HF II North Macedonia - Enhancing penitentiary system External Oversight Mechanism

As 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), the Council of Europe implemented the Action “Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system and the External Oversight Mechanism in North Macedonia”, in close cooperation and partnership with the Ministry of Justice (Directorate for Execution of Sanctions), Ministry of Health, Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Ombudsman’s Office. The Action also involved a wide group of other national stakeholders, including prominent civil society organisations active in the area of protection and promotion of human rights.

The main aim of the Action was to contribute to a safer and more humane society that respects and protects the rights of detained and sentenced persons in line with the Council of Europe standards in the area of penitentiary and law enforcement.

The key Conventions for this Action were the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), as well as the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

The duration of the project was set at 36 months and it was completed by 31 December 2022, with an overall budget of 1,050,000 Euros.

Project documentation

Useful information

PROJECT NEWS

Back Development of Standard Operating Procedures on provision of healthcare in prisons in North Macedonia

@ Council of Europe

With aim to improve health services in prisons and address the shortcomings identified by the Committee for Prevention of Torture (CPT), the authorities in North Macedonia, supported by a CoE consultant, discussed the first draft of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on the provision of efficient healthcare in prisons during a working group (WG) meeting that took place in Skopje on 15-16 December 2021.

The WG members, namely doctors working in the prisons Idrizovo, Shtip, Skopje and Tetovo, representatives from the Ministry of Health, as well as representatives from the Directorate for the Execution of Sanctions, contributed to designing the SOP by sharing their experiences and practical knowledge. The SOP, which sets unified procedures to be applied in all prisons in North Macedonia, further specifies the actions to be undertaken during the different phases of healthcare provision, beginning with admission, regular screenings, registering indicators of ill-treatment and handling medications, ending with the prisoner’s final check prior to release. The document has been drafted in line with the CoE standards and best practices.

It is expected this SOP to be finalised and piloted in up to two prisons in 2022, in order to evaluate its applicability within the country’s prison context.

This activity was organised under the Action “Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system and the external oversight mechanism in North Macedonia”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe within the “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022" and implemented by the Council of Europe.

North Macedonia 16 December 2021