SPERU - Further Support to the Penitentiary 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 Executive Service and its interregional branches, the Parliamentary Assembly, the Supreme Court of Ukraine, the General Prosecutor Office, the Ombudsmen Office and Civil Society organisations and other relevant national stakeholders interested in penitentiary reform in Ukraine.

Thanks to this project, Ukrainian authorities have been assisted in the promotion of Human rights in the management of prisons as well as in the further development of a rehabilitative approach to offenders in line with the Council of Europe standards, in particular those of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture an Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), and taking into account the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Joint Programme (JP) SPERU achieved the following outcomes:

enhancement of Justice system actors’ awareness to proceed with the penitentiary reform based on the Council of Europe standards
partnerships between the justice system, community services and civil society are facilitated to enhance resocialization and reintegration of prisoners
justice system capacity is enhanced to develop and implement healthcare strategy in prisons

Further support to the reforms in the field of prison and the protection of prisoners’ rights is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2021.

The project implementation started in July 2019 and ended bewteen October 2021 and April 2022.

Project documentation

Useful information

PROJECT NEWS

Back New rehabilitation programmes initiated in the Ukrainian prisons

The Council of Europe continues assisting Ukraine in developing and implementing rehabilitation programmes for prisoners in line with the European standards and best practices.

A "Problem Solving as Transferrable Skills for Prisoners" programme was launched in the Correctional Colonies No 64 (Naderzhynshynsk) and No 65 (Poltava), separately for 14 female and 13 male adult prisoners.

The programme is designed as cognitive behavioural therapy to develop and improve both life-saving problem-solving and decision-making skills to prevent misconduct and encourage prosocial thinking.

The launching event was attended by Ms Natalia Rybalko, Deputy Head of the Department for Execution of Criminal Sanctions and Mr Valeriy Kalivoshko, Head of the Department of Resocialization and Social Rehabilitation, who will implement the programme taking into account the specific needs of convicted women and men and the behavioural patterns of inmates depending on the security regime.

Based on the pilot programme results, the Methodological Handbook for the Problem-Solving Program will be finalised and presented to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine for adoption.

The programme, its development, piloting and launching was organised within the European Union and Council of Europe Joint Project "Support to Prison Reform in Ukraine - SPERU", which is designed to promote human rights compliant management of prisons, including better alignment of prison healthcare provisions with European standards.

Ukraine 8 September 2021