The module formed part of a course run by the Rwandan ministry of internal security and took place at Gako military academy in Bugesera between 10 and 12 November.

Sarah Noetzli is the ICRC’s protection coordinator in Kigali. “The aim of the course was to hone the participants’ prison management skills,” she explained. “They came from different prisons and from the ministry of internal security, and the course was also an opportunity for them to meet up and talk to the ICRC about how to apply international standards in Rwandan prisons.”

In working groups and during presentations, the participants discussed subjects ranging from the basic needs of vulnerable groups (especially minors, old people, handicapped people and the mentally ill) to the role of the court clerk, overcrowding and the quality of the health care and food that inmates receive.

The ICRC has been visiting Rwandan prisons regularly since 1990, helping the authorities to improve general conditions of detention, especially in the fields of water and sanitation, health and the restoration of family links via Red Cross messages.