Trial of UNITED NATONS-5

Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners(contd.)

Rule 8 reads:" The different categories of prisoners shall be kept in separate institutions or parts of institutions taking into account of their sex, age, criminal record, the legal reason for their detention and the necessities of their treatment. Thus,

1. Men and women shall so far as possible be detained in separate institutions; or in an institution which receives both men and women, the whole of the premises allocated to women shall be entirely separate;
   
2. Untried prisoners shall be kept separate from convicted prisoners;
   
3. Persons imprisoned for debt and other civil prisoners shall be kept separate from persons imprisoned by reason of a criminal offence;
   
4. Young prisoners shall be kept separate from adults".
   

   I think that there is the immediate need for a total amendment of Rule 8(a-d) and it should be, in my view, as follows:
   

   "The different categories of residents in a Centre of Personality Development shall be housed in separate institutions or parts of the institutions taking into account of their(1)sex,(2)age,(3)crime record(recidivist or first offender, property offender or sex offender and so on),(4)marital status,(5)educational,professional,occupational status,(6)economic background,(7)length of stay,(8)necessities of their treatment,(9)the legal reason for their detention. Thus,
   

   1. Men and women shall be housed in separate Centers ; in a Center which receives both men and women, the whole of the premises allocated to women shall be entirely separate;
      
   2. Deleted;
      
   3. Deleted;
      
   4. Deleted.
      

      Why do I make such amendments and deletions? I have many reasons and they are:
      

      (1)Sex is biological and that the animal instinct works very powerfully in human beings as well and especially in a unisex institution. There is no need for any stronger argument to keep the inmates in separate institutions basing on sex particularly everyone in a Center will be suffering from sexual starvation. I do not recommend parts of an institution for housing male and female residents separately for the simple reason that the locational proximity or nearness of the two parts is likely to have negative impacts on both sexes .Sex instinct works both in men and women and therefore, I may suggest two Centers physically situated in two locations separated by distance so that the smell of one part of the institution does not contaminate the other part.
      

      (2)No doubt, the juveniles have separate institutions in many countries. So far so good! Among the adults, there are the young, middle aged, young old, middle old, older old, oldest old and so on. It has been found that the older inmates, particularly if they have stayed longer in a Center, misuse and exploit the younger ones in many ways. Homosexuality is seen and to cut short,it is not bad if they are housed in different institutions taking into account of their age into consideration.(to be contd.)