[JURIST] The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights [official website], Nils Muiznieks, criticized prisons in Belgium Friday for their “rapidly deteriorat[ing] living conditions. This statement, posted to Facebook [website], comes during a three-week strike by prison workers throughout the country. As a result of this strike prison conditions have been severely lessened to the point where prisoners have not left their cells for weeks, have not been able to access counsel or family, and have been unable to receive proper medical care. He also stated that sanitary conditions are worsening, “due to a lack of regular access to basic facilities like showers and bathrooms.” The Commissioner asked all parties involved to bring these facilities within international guidelines of human rights, in particular Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights [materials, PDF] and the European Prison Rules [materials, PDF]. The Belgian government and trade unions have been in negotiations [Daily Mail report] for days to resolve the stalemate.

Prisoners are an at-risk population throughout the world. Last month Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report [JURIST report] that France prisons were neglecting inmates’ mental health. Last month HRW reported [JURIST report] that Louisiana jails are failing to provide basic HIV services to inmates. HRW also found that Baton Rouge and New Orleans—the state’s two largest cities—lead the nation in HIV infections every year and the state also leads the nation in rates of incarceration. The treatment of prisoners and prison reform [JURIST podcast] have been matters of ongoing concern in the US with two groups in Ohio detailing [JURIST report] recommendations for criminal justice reform in that state earlier last month.