On 12 December 2023, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine Maciej Janczak met Serhiy Hrechaniuk, Head of the State Department for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions of Ukraine, to hand over computer equipment.

The purchase of 40 sets of IT equipment (including personal computers, multifunction devices, uninterrupted power supply units and software licences) took place within the scope of the Joint Project "Further Support to the Penitentiary Reform in Ukraine plus" (SPERU+). 40 prisons in Ukraine received one set of equipment each to facilitate their access to the Unified register of convicted persons, improving case management in these institutions.

"The State Department for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions of Ukraine is a reliable partner of the Council of Europe, with whom we have been closely cooperating within the framework of our Joint Programme with the European Union for many years. We are extremely happy to strengthen the work of the Department's employees <…> with the Unified Register of Convicts and Detainees, and thereby contribute to the process of digitalization of the penitentiary system," said Mr Janczak, handing over the equipment.

The parties confirmed the need to continue cooperation in embedding new principles of modern management of penitentiary institutions in accordance with the standards and best practices of the Council of Europe. This includes eliminating the shortcomings identified by the European Court of Human Rights in its decisions against Ukraine, as well as expanding the use of rehabilitation approaches and tools for the transition from a punitive to a more rehabilitative regime.