Following the capacity building activities and recommendations steaming from the piloting of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on post-penal support to released violent extremist offenders (VEOs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2025, the Council of Europe continues to support the local multidisciplinary teams in further strengthening the post-penal support to VEOs.

In this respect, a second Working Group (WG) meeting was held on 22-23 April 2026 in Bihać, at which the participants further reviewed the draft Guidelines for improving the application of the related SOPs and the accompanying operational tools, with a viewpoint of their finalisation. These guidelines aim to further strengthen inter-institutional co-operation and provide clear practical guidance to practitioners in local communities involved in the rehabilitation and reintegration of VEOs and other offenders at risk of radicalisation.

The meeting gathered representatives of the Ministries of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, State prison, Bijeljina prison, as well as members of local multidisciplinary teams from Zavidovići and Jajce, and Council of Europe consultants to facilitate this process. They discussed and refined the components of the guidelines related to individual rehabilitation and reintegration plan, risk management on individual level, as well as monitoring and evaluation process.

The Council of Europe Project Providing for effective reintegration of violent extremist offenders in Bosnia and Herzegovina (PER-VEO) – Phase II is implemented under the Council of Europe’s Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2026-2029 and funded through voluntary contributions.