Senior police officials and policymakers from across South-East Europe met for a two-day Regional Conference on “Human Rights in Police Custody: Implementing Council of Europe Standards”, held on 19–20 November in Tirana, Albania.

The conference organised by the Cooperation in Police and Deprivation of Libery division of the Council of Europe gathered representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia alongside Council of Europe experts and members of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).

The event strengthened regional dialogue on the implementation of safeguards against ill-treatment in police custody, drawing on CPT findings, ECtHR case law, and practical experiences from police services in the region.

The discussions touched upon such important issues as zero-tolerance approaches to ill-treatment by police leadership, human rights training for police managers and custody officers, core safeguards such as custody records, medical examinations and documentation of injuries; situation of vulnerable groups in detention, and modern interrogation techniques such as investigative interviewing.

The participants gained a deeper understanding of the implementation of Council of Europe standards and exchanged the good practices as well as gaps on police custody in their respective jurisdictions.

The conference concluded with a commitment to deepen cooperation between police institutions in South-East Europe and the Council of Europe. The event also featured a presentation of the Council of Europe Police Network, which will serve as a platform for continued dialogue and exchange on human rights-based policing.

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