THE RIGHT TO HEALTH IN PRISON: RESULTS OF A NATIONWIDE SURVEY AND REPORT Table 17: Financial Incentives for Prisoners Dark Blue Light Blue Green White and Red RM1.00 per day RM0.80 per day RM0.60 per day RM0.30 per day Source: Prison Department of Malaysia 4.134 During the pre-release phase, prisoners are allowed to work outside of the prison during the day to help prepare them for release. This arrangement may last from 6 months to 1 year. 4.135 Although many of the activities and programmes offered are likely to boost a prisoner’s chances of finding work upon release, the Commission observed that not all prisoners enjoyed the opportunity to be involved in the rehabilitation programmes. (vii) Adequate Food and Nutrition 4.136 While the provisions below set out some international standards which concern the right to adequate food in prison, in reality, however, there is a worrying gap between these international standards and the actual situation in many parts of the world,163 including in Malaysia. 4.137 In addition to the SMR, Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) recognises the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, and the fundamental right to freedom from hunger and malnutrition. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the United Nations monitoring body of the ICESCR) explains that the right to adequate food means “the availability of food in a quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals, free from adverse substances, and acceptable within a given culture.”164 4.138 The right to adequate food, like any other human right, imposes three types or levels of obligations on States parties: the obligations to respect, to protect and to fulfil. http://www.prisonersabroad.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/food-and-diets.pdf accessed on 7/3/16. U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comment 12 [The right to adequate food (art. 11)] E/C.12/1999/5 12 May 1999 accessed via http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/gencomm/escgencom12.htm on 7/3/16 163 164 94

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