People in prisons in countries worldwide are suffering serious human rights abuses, according to new research from an independent NGO, the Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI). Data released today gives scores for a range of human rights for 203 countries and territories, and includes data on the treatment of prisoners for a sample of 36 diverse countries.
In Saudi Arabia, medical negligence in prisons sometimes leads to death, and in Democratic Republic of Congo, people in prisons are reportedly left to die, according to local human rights experts monitoring the situations.
Torture and ill-treatment are common in prisons in many of the 36 countries in HRMI’s 2024 sample, and particularly noted by human rights experts in Singapore, Kyrgyzstan, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia. Caning occurs in Singapore, and experts in Vietnam said that torture in prison is common, especially against people from marginalised populations.
‘Every person, in or out of prison, has the right to be free from torture and ill-treatment,’ said Melissa del Aguila, Co-Executive Director of HRMI. ‘Governments need to do better at protecting people in detention, and treating them with dignity – as they have promised to do as members of the United Nations.’
Many people in prisons also face a serious lack of adequate food, healthcare, and educational opportunities, with experts in South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia noting these rights abuses.
All HRMI’s data are freely available to the public on RightsTracker.org and are updated annually. Since 2017, HRMI has used a range of award-winning, peer-reviewed, robust methodologies to produce human rights data for the common good. HRMI is an independent, non-profit NGO headquartered in New Zealand. HRMI’s data are used by a wide range of people and organisations, including Amnesty International, the World Bank, and the United Nations.