Enhancing Health care and Human Rights protection in prisons in Armenia

This 30-months project is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2019-2022. It is implemented by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health and the Penitentiary Medicine Center.

The aim of the project is to further support the national authorities in reforming healthcare provision and human rights for sentenced persons in Armenia in line with the European standards.

Attention will be given to the following three areas:

enhancing regulatory and operational framework for provision of in line with European standards;
improvement of the material conditions and the provision of healthcare in prisons;
capacity building of the Penitentiary Medicine Centre (PMC).

The project will particularly focus on the improvement of prison healthcare services through introduction of new technologies in healthcare services, such as telemedicine and electronic database system of medical records, ensuring protection of healthcare rights of mentally-ill persons in penitentiary institutions, improvement of preventive healthcare, particularly sanitary-epidemiological and hygienic conditions and control mechanism, modernizing hospital/specialized medical care and services in the penitentiary institutions. Project activities should significantly contribute to improving effectiveness, transparency and accountability of penitentiary prison healthcare in general and the PMC in particular. Proper documentation and reporting on indications of torture, ill-treatment, inhumane and degrading treatment will stay in focus and addressed.

The amount devoted to this project is 750,000 Euros and its implementation started in November 2019 to end in December 2022.

Project documentation

Useful information

PROJECT NEWS

Back Armenian penitentiary health care staff trained on provision of health care in prisons

Prison medical staff (18) strengthened their knowledge and practical skills on provision of health care in penitentiary system, and in particular on hunger strike management, prevention of suicide, medical control, psychiatric assistance, and care for patients at self-harm risk, as well as medical ethics in penitentiary facilities. The participants stressed the importance of the above topics for their daily work as well as providing urgent medical aid, organizing patient care, by observing the universally recognized principles of medical ethics, that have been covered through the seminar.

The training session which took place in person on 30-31 October 2021 is based on a manual earlier developed by the project in line with the Council of Europe standards. Overall, four sessions are planned and will involve all medical staff of the penitentiary system with the aim of enhancing the efficiency of provision of healthcare to persons deprived of liberty and strengthening, as well as the skills and capacities of nurses and caregivers.

The training was organized under the framework of the project “Enhancing health care and human rights protection in prisons in Armenia” implemented by the Council of Europe and funded through the Action Plan for Armenia 2019 -2022.

Armenia 03/11/2021