Most incarcerated people have regular access to drinking water. The water points are located outside the cells. Incarcerated people in solitary confinement do not have access to a water point and depend on others for supplies.

The food provided by the prison administration is insufficient and of poor quality. Incarcerated people generally receive one or two meals a day. The budget allocated to the purchase and preparation of food has not changed between 2018 and 2022 and is not in line with the constant growth of the prison population. This has led to a reduction in certain portions. Incarcerated people who have no other source of food suffer from malnutrition.

Almost all of the country’s prisons are overcrowded. The National Human Rights Council of Côte d’Ivoire (CNDH-CI) estimated that in 2022, 25,121 people were detained in facilities designed for 7,885. The Central Prison of Abidjan (ex-MACA), the largest prison in the country, held 9,179 people when its estimated capacity was for 3,246. Sources reported that in Man prison, incarcerated people have to take turns sleeping due to lack of space.

The prison administration generally provides mats that are laid on the floor. Neither mattresses nor blankets are provided. Some incarcerated people informally take charge of security and discipline in the group cells. They assign new arrivals to specific sleeping areas.

Many institutions are dilapidated. Incarcerated people with motor disabilities do not receive accommodations.

Recurrent ventilation and aeration problems are observed in many facilities. Incarcerated people are responsible for the upkeep of their cells (Decree 2023-239, Articles 205 and 207).

Most toilets and showers are located inside the cells. There are not enough of them. Overcrowding makes it difficult to access them and maintain hygiene. Many facilities are unsanitary. The International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT) reported in 2018 that the cells of Séguéla prison were flooded by water and rising septic tanks during rainy episodes.

The prison administration must provide each incarcerated person with a “kit containing essential toiletries for personal hygiene” (Decree 2023-239, Article 204). The quantities provided are insufficient. Incarcerated women are not provided with sanitary products.

The prison administration does not provide clothing. Incarcerated people are dependent on their families or civil society organisations for this.

People detained in the “assimilated” section generally benefit from better material conditions of detention¹.

Poor detention conditions and high levels of overcrowding are exacerbating the risk of people in prison falling ill. In 2022, people incarcerated at the Central Prison of Abidjan suffered primarily from dermatological conditions, respiratory infections, and malaria.

The implementation of disease transmission risk reduction programmes is not systematic. Screenings are carried out. The National Human Rights Council of Côte d’Ivoire (CNDH-CI) reported in 2019 that HIV testing was conducted in all facilities, except for Bongouanou prison. A joint report by the Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture in Côte d’Ivoire (ACAT CI) and CERDAP2 on the detention of women and children stated that people who tested positive for tuberculosis were placed in isolation and treated. The CNDH-CI noted in 2018 that “in the absence of adequate treatment and the application of temporary isolation measures for the sick, some contagious diseases spread easily in the prisons due to overcrowding”. The infrastructure is not always sufficient to ensure the isolation of individuals with contagious diseases.

People in prison must be examined upon admission (Article 215, Decree 2023-239). These examinations are not systematically carried out. A study conducted in 2020 by the ACAT CI, the International Federation of ACAT (FIACAT) and CERDAP2 highlighted that 70.4% of people awaiting trial reported having received a medical examination upon admission. Another study conducted in 2022 indicated that 74% of women in prison, 57% of girls, and 49% of boys stated they had undergone a medical examination upon admission. The main screenings carried out are malaria tests and blood analyses.

Each health care unit must be equipped with a nursing room, a consultation room, an observation room with several beds, and a waiting room (Article 211, Decree 2023-239). General health workers must be assigned full-time to each of these units (Article 213). These minimum requirements are not met in all prisons. Some encountered in 2022 various equipment issues, such as in the prisons of Dabou or Saliakro. The CNDH-CI reported in February 2022 a general lack of space and equipment. Health workers are appointed by the Minister of Health (Articles 25 and 212, Decree 2023-239) but are employed by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

Waiting times for consultations can be long due to a lack of staff and the closure of healthcare units.

In 2024, the ACAT CI, FIACAT, the Balle aux Prisonniers and Prisoners Without Borders reported that at least one nurse was present in each unit. There was a resident doctor in Bouake prison, Bouake penal camp and at Central Prison of Abidjan. Other facilities generally had between one and three medical staff members, including a nurse and prison officers acting as nursing assistants. These organisations highlight a widespread shortage of healthcare personnel. When incarcerated people are transferred to the hospital, consultations often take place in the presence of prison staff.

The CNDH-CI reported that in more than fifteen health care units, health workers are absent from 5 p.m. onwards, which makes “access to healthcare in emergency situations unlikely”.

The offer in mental health and dental care does not meet the needs of incarcerated people. The CNDH-CI reported in February 2022 a lack of specialised health care workers, as well as an absence of paediatricians, gynaecologists, and psychiatrists

Experts reported that people with specific needs generally cannot access care.

The CNDH-CI reported in 2019 that people living with HIV were receiving care and are provided with specialised treatment, including the administration of ARVs.

Experts reported that when a person arrives in prison with medication, they may be allowed to keep it with authorisation from the administration. In the majority of cases, they will in practice not be able to continue their treatment due to the inaccessibility of most specialised medications in detention.

By law, people awaiting trial are entitled to consult a lawyer and are guaranteed confidentiality (Decree 2023-239, Article 132). In practice, only the largest prisons, such as the Central Prison of Abidjan, have suitable premises. There is a legal aid system for destitute people. However, incarcerated people know little about it, and it is rarely used. Each incarcerated person has two types of files: a prison register (Decree 2023-239, Article 29) and an individual file (Decree 2023-239, Article 34). Sources noted that the electronic archiving system is not always in place.

