Strengthening the Protection of the Rights of Persons in Detention in Armenia

Building upon the results achieved from the implementation of the Project “Enhancing healthcare and human rights protection in prisons in Armenia”, the Project “Strengthening the Protection of the Rights of Persons in Detention” financed by Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023 – 2026 assists the Armenian authorities to further enhance penitentiary reform and prison health care, and the protection of the human rights of persons deprived of liberty. The Council of Europe is providing support at policy and operational levels assisting authorities to accomplish penitentiary reform goals and trigger changes in practices throughout the prison system especially after the adoption of the Criminal Code, Criminal Procedural Code as well as Penitentiary Code in June 2022.
The Project is implemented in close cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Prison Medicine Centre, as well as other stakeholders including the civil society organisations.
The Project focuses on following priority areas:

Further enhancing the institutional capacity of the Prison Medicine Centre in order to provide quality health care in the penitentiary system;
Further consolidating the knowledge and skills of medical and non-medical staff on different topics on provision of health care;
Strengthening the capacities of prison staff to apply tools and rehabilitation programmes for persons deprived of liberty;
Harmonizing the regulatory framework on human rights with the new Penitentiary Code.

The key Conventions for this Project are the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), as well as the findings and the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
The duration of the Project was set at 24 months, and it was completed on 31 December 2024, with an overall budget of 550 000 Euros.

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Back Healthcare behind bars: Armenia's path to better prison healthcare

On September 17, 2024, Yerevan hosted a conference on the future of prison healthcare in Armenia, bringing together experts, policymakers, and international representatives for intense discussions. The aim of the conference was to explore and evaluate the challenges, achievements, and future directions of the prison healthcare reform in Armenia while facilitating dialogue among the key stakeholders.

The event follows the transfer of the Prison Medicine Centre from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Health in April 2023. This transition, supported by the Council of Europe, aimed to align Armenia's prison healthcare system with national and international health care standards and ensure that the care provided to inmates meets the same level of quality as the one offered to the general population. It is an important milestone on the way to improving the quality of healthcare provided to inmates and an important part of the prison reform.

Opening the conference Maxime Longangue, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, highlighted the importance of this transition and of the cooperation between the line Ministries. He was joined by Lena Nanushyan, First Deputy Minister of Health, Levon Balyan, Deputy Minister of Justice who both highlighted the progress made and the challenges that remain.

The participants reflected upon the Council of Europe’s recommendations on the transfer of prison healthcare, which have been crucial in guiding Armenia through this complex process. The current state of prison healthcare under the Ministry of Health was also reviewed, highlighting the benefits and challenges of this approach. International best practices were reviewed, particularly lessons from Kosovo’s* prison healthcare system, offering valuable benchmarks for Armenia’s ongoing reforms. Additionally, the current situation and needs in relation to the execution of judgements and compliance with the recommendations of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment were presented and discussed.

The conference was concluded with a commitment from all stakeholders to further strengthen the cooperation and continue the reform process, with a focus on overcoming the identified obstacles and enhancing the overall quality of healthcare in Armenian prisons.

This event is part of the Council of Europe’s support within the framework of the Project “Strengthening the protection of the rights of persons in detention” that assists the national authorities to further enhance penitentiary reform, prison health care and the protection of human rights of persons deprived of liberty. The Project is financed within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023-2026 and implemented by the Council of Europe.

Armenia 18 September 2024