During Antigua and Barbuda’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session before the United Nations Human Rights Council, Foreign Affairs Minister E.P. Chet Greene publicly confirmed that the twin-island nation recognizes the urgent need for a purpose-built new correctional facility that fully meets global human rights and detention standards, but persistent gaps in public financing have emerged as the primary roadblock to advancing that project. Longstanding concerns over substandard conditions at the decades-old His Majesty’s Prison were first flagged during the country’s 2021 UPR cycle, when the UN panel issued eight targeted recommendations calling for sweeping upgrades to the main detention site to bring it in line with international norms. Facing tight fiscal constraints that have delayed the full construction of a replacement prison, the administration has rolled out a series of incremental, targeted improvements to the existing facility in recent years. These upgrades include the installation of 170 brand-new bunk beds, the conversion of repurposed shipping containers into additional safe housing units, full overhauls of on-site sanitation infrastructure and prison kitchen operations, and the expansion of the facility’s sewage management network to eliminate longstanding public health risks. In a major 2025 staffing push, the government recruited 42 new correctional officers, who completed a rigorous specialized training curriculum covering UN-aligned human rights protocols, modern correctional administration frameworks, offender rehabilitation best practices, de-escalation and conflict resolution techniques, and trauma-informed mental health support for detained populations. Parallel to these physical facility upgrades, the government rolled out sweeping criminal justice reform legislation in late 2025 designed to cut backlog in the local court system, accelerate the pace of prosecutions, and drastically reduce the excessive lengths of time pre-trial defendants spend in remand custody. The administration has also overhauled its youth justice framework to fully separate minor offenders from the adult criminal justice system: all children facing alleged offences are now referred to the dedicated Child Justice Board for holistic needs assessments, with a clear pathway to court diversion programmes that prioritize rehabilitation over punitive detention. The landmark Dennis Bowers Rehabilitation Centre was officially reopened in 2025 as a specialized, purpose-designed facility focused on restorative programming, where non-violent young offenders and at-risk boys requiring state protection are housed entirely separately from adult and high-risk detainee populations, and are fully integrated into the national public school system to support their academic progress and successful reintegration into community life.
Antigua and Barbuda Acknowledges Need for New Prison, Says Funding Remains a Barrier
