29 February 2024, Chisinau – The sixth Steering Committee meeting of the Council of Europe Project “Strengthening the prison and probation reforms, provision of health care and the treatment of patients in closed institutions in the Republic of Moldova” was held in Chisinau.

With the participation of 19 representatives from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Ministry of Health (MoH), National Administration of Penitentiaries (NAP), and National Probation Inspectorate (NPI) the meeting focused on reviewing and endorsing the progress achieved in the field of criminal justice and public health, with the support of the project throughout 2023 while outlining common priorities to be addressed by the end of 2024.

Building on previous results, the project successfully contributed to improving policy and legislation in the field of mental health and wellbeing (in respect of prisoners and prison staff) as well as to advancing national standards on treatment of prisoners in closed institutions in line with CPT recommendations. To support resocialisation and reintegration of inmates, gradual and tangible progress was attained in both management of risk in prisons and introduction of new tools and guidance on individualised sentence planning. In supporting institutional capacities in prison and probation, the project focused on new programmes for the most vulnerable groups including women and children in conflict with the law, as well as on exchanges of best practices and interinstitutional cooperation.

In his opening speech, the Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, Marius Ciprian Toth, stated that “the NAP, NPI, MoJ and MoH have developed a strong working relationship with the Council of Europe, and are fully engaged in all Project activities. The joint efforts have materialised in several endorsed recommendations, such as new Rules approved by the MoJ on healthcare delivery and management of medicines in the prison system. We are confident to see in the near future progress in addressing as well other CPT recommendations such as granting compassionate release to seriously ill persons in detention, and on preventing inter-prisoner violence; and we will continue the cooperation with the MoJ and beneficiary institutions to fully support the rehabilitation programmes and professional tools developed and piloted with the support of the Project in the last 5 years, for the individualised treatment of prisoners”.

Following the discussions and agreement on the priorities for the Project's concluding phase, the Steering Committee endorsed an operational Work Plan covering the period of March-December 2024.

The Project has a duration of 46 months and is financed through the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova (2021-2024).

Building on the achievements of the Council of Europe Programme “Promoting a human rights compliant criminal justice system in the Republic of Moldova” (2018-2021), the Project aims at supporting the enhancement of the prison management practices, the improvement of the quality of the provision of health care to inmates (including mental health care), supporting the probation in raising its profile, promoting the value of community sanctions and measures among all actors of the criminal justice system and strengthening of treatment programmes and protocols for patients in psychiatric establishments (including forensic patients).