Southern African Development Community (SADC) will host its Annual Conference of Heads of Corrections, Prisons and Penitentiary Services from May19 to 22 in Salima, Malawi.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The regional gathering, supported by the Malawian government, will take place at the Sunbird Livingstonia Hotel under the theme: \u201cPathways to Change: Facilitating Effective Offender Rehabilitation and Reintegration in Corrections\/Prisons.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The conference comes as countries across the region increasingly shift away from purely punitive prison systems towards rehabilitation and reintegration-focused approaches. Regional authorities say the move is driven by ongoing concerns over overcrowded prisons, repeat offending and the long-term reintegration of former inmates into society.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Peter Mukhito, Malawi\u2019s Minister of Homeland Security, is expected to officially open the conference.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Delegates will discuss ways to strengthen co-operation among SADC correctional services through the sharing of best practices, tackling common challenges and promoting innovation in offender rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The conference will also focus on programmes aimed at behavioural change and reducing recidivism, while exploring restorative justice initiatives, diversion programmes, psychosocial support and community-based reintegration models.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Organisers say discussions will further reinforce compliance with international standards, including the Nelson Mandela Rules, which promote the humane treatment and dignity of prisoners.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The meeting is also expected to feature contributions from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other stakeholders involved in global prison reform and rehabilitation programmes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica\/SADC–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13656,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-34696","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"SADC will host its Annual Conference of Heads of Corrections, Prisons and Penitentiary Services","published_date":"2026-05-17 17:36:30","news_description":"SADC will host its Annual Conference of Heads of Corrections, Prisons and Penitentiary Services","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34697,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34696\/revisions\/34697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=34696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}