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 Inter-institutional cooperation of outmost importance for preparation for release and post-penal assistance of Violent Extremist Prisoners (VEPs) towards their full reintegration back into the society

Inter-institutional cooperation of outmost importance for preparation for release and post-penal assistance of Violent Extremist Prisoners (VEPs) towards their full reintegration back into the society

The second session under the regional Working Group (WG) on “Preparation for release and post-penal assistance of VEPs” discussed the needs and strengths of the current practices and the challenges the Beneficiaries in the Western Balkans face. During the WG meeting, which took place on 04-06 November 2020 in a form of series of bilateral online sessions, the WG members shared their experiences and suggestions on how to better prepare VEPs and other radicalised inmates for release. At the same time, they got acquainted with practices implemented in other European countries and enhanced their understanding of Council of Europe standards and RAN approaches.

All WG members agreed that multidisciplinary approach and continuous inter-institutional cooperation are of outmost importance when it comes to reintegration of VEPs back into society. The participants coming from the Prison and Probation Services, Coordination mechanisms for preventing and countering violent extremism and Centers for Social work, once again highlighted the needs for further training and developing specific guidelines on their role and responsibilities and protocols on information sharing during the process. The information received during the WG meeting will be used for developing a matrix with recommendations for unification of pre-release and post-penal assistance tools, structures and processes in the region.

This activity was facilitated by three Council of Europe consultants and 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.

4-6 November 2020