The first Steering Committee Meeting of the EU and CoE Joint Project “Further Support to the Penitentiary Reform in Azerbaijan” (SPERA 2) took place online on 16 July 2020.

The meeting brought together 23 participants including representatives from the national counterparts – the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Penitentiary Service (PS) and the Main Medical Department (MMD) of the Ministry of Justice, the CPT member from Azerbaijan and directors of pilot prisons No. 1, No. 4 and No. 16 as well as from the European Union and the Council of Europe. The representatives of the three NGOs recently selected to implement grants for rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-offenders also took part in the meeting.

The results achieved were presented by the Project team, making particular emphasis on COVID-19 response to ensure continuity of the project activities and the assistance provided by the Project to the Azerbaijani penitentiary system which was praised by the representatives of the PS and the MMD. National counterparts briefed the audience about the measures undertaken to address the challenges caused by Covid-19 outbreak. The NGO representatives presented their respective projects (aiming at assisting reintegration of ex-offenders through vocational training and job placement, business mentoring, legal and psychological aid), the implementation of which will start in the near future.

Co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, SPERA 2 is designed to promote effective prison management, health care in prisons and assist the reintegration of ex-offenders.