21 June 2022, Chisinau – The third Steering Committee meeting of the Council of Europe Project “Strengthening the prison and probation reforms, provision of health care and the treatment of patients in closed institutions in the Republic of Moldova” was held in Chisinau.

Attended by members and observers of the Steering Committee, representatives of Project’s beneficiaries, partner governmental institutions and representatives of the Council of Europe (CoE), the meeting served as a platform for exchanges and discussions on the developments at policy, legislative and institutional levels within the criminal justice and public health areas, including with reference to the health care provision in prisons and psychiatric institutions during the first half of 2022. In the same context, main achievements and progress registered under the Project during January – June 2022 were emphasised, among which: a tested and validated risk and needs assessment tool for a responsive rehabilitation and reintegration work in prisons and in probation; a Prison Management Manual for the prison senior management; the Curriculum for the initial training of probation counsellors and the Curriculum for the training of prison staff working with children and young people in detention; and the progress in the implementation of other project interventions.

Following the exchanges on the priorities set for the next implementation period, the operational Work Plan of the Project for July – December 2022 was discussed and approved.

Separate meetings were held with the representatives of the Ministry of Health (MoH), the National Administration of Penitentiaries (NAP) and the National Probation Inspectorate (NPI), during which their continuous commitment and support of the CoE Project interventions was reiterated.

The Project has a duration of 36 months and is financed through the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova (2021-2024).

Building on the achievements of the Council of Europe Programme “Promoting a human rights compliant criminal justice system in the Republic of Moldova” (2018 – 2021), the Project “Support of the Criminal Justice Reforms in the Republic of Moldova” (2015 – 2018) and of the Norwegian Mission of Rule of Law Advisers to Moldova (NORLAM) activities in the country, completed in 2017, the project aims at supporting the enhancement of the prison management practices, the improvement of the quality of the provision of health care to inmates (including mental health care), supporting the probation in raising its profile, promoting the value of community sanctions and measures among all actors of the criminal justice system and strengthening of treatment programmes and protocols for patients in psychiatric establishments (including forensic patients).