HF II Serbia - Strenghtening Human Rights treatment of detained persons

As a 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 (Horizontal Facility), the Council of Europe has implemented, as one of the Actions in Serbia, the Action Enhancing human rights protection for detained and sentenced persons - Phase II, in close partnership with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, NPM/Ombudsperson Office, Office for Human and Minority Rights and Serbian European Integration Office. The Action was also including a wide spectrum of other national stakeholders, as well as civil society organizations active in the field of protection and promotion of human rights.

The Action focused on the safeguards against ill-treatment of arrested and detained persons, the human rights protection of prisoners through improved policy and reintegration measures, as well as human rights protection of persons with mental disabilities detained in psychiatric or social care institutions.

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). These commitments are part of the Serbia's EU accession negotiations and accomplishment of goals defined in strategic documents and in particular Chapters 23 and 24.

The Action, which started on 24 May 2019 and was completed on 31 December 2022, had an overall budget of 900,000 euros.

Project documentation

Useful information

PROJECT NEWS

Back Improving the Capacity of Prison Treatment Staff in Serbia

@ Council of Europe

The 1st Peer-to-Peer training for prison treatment staff on using new Offender Behaviour Programs is organized in Vrdnik in period 31 May to 04 June 2021.

Treatment officers (19) from 9 Serbian prisons enhanced their knowledge and skills on conducting and facilitating workshops for prisoners, with particular emphasis on violent offenders, including those convicted for family violence, as well as prisoners who are addicted to drugs or alcohol.

The training sessions for prison treatment staff are the final step in a 4-year long process that has started in HF phase I with the drafting of five new Offender Behaviour Programmes in Serbian prisons. A series of peer-to-peer training sessions for all 200 treatment officers will be organised in the forthcoming period. This represents a stepping stone in developing unified system of carrying out offender treatment programmes in the prison system. Consequently, all prisons in Serbia will be equipped to deliver programmes and interventions based on the same syllabus and using same methods and techniques.

The training was organised in the framework of the Project “Enhancing Human Rights Protection for Detained and Sentenced Persons in Serbia”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe within the framework of Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey II.

Serbia 4 June 2021