Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners

The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 17 December 2015 after a five-year revision process. They are known as the Nelson Mandela Rules in honor of the former South African President Nelson Mandela.

The Rules were first adopted on 30 August 1955 by the United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Geneva, and approved by the Economic and Social Council in resolutions of 31 July 1957 and 13 May 1977.

Since their adoption by the Economic and Social Council in 1957, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMRs) have constituted the universally acknowledged minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners, and probably represent the most well-known amongst the United Nations standards in crime prevention and criminal justice. Despite their legally non-binding nature, the rules have been of tremendous importance worldwide as a source of inspiration for relevant national legislation as well as of practical guidance for prison management.

Although not legally binding, the Minimum Standards provide guidelines for international and domestic law for citizens held in prisons and other forms of custody. The basic principle described in the standards is that "There shall be no discrimination on grounds of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status".

Part I contains Rules of General Application. It contains standards which set out what is generally accepted as being good principle and practice in the treatment of prisoners and the management of penal institutions. Specifically, it covers issues related to minimum standards of accommodation (rules 12 to 17), personal hygiene (18), clothing and bedding (19 to 21), food (22), exercise (23), medical services (24 to 35), discipline and punishment (36 to 46), the use of instruments of restraint (47 to 49), complaints (54 to 57), contact with the outside world (58 to 63), the availability of books (64), religion (65 and 66), retention of prisoners' property (67), notification of death, illness, transfer (68 to 70), removal of prisoners (73), the quality and training of prison personnel (74 to 82), prison inspections (83 to 85).

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