On 17 March 2026 in Belgrade, the Council of Europe organised a conference to present the findings of the needs assessments conducted in the areas covered by the Joint Programme on improving the treatment of prisoners with mental health problems and  on strengthening alternative sanctions.

As a first step, the Council of Europe consultants visited Serbia to identify gaps, assess the needs and accordingly prepared recommendations for further improvements. These recommendations were then presented to more than 80 participants, including psychiatrists and other professionals from the Special Prison Hospital and psychiatric hospitals with forensic departments, probation officers, social workers, representatives of non‑governmental organisations, and relevant ministries. Stakeholders had the opportunity to discuss the recommendations and propose steps to be taken to achieve the objectives set by the project.

It was concluded that, building on CPT recommendations, psychiatric care must be individualised through specific treatment plans for each patient, encompassing a range of therapeutic and rehabilitative activities. Furthermore, the project will support the development of appropriate models to enhance individual treatment plans and treatment programmes.

In addition to strengthening prison mental health care, and following the assessment report’s findings, the project will provide significant support to improving and ensuring more efficient implementation of alternative sanctions, including the development of new treatment programmes for persons sentenced to house arrest. It will also support the design of programmes to assist former prisoners, particularly the most vulnerable, in successfully reintegrating into society.

The conference was conducted under the joint European Union and Council of Europe Joint Programme “Improving the treatment of prisoners with mental health problems and strengthening alternative sanctions in Serbia”.