The origin of the rules dates back to the year 1955 when – following the atrocities of two World Wars – the Member States of the United Nations decided to formulate and adopt internationally acknowledged minimum conditions for the treatment of prisoners. In 2015, following a revision process of more than 5 years, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and named them in honour of the late president of South Africa “The Nelson Mandela Rules”.
The Nelson Mandela Rules
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