The Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI), in partnership with DIGNITY Danish Institute Against Torture, has launched a five-day training programme on Preventive Prison Monitoring in Freetown. The initiative forms part of a broader three-year effort to strengthen institutions and legal frameworks aimed at preventing torture across Africa.
The training, which runs from 23 to 27 March 2026 at Hotel Barmoi, brings together staff from the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL), including regional officers, as well as members of Prison Watch Sierra Leone. Representatives from other national human rights institutions are also participating, reflecting the programme’s regional focus on practical capacity building.
Organizers stated that the training is designed to equip participants with modern monitoring techniques, investigative tools, and reporting methods to enhance oversight of detention facilities. Key topics include risk assessment, interviewing detainees, documentation standards, legal frameworks, and procedures for making actionable recommendations to prison authorities and other state institutions.
In his opening remarks, NANHRI Executive Director Gilbert Sebihogo emphasized that preventive monitoring goes beyond technical duties. He noted that it is fundamentally a responsibility rooted in the protection of human dignity.
Facilitators from DIGNITY and NANHRI are combining classroom instruction with practical exercises and simulated monitoring visits. These activities are intended to build participants’ confidence in conducting effective inspections and follow-up actions. The training also includes sessions on data collection and digital documentation to improve evidence-based reporting and advocacy.
For HRCSL, the workshop comes at a critical time. Officials highlighted that strengthening preventive oversight can help address accountability gaps that allow ill-treatment to persist, particularly in overcrowded and understaffed detention facilities. Regional officers are expected to use the training to harmonize monitoring approaches across the country and improve mechanisms for referring cases that require legal or medical intervention.
Members of Prison Watch Sierra Leone and other civil society organizations are receiving specialized training on collaboration with national human rights institutions, strategic litigation pathways, and community engagement. These components aim to ensure that monitoring findings lead to meaningful reforms.
Organizers stressed that the training is only one part of a comprehensive three-year programme that includes legal reform support, institutional strengthening, and cross-border peer learning. Over time, NANHRI and DIGNITY expect participating institutions to produce more effective monitoring reports, increase referrals for victims, and drive systemic improvements in detention management and accountability.
By professionalizing preventive prison monitoring and expanding the pool of trained inspectors and advocates, the initiative seeks to reduce incidents of torture and ill-treatment while promoting a culture of respect for human rights within Sierra Leone’s criminal justice system.
