Chapter 2 – Human Rights and Prison Human rights are rights that people have by virtue of being human. Human rights are based on fundamental principles such as dignity, equality, respect, and fairness and go beyond being mere legal or political commitments. However, as a result of the limited public education on human rights and the rights and freedoms as contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the various other human rights treaties, many myths and misunderstandings have sprung up about the concept of human rights, including the values it contains. All human beings, including prisoners, have certain unalienable rights, which are acknowledged by internationally recognised instruments. A number of human rights have been considered so significant that they are non-derogable. This means that they must be fully respected and protected at all times and under all circumstances. The right to health was first expressed in the WHO Constitution (1946) and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948. Both mention about the enjoyment of the standard health care for every human being without distinction of race, religion, and political belief, economic or social condition. This statement was echoed again in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966 (ICESCR) which recognizes the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Chapter 3 – Findings and Survey Analysis This Chapter contains data on the health status of Malaysia’s prisoners, prison staff and medical practitioners, including mental health, communicable diseases and aspects of women’s health. The information, where possible, is broken down by gender and prisoner status. All survey respondents were selected by the Prisons Department, citing security reasons. Distribution of the survey questionnaires was conducted in 2 stages: prison staff and medical practitioners (stage 1); prisoners (stage 2). The respondents self-answered the questionnaires after a briefing by the Commission. All answers were based on the individual understanding of their health conditions. Involving the participation of 6420 randomly selected individuals (5482 prisoners, 886 prison staff, and 52 prison medical staff) from 18 prisons in the country, the survey was conducted to assess the health status of the prison population, and the overall understanding of the human right to health. ix