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.

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PROJECT NEWS

Back The Council of Europe continues supporting the Ministry of Interior in Serbia in aligning the legislation with European standards

@ Council of Europe

On 10 September 2020, a Bylaw on Police Powers was discussed with representatives of various structures within the Ministry of Interior in a meeting in Belgrade and coordinated online by a Council of Europe international consultant.

At the request of the Ministry of Interior, the Council of Europe provided expert assessment on the Serbian Bylaw on Police Powers. It examined the compatibility of the provisions of the Bylaw with the Council of Europe and other international standards and provided recommendations in this regard, such as, inter alia…. developing guidelines that regulate in detail the process of interrogation, as well as establishing special safeguards for treatment of vulnerable groups, in particular persons with mental health impairment.

The meeting aimed at presenting this assessment report and to collect the feedback of the representatives of the Ministry of Interior. The discussion created fruitful ground for future Council of Europe work on human rights-based legislation improvement.

Final assessment with recommendations for improvement of the Bylaw will be drafted and submitted to the authorities for swift consideration.

This activity was organised by the EU and Council of Europe Joint Project “Enhancing Human Rights Protection for Detained and Sentenced Persons in Serbia”, Phase II (Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey II), which is designed to support the Serbian authorities in ensuring the implementation of the key European standards and assists further progress in the European integration process.

Serbia 15 September 2020