HF II Albania - Enhancing the protection of Human Rights for prisoners

Building upon the results achieved from the implementation of the first phase of European Union and Council of Europe programmatic framework “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey” (Horizontal Facility), the new Action “Enhancing the protection of human rights of prisoners in Albania” assisted the Albanian authorities to further enhance prison reform and the protection of the human rights of prisoners. It was implemented in close partnership with the Ministry of Justice, the Directorate General of the Prison Administration and with other relevant institutions and stakeholders, including civil society organisations active in the penitentiary field.

The Action covered four main areas:

Introduction of the effective human resources and sustainable training programme for prison management;
Strengthening the provision of health care to prisoners with a particular focus on detainees with mental disorders and the implementation of suicide prevention strategy;
Strengthening the process of rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners with a particular focus on the implementation of a standard system of risk management;
Improvements in the treatment of vulnerable groups of prisoners, in particular high risk /violent prisoners, sex offenders and female prisoners.

The Action was completed on 31 December 2022, with an overall budget of 640,000 EUR.

Project documentation

Useful information

Project news

Back The Albanian prison system drafts the Action Plan for the national roll out of Risk and Needs Assessment and Individual Sentence Planning at the national level

@ Council of Europe

As part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen the protection of human rights of prisoners in Albania, professionals of the penitentiary system- representatives of the General Directorate of Prison Administration (DGPA), six prison facilities, and the Council of Europe (CoE) came together to design a new standardised national methodology for the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners.

During a 2.5-day working group meeting, organised in Korca between 29 and 31 March 2022, Albanian prison professionals evaluated the results of the piloting of Risk and Needs Assessment (RNA) and the Individual Sentence Planning (ISP) done in three prisons (Peqin, Fier and 'Ali Demi'), during the period January-June 2021. As part of this process, the advantages and difficulties encountered during the implementation of RNA and ISP on the ground were identified. Furthermore, the working group designed a national implementation plan, laying out the necessary interventions which would allow for the rolling out of these instruments at the national level.

To respond to the real needs of the Albanian penitentiary system, the working group drafted policy interventions to be implemented by DGPA, as well as auxiliary plans which define the concrete measures for the implementation of RNA and ISP in each penitentiary institution. At the opening session, the Director General of the DGPA highlighted that the ambition of the Albanian penitentiary system is to adopt a contemporary approach to prisoners’ rehabilitation and reintegration aligned with CoE standards and best practices.

This activity was organised within the scope of the action "Enhancing the protection of human rights of prisoners in Albania", a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe - Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022.

Korca, Albania 1 April 2022