Dream.Org Advocates at United Nations for Human Rights of People Released from Prison Worldwide

The successful re-entry of formerly incarcerated individuals is a common challenge faced around the world, regardless of a country’s size or location. There are approximately 11.5 million people behind bars globally and millions more under supervision. Virtually all of these individuals will return to their communities one day, making the challenge of re-entry more pressing than ever.With this reality, these questions remain: What happens when they are released? Who supports them and how? And lastly, what are the obligations of governments to uphold their human rights?

Dream.Org is joining a global initiative at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) to address these very questions. Alongside REFORM Alliance, Perseus Strategies, and INHR, we are partnering with UN Member States, UN human rights bodies, and civil society worldwide to advance the development of UN Guiding Principles on Social Reintegration. These would be a set of non-binding, yet normatively powerful, principles that clarify the duties of Member States to act, as well as effective practices. We aim to ensure that all formerly incarcerated individuals and those impacted by non-custodial measures, such as supervision like probation or parole, have access to the support they need to successfully re-enter their communities and fully realize their human rights.

What is social reintegration? Social reintegration refers to the successful re-entry of a person released from prison or the social inclusion of those impacted by non-custodial measures. This means helping people adjust and rebuild their lives through transitional and community-based support, enabling them to live full, healthy lives and feel welcome in their communities once again. 

The issue. Dream.Org and our partners firmly believe that the failure to support the social reintegration of this population results in the violation of key human rights. Around the world, people post-release are incredibly vulnerable, facing serious stigma and discrimination that often creates situations of life or death. In fact, the risk of death in the first week after leaving prison is about 18 times higher than it is for the general population. For women, children, and minorities, discrimination and barriers to success are even greater. Many are released from prison with little more than the clothes on their back and receive limited support to meet their basic needs, resulting in a lack of food, shelter, medical care, mental health services, education, or employment support. These realities result in people resorting to crime to survive. Globally, the rate of being rearrested and reincarcerated is up to 70 percent.

Especially when support begins immediately upon sentencing, social reintegration programming can have significant benefits not only for reintegrating people, but for communities overall, with improvements in public safety, reductions in government spending, and the reunification of families and communities. On the other hand, failed re-entry can undermine the human rights of everyone in our global society and be incredibly expensive for governments.

Background – the international human rights system. States have a critical role to play in ensuring successful social reintegration, but it is often local non-governmental organizations and families that take on the responsibility. Despite this, while the UN has explored social reintegration as a crime prevention strategy, it has largely failed to address it as a fundamental human rights issue.

Rule 90 of the Nelson Mandela Rules states “the duty of society does not end with a prisoner’s release,” and the UN Common Position on Incarceration expresses that even the best prison-based rehabilitation programs can be undermined without any post-release support. The Tokyo Rules on Non-Custodial Measures further explains “the purpose of supervision is to . . . assist the offenders’ integration into society.” However, current international human rights frameworks do not guide States on how to implement these commitments or clarify their obligation to actively support social reintegration.

Our past efforts. Recognizing the need for a global approach to social reintegration, our coalition, including REFORM Alliance, Perseus Strategies, and INHR, began pushing for the promotion of social reintegration as a critical human rights issue at the UN in 2023. From building a strong group of Member States that advocate for the development of UN Guiding Principles to enlisting the support of over 120 NGOs worldwide, and publishing a book on the topic, our coalition catalyzed groundbreaking advancements and gathered widespread support from every region of the world. 

These efforts culminated with the consensus adoption of UN HRC Resolution 57/9, which provided the first-ever human rights-based guidance to Member States on social reintegration. Introduced by a Core Group led by Costa Rica, which included The Gambia, Kazakhstan, Montenegro, and Romania, the Resolution also requested that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) present a study in September 2025 on this topic and assess the benefits of developing UN Guiding Principles.

Our contribution. At this pivotal moment, Dream.Org aims to build upon these efforts, particularly by amplifying the voices of individuals with lived experience within the criminal justice system. Our coalition has strongly supported the work of OHCHR in developing its study, advocating for it to recommend the urgent development of the UN Guiding Principles on Social Reintegration. For its June 2025 session, Dream.Org also worked with INHR to submit a written statement to the UN HRC, contributing to a discussion on violence against women and girls in criminal justice detention and their social reintegration post-release. We are eager to continue this advocacy ahead of the September 2025 session and join the growing call for global criminal justice reform at the United Nations.

Finally, a message from our CEO, Nisha Anand:

“Our new partnership with REFORM Alliance, Perseus Strategies, and INHR is a much needed call to action.  Around the world, countless individuals face unjust challenges after incarceration as well as during and after supervision. Without the vital support they truly need, these individuals face significant obstacles to their human rights. People suffer, and so do their communities.. Dream.Org believes that, at its core, social reintegration is a matter of human dignity. By giving States further guidance and support to ensure the social reintegration of this group, we will see our vision of dignity and opportunity for all come to life not just in our country, but throughout the world.”