff, thus confirming Senegal's commitment to respecting human rights in prisons.

"Regarding the improvement of detention conditions and preparation for social reintegration, we can note the increase in the daily maintenance allowance for prisoners, which has risen from 1,152 CFA francs between 2022, 2023 and 2024, to 1,300 CFA francs in 2025; the recruitment of professional cooks in all penitentiary establishments, to improve the quality of food preparation for prisoners; the increase in the capacity of penitentiary establishments by 1,390 places, between 2024 and 2025; the education and training of 4,815 prisoners in 2024, or 70.43% of convicts; and the development of prison work, with the creation of agricultural and industrial production units," explained Inspector Ciss.

Regarding the working conditions and performance of the staff of the Penitentiary Administration, he cites, among other things, the strengthening of staff capacities with the continuing training of 625 agents of all grades in 2024, i.e. 28% of the staff workforce, the improvement of the working environment and the equipping of penitentiary staff with the provision of vehicles for transporting prisoners to all penitentiary establishments.