The unnecessary and arbitrary use of arrest, police custody and pre-trial detention is a major
contributing factor to prison overcrowding across Africa. It also feeds corruption, exposes detainees to
the risk of human rights violations, and has significant socio-economic impacts on detainees, their
families and communities.1
Concerned about the impact of prison overcrowding and the
consequences of arbitrary arrest and prolonged pre-trial detention, the African Commission on Human
and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)2
adopted the Guidelines on the Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and
Pre-Trial Detention in Africa (‘the Luanda Guidelines’)3
as part of its mandate to formulate standards,
principles and rules on which state parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
(AChHPR) can base their national legislation.4
The AChHPR provides all people with the rights to life, dignity, equality, security, a fair trial and an
independent judiciary.5
The Luanda Guidelines provide an authoritative interpretation of the application
of these provisions, and are a guide to law and policy-makers and criminal justice practitioners, to
strengthen day-to-day practices in terms of arrest, police custody and pre-trial detention. In doing so,
they reinforce the importance of a criminal justice system built on core human rights principles. They
aim to ensure fewer arbitrary arrests and a more rational and proportionate use of pre-trial detention to
promote a more effective use of human and financial resources, for example targeted towards legal aid
and crime prevention. The Guidelines are also a reflection of the collective aspirations of African states,
national human rights institutions and civil society organisations (CSOs) in terms of normative
standards for criminal justice systems in Africa.