On 9 November 2023, a high-level expert roundtable was held in Lviv to discuss the issues of involvement of convicts in labour, as well as to present a draft Law of Ukraine “On amending certain legislative acts of Ukraine (regarding the peculiarities of involving convicts in labour, and economic operations in the penitentiary system)”.

The event gathered  members of the Parliament of Ukraine, senior officials of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), representatives of the Department of Criminal Sentences, Lviv Regional Military Administration, Industrial Chamber and local business.

The speakers emphasized the importance of legislative initiatives aimed at modernising the manufacturing capacities of the prison system and stimulating cooperation between business and penitentiary institutions, thus increasing the labour resources of Ukraine and improving the conditions of detention of convicts.

The MoJ presented the draft law and underlined that the work of convicts is an important element of resocialization, the idea of which permeates the entire Penitentiary Reform Strategy till 2026. The Council of Europe, in its turn, presented an expert analysis of the draft Law and recommendations to it based on best European practices.

The high-level expert roundtable was followed by a regional meeting with senior managers of the Western Prison Administration and heads of penitentiary institutions of the region, who agreed that the work of prisoners should be considered exclusively as the main element of preparation for their reintegration into society.

The participants also visited Lviv pretrial detention centre (SIZO) and Drohobych prison to get acquainted with prison workshops and existing manufacturing capacities for employment there.

These activities were organized within the framework of the EU and CoE Joint Project ”Support to the prison reform in Ukraine Plus (SPERU+)”.