Liberia Acts On Rehabilitation
UN Deputy Envoy, Ms. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu has described an agricultural pilot project for inmates at the Liberian National Palace of Corrections “as a bold step towards institutionalizing active programs for rehabilitation of inmates.”
Ms. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu described [the project] “as a bold step towards institutionalizing active programs for rehabilitation of inmates” … The program sets the basis for the development of an efficient and effective rehabilitation and reintegration program for prisoners … Under the pilot phase of this project, prison inmates will be taught farming skills on land inside the National Palace of Corrections (NCP), and the food they will grow will supplement their rations.
Minister [of Justice Philip] Banks expressed his hope that the project would be merely the beginning of rehabilitation projects in correctional facilities in Liberia and that it would prove beneficial for the inmates and the facility and assist in the inmates’ successful rehabilitation into society on their release. The Minister assured corrections officers during the visit that the Ministry of Justice could be called upon for assistance at any time but warned that absence from duty or harassment of inmates would not be tolerated …
Underscoring the need for rehabilitation of inmates as productive citizens, Ms. Mensa-Bonsu urged the communities around the prison to purchase the prison’s excess crops. “This will not only encourage the inmates to grow more, but would provide necessary funds to the Corrections Palace to improve the quality of life of the inmates,” she added. To the inmates, [she] advised: “there is dignity in labor; the sense of achievement and material benefits it will produce will ensure that your stay at this facility would be a watershed in your life.”
Source: UN Mission in Liberia.
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