Record of the 22nd APCCA
Introduction
This report is a summary of the proceedings of the Twenty Second Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA) held in Denpasar, Indonesia, over the period 13 to 18 October 2002. The conference was attended by senior representatives of correctional services of 21 nations or territories in the Asia and Pacific region, generally the Chief Executive, Commissioner or Director General responsible for corrections in each nation or territory. The conference was hosted by Mr Adi Sujatno, Director-General of the Department of Corrections of Indonesia and was officially opened by the Minister of Justice and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia, The Honorable Professor Dr Yusril Ihza Mahendra.
The first meeting of the APCCA was held in Hong Kong in 1980. The idea for that meeting developed from discussions between the then Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology and the then Commissioner of the Hong Kong Prison Service. Since 1980 the conference has assembled each year, apart from 1990. For most of that period the conference was assisted by the Australian Institute of Criminology but since 1993 the conference has been supported by the APCCA Coordinator in his private capacity. Since 2001, a permanent secretariat has been established with responsibilities shared between Hong Kong (China) and Singapore.
After the first assembly of the conference in Hong Kong, in subsequent years the conference has assembled in Thailand (Bangkok), Japan (Tokyo), New Zealand (Wellington), the Kingdom of Tonga, Fiji, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Australia (New South Wales and Victoria), India, China (Beijing), Australia (South Australia), Hong Kong, Australia (Northern Territory), Japan (Tokyo and Osaka), New Zealand (Christchurch), Malaysia, Canada, China (Shanghai), Australia (New South Wales) and Thailand (Chiang Mai). Over this period the conference has developed a significant history of traditions or conventional practices, even though it has no formal constitution or rules of procedure. For example, it has always been accepted that the host has the right to select those to be invited. Furthermore, the conference is relatively inexpensive as all the participants pay for their own air fares and accommodation.
As a matter of tradition, however, the host nation provides some hospitality as well as an appropriate venue for the formal meetings. At this conference extensive and generous hospitality was provided by:
¨ The Honorable Professor Dr Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Minister of Justice and Human Rights for the Republic of Indonesia
¨ The Honorable Adi Sujatno, Director General of the Department of Corrections for the Republic of Indonesia
¨ The Honorable Hasanuddin, Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights for the Republic of Indonesia
¨ The Governor of the Province of Bali
Another tradition that has developed within the framework of the APCCA is that of visiting correctional institutions, especially if they are related to the agenda items under discussion. Visits to institutions are seen as a useful complement to formal discussions and are generally greatly appreciated by participants as a practical method of exchanging ideas.
For the twenty second conference in Denpasar, visits were arranged to the Krobokan Prison, Denpasar, the Denpasar Court and the Bangli Prison, Bangli. Visits were also made to two locations of scenic and cultural significance on the way to or from the prison visits.
During the afternoon of the day before the opening ceremony of the conference, a preliminary business meeting was held to finalise a number of organisational aspects of the conference and to receive, for later discussion, the report of the Working Group which met in Hong Kong (China) in July 2002 to consider a possible formal structure for APCCA in the future. The details of these discussions and other business matters are summarised under Conference Business later in this report.
A further tradition of the APCCA that was established at the first meeting in 1980 is for a summary report to be drafted while the conference is in progress. Following that practice, a draft report was circulated to all delegates on the evening before the final day of the conference. This was based on the oral presentations made by delegates and also on the written national papers prepared by all participating nations and territories. This report is an edited and extended version of the original draft report.