مرکز امور حقوقی بین المللی ریاست جمهوری- مدیریت علمی و پژوهشی مجله حقوقی بین المللی 2251-614X 42 شماره 79 (پاییز) 2025 10 23 The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on the Inter-State Transfer of Sentenced Offenders (2019): Highlighting Potential Contentious Human Rights Issues The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on the Inter-State Transfer of Sentenced Offenders (2019): Highlighting Potential Contentious Human Rights Issues 217 241 720078 10.22066/cilamag.2025.2047035.2653 FA Jamil Mujuzi Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape, South Africa 0000-0003-1370-6718 Journal Article 2024 11 28 Many SADC countries host foreign offenders in their prisons. One of the measures adopted by these countries to deal with this challenge is to transfer the foreign offenders to serve part(s) of their sentences in their respective countries. This has been achieved through enacting domestic legislation on the transfer of offenders and signing bilateral and, to a small extent, multilateral prisoner transfer agreements. In August 2019, the “SADC Protocol on the Inter-State Transfer of Sentenced Offenders” (the Protocol) was adopted. The Preamble to the Protocol states that the underlying reason for the transfer is to “contribute towards the social reintegration” of the transferred offenders. As of the time of writing this article, the Protocol had not yet come into force. In this article, the author highlights some of the human rights issues that are likely to be contentious in the implementation or enforcement of the Protocol, especially in the light of the prisoner transfer legislation in different SADC countries. These issues are: grounds for transfer of foreign offenders (under this sub-theme, the author discusses the persons eligible for transfer, application for transfer and consent to transfer); enforcement of the sentence; pardon, amnesty, commutation of sentences and parole; cost of transfer; monitoring the enforcement of the sentence; access to information by the prisoner before the transfer and after the transfer. Many SADC countries host foreign offenders in their prisons. One of the measures adopted by these countries to deal with this challenge is to transfer the foreign offenders to serve part(s) of their sentences in their respective countries. This has been achieved through enacting domestic legislation on the transfer of offenders and signing bilateral and, to a small extent, multilateral prisoner transfer agreements. In August 2019, the “SADC Protocol on the Inter-State Transfer of Sentenced Offenders” (the Protocol) was adopted. The Preamble to the Protocol states that the underlying reason for the transfer is to “contribute towards the social reintegration” of the transferred offenders. As of the time of writing this article, the Protocol had not yet come into force. In this article, the author highlights some of the human rights issues that are likely to be contentious in the implementation or enforcement of the Protocol, especially in the light of the prisoner transfer legislation in different SADC countries. These issues are: grounds for transfer of foreign offenders (under this sub-theme, the author discusses the persons eligible for transfer, application for transfer and consent to transfer); enforcement of the sentence; pardon, amnesty, commutation of sentences and parole; cost of transfer; monitoring the enforcement of the sentence; access to information by the prisoner before the transfer and after the transfer. https://www.cilamag.ir/article_720078_5dc7dd097abf95d5ab9c73a35f1de768.pdf