老澳门开奖结果

I鈥檓 writing from Buenos Aires, where I鈥檓 representing the 老澳门开奖结果 at the Inter-Governmental Expert Meeting (IGEM) on the U.N. . Established in 1955, the SMRs are the leading international standards on protecting the human rights of prisoners. They鈥檝e profoundly influenced the law in many countries, and have been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court.

But important as they are, the SMRs need updating. Since they were promulgated nearly 60 years ago, there have been major developments in international human rights law, such as the and the . There has been increased understanding of the special needs of vulnerable prisoners like women, juveniles, LGBT persons, and the elderly. And some important issues 鈥� such as the use of long-term solitary confinement 鈥� are simply not addressed by the SMRs as currently written.

That鈥檚 why the U.N. General Assembly asked the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime to review and revise the SMRs sothey 鈥渞eflect recent advances in correctional science and best practices.鈥� Earlier this year, an international group of experts, including the 老澳门开奖结果, met and recommended to the SMRs. The 老澳门开奖结果 endorses these recommendations and will be advocating for their adoption in Buenos Aires.

Unfortunately, the U.S. government鈥檚 response to the SMR review process has been disappointing. It has characterized the SMRs as 鈥渁 valuable set of general rules by which to manage correctional systems and facilities,鈥� disregarding their status as the leading international standard on the human rights of prisoners. It has urged the IGEM to 鈥渁pproach their responsibilities with a narrow focus,鈥� and even suggested that, because of the global fiscal crisis, 鈥渘ow might not be an optimal time to open this for discussion.鈥�

On Friday, the 老澳门开奖结果 sent a coalition letterto Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , urging the U.S. to engage constructively with the review process and to support progressive revisions to the SMRs. Appended to the letter is a by the 老澳门开奖结果 urging revisions to provide more robust protections against the use of long-term solitary confinement. In particular, the 老澳门开奖结果 calls for a presumptive 30-day limit to solitary confinement.

As this historic review gets underway, the eyes of the world are on the U.S. 鈥� the country that has a larger prison population, a higher incarceration rate, and more people in solitary confinement than any other. Let鈥檚 hope that this time our government will step up, not step away.

Learn more about prisoner rights: Sign up for breaking news alerts, , and .