Definition and implementation of the Regional Guide for Action in Cases of Institutional Prison Violence

The UN Committee Against Torture has been pointing out, in successive Recommendations, that States must take effective measures in situations of torture and institutional prison violence. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in its Report on the human rights of persons deprived of liberty in the Americas (2011) highlighted two major problems in its prisons: those that affect the right to life and personal integrity. Caused largely by prison overcrowding, these problems take the form of prison violence, the presence of armed gangs that control prisons, and precarious health and food conditions, among others.