SPERU+ Further Support the Prison Reform in Ukraine

This project was co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in co-operation with the main partners, namely the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the State Department of Execution of Criminal Sanctions and other relevant national stakeholders of the penitentiary system in Ukraine.

SPERU+ aligns with the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026. Particularly, the Project addressed the objective of ‘continued support to the authorities in building modern prison and probation systems with a focus on shifting from punitive to rehabilitative approaches in the context of war and post-war recovery period’.

Building upon the successes of the EU and CoE Joint Project "Support the Prison Reform in Ukraine" (JP SPERU), SPERU+ strategically leverages the reform objectives outlined in Ukraine's "Strategy for Penitentiary Reform 2021-2026." The overarching goal was the creation of a humane penitentiary system that facilitates the social reintegration of inmates, through the following:

Further revision of existing/introduction of new principles of modern prison management, in line with Council of Europe standards and best practices, including addressing shortcomings identified in ECtHR judgements against Ukraine.
Improvement of the application of rehabilitation approaches and instruments to shift from a punitive to a more rehabilitative regime.

The project implementation ended in December 2023.

Project documentation

Work plan (September - December 2023)

Useful information

Project news

Back Senior management of Ukraine’s penitentiary system visits Council of Europe headquarters

Nino LAPACHI

Modified 2 Years ago.

@ Council of Europe

On 11-12 December 2023, a delegation of officials in charge of Ukraine’s penitentiary system, led by Deputy Minister of Justice Olena Vysotska, participated in a study visit to the Council of Europe.

The programme of the two-day visit included closing the joint EU and Council of Europe Project ”Support to the prison reform in Ukraine Plus (SPERU+)”, launching a new project for the Ukrainian penitentiary system and meeting representatives of relevant Council’s bodies and institutions.

During the SPERU+ closing event, the participants discussed the results and success achieved within the short-term SPERU+ Project and the main challenges faced while implementing the Penitentiary Refrom Strategy of Ukraine 2021-2026.

The speakers highlighted the importance of the Council of Europe’s assistance to the penitentiary system of Ukraine in overcoming its structural problems and shifting from punitive to rehabilitative approach in prisons.

The Cooperation in Police and Deprivation of Liberty Division, in its turn, confirmed the commitment of the Council of Europe to support the Ministry of Justice in advancing the reforms and presented a framework for the next project “Towards more humane detention conditions and reduced reoffending in Ukraine” (DECOPRIS), which will aim to enhance the protection of human rights of prisoners by way of improving the quality of prison management in Ukraine.

The delegation also met Christophe Poirel, Director of Human Rights, representatives of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court, Human Rights Commissioner’s Office and the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights. These meetings contributed to further cooperation and increased awareness of the delegation of the outstanding issues and challenges regarding the rights of persons deprived of liberty in Ukraine.

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

Strasbourg 11-12 December 2023