Key actors and stakeholders in the field of penitentiary in North Macedonia gathered in Skopje to discuss the finalisation of the draft “National Strategy for the Development of the Penitentiary System in North Macedonia (2021-2025)”. The event brought together 33 representatives from the most important public institutions in the field of prisons, including the Directorate for the Execution of Sanctions (DES) of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the Ministry of Education and Science, Ombudsman’s Office, the National Coordinator for countering violent extremism, as well as the civil society and donors community.
The event was addressed by Mr. Freek Janmaat, Head of Operations I of the EU Delegation to the Republic of North Macedonia and Mr Petar Jordanoski, programme manager in the Criminal Law Co-operation Unit of the Council of Europe, who stressed the importance of the new strategy in setting the priorities for continuing the prison reforms in the Beneficiary. Mr Marjan Spasovski, DES Director, provided for the participants an overview of the scope of the Strategy and its main elements. The participants shared their views and opinions on the draft strategy and their input received during the constructive and topical discussions will be reflected in the final version of the Strategy. In the upcoming weeks the draft Strategy for the Development of the Penitentiary System in North Macedonia will be presented to the Government for adoption.
For over a year, the working group tasked with the development of the strategy has been focusing on shaping the joint vision and mission, setting the strategy’s objectives and designing the actions to systemically address the challenges of the penitentiary system.
Once adopted, the implementation of the new strategy will provide for improved penitentiary system, where the prisoners are treated in a safe environment with respect and dignity, supported in their personal growth and rehabilitation efforts and receive tailor-made post-penal support after their release back into the society.
This activity was organised as a hybrid event within the scope of the Action “Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system and the external oversight mechanism in North Macedonia”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe within the “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022” and implemented by the Council of Europe.
