PROJECT DESCRIPTION

“European Union and Council of Europe working together to support the Prison Reform in Ukraine Plus” (SPERU+ Project) is the forth component of the Joint Project of the European Union and the Council of Europe “European Union and Council of Europe working together to strengthening human rights in Ukraine”.

SPERU+ Project is fully in line with the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026, adopted by the Decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe CM/Del/Dec(2022)1452 as of 14 December 2022. Particularly, the Project will address 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’.

SPERU+ Project builds on the results achieved within the EU and the CoE Joint Project “Support the Prison Reform in Ukraine” (JP SPERU) as well as on the strategic goals and reform plans adopted by the Government of Ukraine in the Strategy for Penitentiary Reform 2021-2026 towards “creation of a humane system of execution of criminal sanctions, that will guarantee the safety in the society and ensure social adaptation of inmates”.

LONG-TERM OUTCOMES:

1. 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;
2. Improvement of the application of rehabilitation approaches and instruments to shift from a punitive to a more rehabilitative regime.

Duration of the Project – 9 months (till end December 2023)

Project Budget – EUR 500 000

PROJECT PARTNERS

Ministry of Justice of Ukraine (Міністерство юстиції України), State Department of Execution of the Criminal Sanctions of Ukraine (Департамент з питань виконання кримінальних покарань).