PENITENTIARY

CPDL supports countries in enhancing prisoners' human rights through enhancing the provision of health care including mental health in prisons, and introduction of treatment programmes for detained persons, including sustainable rehabilitation of violent extremist prisoners, prisons and probation cooperation, introducing dynamic security, improving the juvenile justice systems, and strengthening the education/training of penitentiary staff.

Link to the CPDL ongoing projects list

Example

Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system and the External Oversight Mechanism in North Macedonia. A new National Strategy for the Development of the Penitentiary System has been developed and as well as an External Oversight Mechanism (EOM) which supports and protects victim of human rights violations perpetrated by persons with police authority or prison police, by providing an effective investigation into all such allegations.

This action implemented by the CPDL Division is part of the co-operation framework co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, known as the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey, phase II (Horizontal Facility II).

 

PROBATION

CPDL assists countries to fully endorse the concept of probation in practice through providing the necessary legislative, institutional and operational framework.

Link to the CPDL projects list

Example

Probation services developed in Armenia. The CPDL Division has assisted national authorities establishing legislative, institutional and operational frameworks.

 The “Support the Scaling-Up of the Probation Service in Armenia” Project is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2019-2022.

 

LAW ENFORCEMENT

A Network of National Police Correspondents (Police Network) has been launched within the framework of the conference on "Policing in digital age: how new technologies can help better policing our modern societies" in June 2022. In the framework of the Police Network, police services of the member States will be able to learn more of the CoE work relevant for police, but also to share good practices and exchange of views on human rights, democracy and the rule of law, study common challenges in the fight against new forms of crime or new social phenomena, among other things.

 

The Police Network will organise an annual conference on police matters to analysis new challenges, exchange information and best practices and strengthen partnerships. The conference on police matters has been organised with the same aim in the past and addressed some issues of particular interest of the member States’ police services, such as:

Multilateral and bilateral projects and activities with national authorities were also implemented.

Link to the activities organised in the field of Police

Example

A training session for temporary detention centre officials in Azerbaijan: “Standards processing and respect for detainee’s rights, for a better detention service”.

The seminar took place on 28-29 April in Baku following CPT’s recommendation made during its periodic visit to the country in 2020.

35 police officers were trained in Human Rights principles and in the respect for detainee’s rights.

 

OTHER CLOSED INSTITUTIONS

CPDL assists countries in respecting the human rights of persons de facto deprived of their liberty by a public authority, such as social care institutions and psychiatric establishments.

Link to the CPDL ongoing projects list

Example

Enhancing human rights protection of persons with mental disabilities detained in psychiatric or social care institutions in Serbia.

This action implemented by the CPDL Division is part of the co-operation framework co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, known as the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey, phase II (Horizontal Facility II).

 

Example

Strengthening treatment of patients in psychiatric establishments (including forensic patients) in line with European standards (in particular, enhancing the treatment programmes and protocols and improving the knowledge and skills of staff in applying them within multidisciplinary teams) in Moldova.

The Project “Strengthening the prison and probation reforms, provision of health care and treatment of patients in closed institutions in the Republic of Moldova” (“SPPRH Project”) is in line with the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova for 2021-2024.