The association Solidarité Mondiale pour les Personnes Démunies et les Détenus (SMPDD) (World Solidarity for the Disadvantaged and the Detained) continues to step up its good deeds to reduce or even eradicate corruption and torture in places of deprivation of liberty in Togo.
Following awareness-raising sessions at the Kpalimé civil prison on July 16, 2024, the SMPDD team visited the Kara civil prison on July 23, 2024 to discuss and exchange views with prison staff and inmates on the means and actions to be put in place to counter these phenomena.
Like the discussions held at the Kpalimé civil prison, the objective remains the same: to raise awareness of the need to penalize and absolutely prohibit all acts of corruption and torture in prisons. Although Togo's prisons continue to face a number of challenges, it is only by pooling their actions and initiatives that all those involved will be able to improve living conditions there.
Participants were very interested in the modules developed and the sub-themes discussed, and expressed their satisfaction.
"I never thought there could be a link between corruption and torture. This awareness-raising initiative by the SMPDD has brought this link to light, and it's an achievement for us at Kara civil prison. On the whole, all the administrative staff and supervisors are delighted with these new concepts. This gives us the keys we need to detect acts of corruption and torture, so that we can avoid them. I hope that we can make this kind of awareness-raising program a permanent feature, and extend it to a larger number of inmates in the future," enthuses Yata Ayaba Goran, the warden of Kara civil prison.
The SMPDD thus aims to create a framework of awareness conducive to the protection of human rights and the promotion of dignity for all individuals concerned. Baraka Konda Gossi, head warden of the Kara civil prison, agrees:
"There are certain aspects of these phenomena that we are unable to control. Corruption, yes, but speaking of torture, we can say that it has considerably diminished in prisons. All in all, I think it's really one more piece of knowledge we've acquired. I think our colleagues share the same opinion. From now on, we'll know what to do with everything we've learned to avoid the worst", says BALAKA Kossi, head guard at Kara prison.
Among other things, the SMPDD is also pursuing a specific objective in launching this initiative: to play an important role in informing prison staff and inmates about the prohibition of corruption in all its forms, and the link between corruption and torture.
All the participants hoped that other initiatives incorporating other aspects would soon reach them. They expressed their gratitude to the SMPDD for its efforts alongside the prison administration.
This awareness-raising initiative in the country's civil prisons received financial support from the OPCAT Special Fund.
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