Rabat – The African Correctional Services Association’s mission is to find solutions to the challenges facing prison and rehabilitation services in Africa, and to promote cooperation and exchange of experience between member states in order to improve their performance, General Delegate for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation (DGAPR), Mohamed Salah Tamek, said on Wednesday in Rabat.
Speaking at the first meeting of the ASCA Executive Committee, Tamek considered that the development of the Association’s activities required reflection on ways to ensure its financial viability, while noting the increased challenges faced by these institutions due to the proliferation of criminal networks, population growth and the socio-economic and socio-educational problems afflicting African countries.
To this end, Tamek called for implementing a prison management strategy capable of contributing not only to the preservation of security and the protection of individuals and property, but also to the humanization of de
tention conditions, the development of programs to promote the reintegration of inmates and the establishment of mechanisms to prevent recidivism.
The General Delegation for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation is committed to promoting continental collaboration and encouraging the development of prison and rehabilitation administrations, he said.
“Africa has the material and human resources needed to develop the prison administrations of its countries,” he said, expressing his conviction that working together is the springboard for overcoming the challenges they face.
In addition, the General Delegate for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation stressed that Morocco’s organization of the 7th ASCA biennial conference in 2025 bears witness to the Kingdom’s commitment to enhancing cooperation and solidarity with countries on the continent.
Morocco, as host country, will provide an appropriate platform for the exchange of ideas and best practices in the field of prison administration and rehabilitation,
he noted, adding that this conference reflects the collective will to find common and applicable solutions to the challenges facing prison and rehabilitation institutions.
The DGAPR is ready to place its experience and training facilities at the disposal of any African prison administrations that request them, hesaid.
Tamek thanked the members of ASCA for choosing Morocco as vice-president of this organization, as the representative of North Africa, saying that this was an opportunity to serve the continent with dedication and promote prison management in Africa.
For his part, Abdoulaye Diagne, Director General of Senegal’s Penitentiary Administration and President of ASCA, noted that the meeting was an opportunity for member states to raise the various challenges facing governance of the penitentiary sector, with the aim of proposing a work plan covering all the activities envisaged up to 2025.
Discussions at the event will focus on prison infrastructure, the management of special categories of inmates,
the resurgence of certain incidents in the prison environment, prison health management, the care of vulnerable inmates and staff training, with the aim of undertaking in-depth reforms of legal and institutional arrangements, explained Diagne.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse
Caretaker Minister of Public Health Dr. Firas Abiad, on Wednesday received at his ministry office, the new U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, Lisa A. Johnson, who came on a protocol visit upon assuming her new diplomatic duties in the country.
Ambassador Johnson was accompanied by a delegation that included the USAID Lebanon Mission Director, Julie Southfield, and Embassy members.
Discussions reportedly touched on the healthcare conditions in the country and the health sector’s readiness in the face of crises.
Minister Abiad discussed with Ambassador Johnson the National Health Strategy launched by the MoPH a year ago and explained the progress made in this regard.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon