Back Horizontal Facility keeps supporting reforms in the Western Balkans and Turkey

Horizontal Facility keeps supporting reforms in the Western Balkans and Turkey

The European Union and Council of Europe are extending the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey joint programme to help strengthen rule of law, fight against corruption and against discrimination, as well as media freedoms in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

The second phase of the programme (worth ca. €41 million between 2019 and 2022) will be launched at a regional event in Skopje on 9 October 2019. This phase keeps building on the results of the phase I and broadens the thematic areas to new topics crucial for the region – freedom of expression and media.

The second phase of the programme will cover actions in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia as well as Turkey and the regional dimension of the programme will be strengthened. The Expertise Co-ordination Mechanism that provides legislative expertise and policy advice within the Council of Europe system will remain an important part of the programme available to all beneficiaries.

Working closely with authorities and other stakeholders, the programme will help bringing about changes to laws and practices through reviews of legislation, improving the efficiency of justice system of all beneficiaries, training courses for professionals and sharing of information, experiences and best practices.

The first phase of the programme included various beneficiary-specific and regional initiatives and ran from 2016 to 2019. Over this period, this joint programme has delivered results which are important for the citizens of the Western Balkans, such as improved prison systems and better rights of inmates, more tolerant school environments and more effective anti-corruption laws and measures. The Horizontal Facility contributed to make justice systems more efficient for citizens and to increase harmonisation of judgments based on European standards. In terms of anti-discrimination, the programme aims for people that are from vulnerable groups not to be excluded on basis of identity, but will have same opportunities.

Results of the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2016-2019

 

 

 

 

*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.

Pristina 29 July 2019
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Fifty practitioners to enhance skills in provision of occupational therapy

Following the adoption of the Guidelines for Occupational Therapy (OT), as well as the Training of Trainers (ToT) on OT that took place in January 2024, three 2-day cascade training sessions were organised in the course of February and March 2024.  Fifty professionals, mainly from the Prison Health Department, along with representatives from the Correctional Services, Institute for Forensic Psychiatry, and the Special Institute for Persons with Mental and Physical Disabilities, were trained on this important form of therapy.

To complement the theoretical aspects and provide the trainees with practical knowledge, some of the sessions were conducted in the Dubrava Prison, in a section which houses prisoners with both mental and somatic problems. This on-site training allowed the participants to observe and understand the application of OT principles in a real-life setting, thus enhancing their learning experience by connecting theory and practice.

These cascade training sessions allowed the participants to further improve their skills in applying the OT Guidelines and tools in prisons and other closed institutions, a concept which was thus far not utilised in a structured manner. Furthermore, training healthcare and correctional professionals together helps them further strengthen the inter-institutional cooperation in the treatment and rehabilitation of some of the most vulnerable members of the society.

Each of these sessions were facilitated by two trainers who had participated in the ToT in January and were supervised and mentored by a Council of Europe consultant who has been involved in the process since the very beginning, thus further strengthening institutional capacity to provide training.

The activity was conducted under the auspices of the Council of Europe project “Improvement of the treatment of persons deprived of liberty”.

 

 

*All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions, or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United National Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.

Istog/ Istok 26 March 2024
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