HF II Regional - Enhancing penitentiary capacities in addressing radicalisation in prisons

As part of the second phase of the European Union and the Council of Europe co-funded cooperation framework “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey” (Horizontal Facility II), the Council of Europe implemented a Regional Action on “Enhancing penitentiaries capacities in addressing radicalization in prisons in Western Balkans”. The Action was implemented in close cooperation with the Ministries of Justice and the P/CVE coordination bodies of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Republic of Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia…. The Action included a wide spectrum of other national stakeholders and civil society organizations active in the penitentiary field and countering violent extremism and radicalisation in prisons.

The main aim of the Action was to enhance regional security by improving the inter-institutional exchange of knowledge and good practices in the region in respect of radicalization in prisons, with a view on providing penitentiary system staff with necessary standards, tools and instruments needed to respond appropriately. Another important goal was to empower in-county multi-agency coordination to counter radicalization in prison and to provide adequate post-penal support to released violent extremist offenders.

The Action also assisted the national authorities to ensure that the application of the tools and mechanisms on national level with regards to addressing radicalisation in prisons further strengthens in light of the identified good practices in the region.

The Action’s duration was set at 36 months and it iwas completed by 31 December 2022, with an overall budget of 2,000,000.000 Euros.

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

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Back Assessment tool for Violent extremist Prisoners (VEPs) in Kosovo* developed

The working group (WG) on the development of rehabilitation tools and programme for violent extremist prisoners (VEPs) in Kosovo continued its work towards the finalisation of the VEP-specific risk and needs assessment (RNA) tool and its user’s guide. The session took place on 08 July 2020 as online meeting, facilitated by one CoE international consultant.

The participants discussed the draft tool, provided their feedback and further exchanged views on the scope of application with regards to specific categories of prisoners and the verification of the RNA tool for violent extremism and racialisation in the prisons in Kosovo. As a result, the consultant will finalise the RNA tool, which will be then piloted in up to two prison establishments later this year.

The WG is composed of representatives of the Kosovo Corrections Service with different backgrounds and coming from various prisons and staff from the Kosovo Probation Service.

This activity was organized within the scope of the Regional Action “Enhancing penitentiary capacities in addressing radicalisation in prisons in the Western Balkans” that is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe within the “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022” and implemented by the Council of Europe.

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

Strasbourg/Pristina 8 July 2020