Incarcerated people generally do not have access to their facility’s internal regulations. There are some displays made by the incarcerated people themselves.

Decree 2023-239 of April 05, 2023 constitutes the basis of the disciplinary system. In particular, it provides for the separation of different categories of incarcerated people (Order in Council 2023-239, Articles 38 and 67). The separation of men and women is respected. Sentenced people and people awaiting trial are detained in the same cells. Adults and children are not systematically separated. Adult women and minors are most usually held together.

The complete training is supervised by the National Judicial Training Institute and lasts two years. Ex-combatants are recruited in wake of the 2011 post-election crisis. They are integrated into the prison staff after two months of training. The use of weapons in the prisons is regulated (Decree 2023-239, Article 103 – 105). The number of guards is deemed insufficient, and their numbers are not increased in proportion to the actual number of incarcerated people. The National Human Rights Council of Côte d’Ivoire (CNDH-CI) indicated that in 2022 that there was one supervisor for every 11.37 incarcerated person.

In practice, guards are not directly responsible for discipline. Discipline is exercised within the informal management systems, in the framework of a strict parallel hierarchy. Cell leaders, or yard leaders, are appointed by the management or other incarcerated people.

Sources expressed concern about violence in detention and report that it is difficult to assess whether discipline is applied proportionately. A study conducted in 2022 by the Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture in Côte d’Ivoire (ACAT CI), FIACAT, and CERDAP2 indicated that deprivation of visits is the most widely practiced disciplinary sanction in the studied prisons. Searches can be carried out repeatedly and disproportionately. Widespread overcrowding leads to undignified conditions of detention that may constitute inhuman or degrading treatment. The alternative report to the review of Côte d’Ivoire by the Committee against Torture, presented by ACAT CI, The Prisoner’s Ball and Prisoners Without Borders, noted that “in some prisons, incarcerated people have died without any official investigation being carried out to determine the causes of death.”

In-house inspections may be carried out by the Inspectorate-General of the Judicial Services, attached to the Ministry of Justice, and by the facility management. The National Human Rights Council of Côte d’Ivoire (CNDH-CI) is authorised to conduct external inspections. This consultative body does not have the resources needed to carry out a real follow-up of its recommendations. Members of parliament (Decree 2023-239, article 123) and magistrates (Decree 2023-239, section 124) also have an inspection mandate. On March 1, 2023, Côte d’Ivoire ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which provides for the establishment of a National Preventive Mechanism against Torture (NPM). This has not yet been implemented.

There is no formal mechanism for inquiry or complaint. Incarcerated people may request a hearing with the prison management (Decree 2023-239, Article 90). It is also possible to file a complaint directly with a judge (Decree 2023-239, Article 91). In practice, these mechanisms are difficult to implement. A source reports that incarcerated people make very little use of them.

Access to work for incarcerated people is provided for by law (Decree 2023-239, Chapter XI). In practice, they are not offered paid employment.

Incarcerated people rarely have access to vocational training or education. The budget allocated by the prison administration to reintegration activities, which include both training and cultural and sports activities, is marginal in relation to the total budget.

In 2014, the Saliakro Prison Farm was inaugurated by the prison administration in collaboration with the organisations Prisoners Without Borders and the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire, with the aim of offering training in agricultural trades. In 2022, sixteen people would be detained there.

Access to education is virtually non-existent, even for incarcerated children. Girls, detained along with adult women, have no access to education. Literacy classes are offered by the administration in some prisons.

In 2022, a report by the National Human Rights Council of Côte d’Ivoire (CNDH-CI) indicated that 19 of the country’s 34 prisons offer no cultural or sporting activities for the incarcerated people. In the same year, another report by the CNDH-CI established that in 16 of 18 visited prisons, incarcerated women do not have access to any activities organised by the administration.

Until 2023, the Central Prison of Abidjan was the only prison with sports facilities. The San Pedro Prison, inaugurated in February 2023, also has dedicated facilities. Since 2022, about fifteen specialised instructors have been employed by the prison administration to organise sports classes in the various facilities.

Incarcerated people can practice their spirituality freely. The main religious practices are Islam, Christianity and animism. The Central Prison of Abidjan and Bouaké Penal Camp are the only facilities to have dedicated rooms for all religions. Christian and Muslim chaplains are present in detention.

Incarcerated people may send and receive mail (Decree 2023-239, Article 138). Correspondence is read by the prison administration (Decree 2023-239, Article 138). Sources stressed that incarcerated people send little mail. The prison administration’s distribution services are not very functional.

Since 2023, the use of the telephone has been recognised as a right (Decree 2023-239, Articles 140-146). Telephone booths are available in every facility. They are few in number. Incarcerated people have to pay for calls. The prison administration does not provide assistance to destitute incarcerated people.
Temporary leaves for family reasons are authorised by decree (Decree 2023-239, Articles 135 and 136). In practice, incarcerated people never benefit from them.

Some young children stay with their incarcerated mothers. The Central Prison of Abidjan is the only prison with facilities designed to accommodate children.

”Newspapers (…) as well as the use of radio receivers and television are authorised to incarcerated people in accordance with the prison’s internal regulations“ (Decree No. 2023-239, Article 148). The prison administration does not provide radios, televisions or newspapers. They are mainly provided by the incarcerated people’s relatives or civil society organisations and are rare.

Incarcerated people convicted of “felony, theft, fraud, breach of trust, embezzlement of public funds, forgery and use of forgery, corruption and influence peddling, indecent assault” are disqualified from voting (Ordinance 2020-356, Article 4). People awaiting trial have the right to vote. Those interviewed noted that there is no provision for exercising this right.