This study addresses the following questions: (1) What is the human rights situation in prisons in Africa? What challenges do African prisons face in general? (2) Is there a legal framework in place for the protection of prisoners’ rights in Africa and how does it relate to other human rights instruments? What is the mandate of the Commission in relation to the prisoners’ rights? (3) What has the Commission done and achieved under its promotional and protection mandates in respect of prisoners’ rights? Have the various mechanisms been fully utilised in relation to prisoners’ rights? How has the Commission been able to optimise its relationship with the states, civil society and national human rights institutions to fully protect these rights? (4) If the conclusion is reached that the Commission has not effectively addressed issues of prisoners’ rights, how would it do so more effectively? / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Lukas Muntingh and Jamil Mujuzi of the Community Law Centre, Faculty of law, University of the Western Cape, South Africa / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM