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 Prison staff from Western Balkans exchanges experiences on VEPs rehabilitation

@ Council of Europe

Prison staff from Montenegro and Albania profited from a 2-day study visit to Kosovo*, namely to Dubrava and the High Security Prison (HSP) of the Kosovo Corrections Services (KCS). The visit was marked with discussions among colleagues about the latest developments, challenges and solutions when it comes to management of violent extremist prisoners (VEPs) and addressing radicalisation in prisons.

The visitors from Montenegro and Albania got introduced to KCS prison management role in preventing radicalisation, while through the discussions with the multi-disciplinary teams they got acquainted with the rehabilitation process and the development and piloting of the VEP-specific tools and programme and its first results. The role of the prison intelligence, both from security and rehabilitation perspective, was of particular interest during the meetings, having in mind KCS is the first penitentiary system in the region to have such a service put in place.

The participants in this activity also visited VEPs accommodation areas, vocational training and workshops and got familiar with the occupational therapy offered to VEPs. The positive features and lessons learnt during this visit will serve as good basis for reviewing their own approaches in VEPs management and rehabilitation.

This study visit took place on 3 and 4 November 2021, and was organised within the scope of the Regional Action “Enhancing penitentiary capacities in addressing radicalisation in the prisons in Western Balkans”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe under the second phase of the “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey” and implemented by the Council of Europe.

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

Western Balkans 3-4 November 2021