Between June and September 2025, three peer to peer training sessions were organised to enhance the capacities of correctional and healthcare professionals in prisons and other closed institutions in Kosovo*, focusing on the documentation and reporting of ill-treatment in line with the Istanbul Protocol.

Each session was facilitated by two local trainers who had previously completed a Training of Trainers on the same subject. This approach ensured that the expertise gained were transferred effectively within the local context and tailored to the realities of Kosovo’s* closed institutions. The cascade format allowed the local trainers not only to reinforce the capacities of their peers, but also to exercise and refine their own training skills.

In total, 80 participants from the Kosovo Correctional Service, Prison Health Department, the Institute of Forensic Psychiatry of Kosovo, the Special Institute for Persons with Learning and Mental Disabilities, as well as representatives of the prison inspectorate and the National Preventive Mechanism, attended the training.

The training covered both the medical and legal aspects of the Istanbul Protocol, combining international human rights standards with hands-on exercises such as injury documentation, case studies, and reporting procedures. By engaging a wide spectrum of professionals across justice and health sectors, the trainings also contributed to the strengthening of inter-institutional cooperation and reinforcing accountability mechanisms essential for safeguarding the rights of persons deprived of liberty.

The feedback from participants was positive highlighting the importance of having local trainers that contextualized the material to local realities, making sessions more relevant and actionable.

These activities are part of the Council of Europe’s ongoing efforts to support Kosovo* authorities in aligning practices in places of detention with Council of Europe standards, ensuring that allegations of ill-treatment are documented, reported, and addressed in a professional and consistent manner.

The trainings were organized under the auspices of the Council of Europe project “Improvement of the treatment of persons deprived of liberty”.

* All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo