Social Development: International Prison Chaplains Association

From 5-14 February 2024, delegates from UN Member States, civil society, and other stakeholders will convene at the United Nations headquarters in New York for the 62nd session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD62). This conference provides a platform for parties to come together to discuss recommendations and policies to advance social development at both the national and global levels. It focuses on reducing inequalities among various groups through poverty eradication, social inclusion, and sustainable development for all. The CSocD62 agenda includes space to share good practices, review and analyse progress, engage in policy dialogues, and coordinate efforts to advance social development – thereby improving the well-being of individuals and communities worldwide.

INTERNATIONAL PRISON CHAPLAINS’ ASSOCIATION
Organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of United Nations since 2014

To:

The Civil Society and Outreach Unit (CSOU)
Division of Social Policy and Development (DSPD)
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY

Re:

Sixty-second of the Commission for Social Development – CsocD62

Fostering social development and social justice through social policies to accelerate progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieve the overarching goal of poverty eradication

Statement Title:

A Human Dignity and Faith Perspective on the Eradication of Poverty as one of the main Root Causes of Incarceration in the World.

Joint Statement Submitted by:

The International Prison Chaplains Association (IPCA) and Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errands (CURE)

Dear Madam/Sir,

We, the International Prison Chaplains Association (IPCA), and Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errands (CURE), are NGO organizations with worldwide memberships. We are grateful for this opportunity to share our thoughts on the hidden financial and human costs of worldwide poverty, especially as it relates to Criminal Justice and expensive incarceration.

Men, women and youth living in poverty and challenging social conditions are easy prey for criminal activity. As a result, our prisons, jails and detention centers throughout the world are primarily filled with individuals from the lower levels of our societal structures.

To eradicate worldwide poverty, we believe in a strategy of raising the general awareness of the costs of poverty, in society in general, and specifically in relation to our prison system.

We also want to advocate for society’s unique opportunity to provide education and rehabilitation to those who are in our criminal justice system. Such efforts will reduce continued criminal activity by those released, and eliminate costly re-incarceration.

Our joint approach is articulated from a social justice, faith-based perspective with emphasis upon human rights for all, even those who have violated the laws of society and been sentenced to incarceration. While violators need correction, they also deserve an opportunity for repentance, forgiveness, rehabilitation, and redemption.

We would like to share specific examples of engagements and accomplishments by our two organizations in relation to the alleviation of poverty:

The International Prison Chaplains Association (IPCA) has about two thousand members serving as prison Chaplains in more than fifty countries. These chaplains address not only the humanitarian and spiritual needs of people in prison, but also assist in educating the public in their respective local communities on the need for prison reform. In addition, IPCA organizes global conferences for training of its members and for public awareness-raising on prison related issues. The 7th World Conference of the International Prison Chaplains Association in Sydney, Australia in September of 2015 attracted close to three-hundred prison chaplains to a five-day event. The 8th World Conference is scheduled for 2025 in Bangkok.

Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE), is an international grassroots effort by people in prison, their families and other concerned citizens, seeking to reduce crime and working for criminal justice reform. CURE has thirty-nine chapters in the US and representatives in close to thirty countries. From its Washington, DC headquarters, CURE engages in legislative prison reform efforts in the US. The Eighth International Conference was held in May 2018 in Rwanda, and the ninth International Conference was in May 2023 in Kenya with special emphasis on Human Rights & Criminal Justice Reform.

It is a worldwide reality that a large portion of the incarcerate population is composed of marginal or outcast members of a country’s populace, such as Native Americans in Canada; the Aborigines in Australia; Gypsies and Refugees in Europe; and Native Americans, African Americans and Latinos in the United States.

As a general comment we challenge the principle that imprisonment is a successful way to solve the problem of crime in society. We reaffirm the work being done by several governments on the respect for human rights in prisons. We reiterate and reaffirm our emphasis of the following points: the inherent dignity of all of the incarcerated, our particular concern for those who are defined as vulnerable incarcerated people, and our commitment to work with others including other NGOs, World Organizations, and Faith Groups to address poverty and facilitate access to food, clothing, medicines and literacy supplies needed in correctional facilities. We advocate for the freedom of religion and for both respect and resources for Prison Chaplains from all Faith Communities in their ministry of love and hope.

In addition to these efforts, we especially want to highlight four main developments in the world that influence the correctional systems and prison ministry:

1. More than ever, an increasing number of people are fleeing their home countries due to war, terrorism, persecution and poverty to seek asylum in the safer countries of the world. We challenge the use of detention facilities for refugees and migrants as the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has aptly declared as being unacceptable.

2. In many countries people are still imprisoned because they are conscientious objectors. We affirm that the rejection of military service is a human right and should not lead to imprisonment.

3. We call again for an immediate worldwide moratorium on executions and the abolition of the death penalty.

4. Poverty. We believe that poverty has a direct correlation to crime. Most who are in correctional facilities are there because society failed them long before they committed a crime. We welcome the revision of the United Nations Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, developed by UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice with support of NGOs with consultant status, such as our Catholic sister organization, International Commission of Catholic Prison Pastoral Care (ICCPPC). We ask that these rules, now called “The Mandela Rules”, be applied in all countries.

We commit ourselves to use our consultant status in the UN for reconciliation in the societies in which we live and work.

We ask that Governments, Churches and Faith Communities move away from the philosophy of retributive justice and encourage restorative justice strategies.

We are encouraged by examples of Faith Communities being involved in the reintegration of returned citizens (ex-offenders) and we pray that this will be developed further in the world.

We encourage the Administrators, Governors and Staff who work within Correctional Facilities, in the difficult challenges they face. We urge them to always carry out their duties with integrity, humanity, justice and care.

We affirm our commitment to the incarcerated, and we encourage them to take part in programs that address offending behavior, victim/offender reconciliation, rehabilitation, wider education programs and restorative justice initiatives.

We are aware of the pain of the victims of crime and the lack of opportunity for them to express it. We urge Faith Communities to be more available to help victims work through their pain.

We recognize the need for professional training for Prison Chaplains and ask that Churches and Faith Communities support such programs. We pray for Prison Chaplains worldwide.

We pledge the support of our joint organizations, IPCA and CURE, to the efforts of the Sixty- Second Session of the Commission for Social Development in February of 2024.