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 Skill-based trainings on suicide prevention guidelines for Armenian prison leadership

In an effort to enhance suicide prevention capabilities within Armenian penitentiary institutions, the Council of Europe (CoE) conducted comprehensive training sessions on the guidelines for suicide intervention plans on 30 and 31 January 2024 in Yerevan. The initiative aimed to equip Heads, Deputy Heads, and Department Heads of all Armenian penitentiary institutions with the essential knowledge and skills required to effectively respond to suicidal behaviour within prison facilities once such a risk has been identified.

The training sessions were designed in accordance with the "Guide on specific interventions for suicide prevention in Armenian prisons" – a comprehensive framework developed by national and international CoE consultants. The participants engaged in interactive learning sessions, gathering practical insights and strategies tailored to the unique challenges arising in a prison environment.

Following these initial sessions, the Project will implement a series of follow-up training sessions for the multidisciplinary team members, fulfilling the CoE’s commitment to help Armenian authorities appropriately tackle mental health challenges within correctional facilities. These follow-up sessions will have the goal of passing this essential knowledge and skills on to psychiatrists, psychologists and security staff tasked with handling self-harm and suicide cases within prison facilities.

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 01.02.2024