ARTICLE - ICRC - REPAIRING THE TITANIC

IMPROVED LIVING CONDITIONS FOR PRISON INMATES
(ICRC) - www.icrc.org

Port-au-Prince (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), working together with Haiti's prison administration, has just completed major repair and refurbishing work on the "Titanic" wing of Port-au-Prince prison, the largest place of confinement in the country with a capacity of over 2,000 people..

"The biggest wing in the prison had to be renovated as a matter of priority in order to improve inmate living conditions," said Sandra Dessimoz, deputy head of the ICRC delegation in Haiti. "This custody area, designed to hold 700 people, sustained major damage in the earthquake of 12 January 2010 and was rendered unusable, exacerbating the already overcrowded conditions in the prison. Its renovation was the most ambitious project ever undertaken by the ICRC in a prison in Haiti."

A new water system provides clean water for all wings of the prison and for administration offices. Basins and showers have been built in the outside courtyards, and sleeping conditions have been improved so as to ensure satisfactory hygiene. The latrines inside the cells have been restored to working order. Metal bunk beds for 700 inmates have been installed in order to expand the surface available for sleeping. In addition, the ICRC renovated the electrical system and repainted the interior of the premises.

A ceremony held within the prison grounds on 30 June to mark the completion of nearly one year of work was attended by many prominent lawyers, politicians and national police officials, and by representatives of human rights organizations and journalists' groups.

"This renovation lays the basis for a significant improvement in inmate living conditions, and for a reduction in tensions within the prison that should have a positive impact on the work of prison officers," said Jean-Roland Célestin, the head of the prison system in Haiti.

In cooperation with the prison authorities, the ICRC is organizing a campaign against scabies for the 700 inmates set to be transferred into the refurbished quarters. In addition to receiving treatment, each inmate will be given a personal hygiene kit, an undershirt, a pair of shorts, a bath towel and a sheet.

The ICRC has been working since 1994 in Haiti, where its activities complement those of the other components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Since taking part in the relief operation that followed the earthquake of 2010, the ICRC has been performing the specific tasks entrusted to it to help people deprived of their freedom.

Since the beginning of the year, the ICRC has visited over 5,000 people held in 32 prisons and police stations in Haiti. It makes available to the prison administration its expertise in the areas of water, hygiene, sanitation, health and legal protections