ACTION DESCRIPTION

The Council of Europe (CoE) will assist the local authorities in overcoming the identified shortcomings and practical deficiencies related to the treatment of apprehended or persons under police custody in Kosovo*.

The project will be implemented in close partnership with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, namely the Kosovo Police and the Police Inspectorate (PIK). It will also include other local stakeholders, such as the Kosovo Academy for Public Safety (KAPS), Ombudsperson and the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), the Public Prosecutor’s Office, judiciary and civil society organisations.

The Project is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe as part of the “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey” (Horizontal Facility) and will be implemented by the Council of Europe. The Horizontal Facility will provide technical assistance and expertise in the areas of ensuring justice; fighting corruption, economic crime and money laundering; promoting freedom of expression and information; and promoting anti-discrimination and protection of the rights of vulnerable groups, with the aim to assist the authorities in implementing key recommendations of relevant CoE bodies, prioritised according to the needs within the enlargement negotiations of the European Union.

Action Outcomes and Outputs:

The project aims at enhancing the human rights protections by the police and further strengthening the system of independent police control.

 

The first outcome aims to enhance compliance with legislation and ethical standards and strengthen the professional performance of the police officers, through the following:

  • Developing training modules on human rights, police ethics and prevention of ill-treatment;
  • Establishing a core group of police trainers and training up to 1.000 police officers Kosovo wide;

 

The second outcome will improve human rights compliance of the police service through strengthening the safeguards against ill-treatment, by:

  • Reviewing legislation and regulotary framework for prevention of ill-treatment in line with European standards;
  • Revising the Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs) for treatment of persons in police custody;
  • Increasing awareness among police officers on the revised regulatory framework and SOPs.

 

The third outcome will strive to further strengthen the independent control over the police work, through the following:

  • Reviewing PIK's internal regulatory framework, working methodolody and tools to ensure independent and efficient police control;
  • Developing PIK's Training Strategy and in-service training modules;
  • Establishing a core group of PIK trainers and training all investigators and inspectors through cascade sessions.

 

 

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

This webpage has been produced using funds of a joint project between the European Union and the Council of Europe. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.