The Council of Europe continues supporting the Ukrainian prison system by aligning its legislative and regulatory framework with European standards.

On 14 April 2021, a draft updated Guide on Prisoners' Legal Rights was presented to the national partners in an online meeting.

Based on the 2016 Guide on Prisoners' Legal Rights, developed within the previous project "Further support for penitentiary reform in Ukraine" (2016-2018), the new Guide provides prisoners (including women and juveniles) with information on their rights and obligations, conditions of early release, national and international mechanisms for the protection of prisoners' rights, etc. Drafted in a user-friendly language, the Guide will contribute to the creation of favourable climate in penitentiary institutions, where both convicts and staff have the same knowledge about the rights and obligations of prisoners.

The presentation of the Guide was followed by a discussion. The representatives of the Department for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions, its five Interregional departments, Prison Healthcare and Probation Centres, CoE, EU, ICRC and the NORLAU project, provided their comments.

Based on the outcome of this first meeting and the feedback given by the national partners, a second meeting will be organised in the near future to finalise the draft Guide with a view of its publication and dissemination.

This activity is organised within the framework of the EU 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.