A roundtable meeting on the “Role of the relevant institutions in combating ill-treatment and impunity in light of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights”, aimed at legal professionals, law-enforcement officials, Ombudsperson and representatives of other NGOs, was organized as part of the Action for “Increasing judicial capacity to safeguard human rights and combat ill-treatment and impunity”.

The event was designed as one-day discussion forum activity, in order to present the competencies of the relevant institutions in combating ill-treatment and impunity and to discuss jointly the actual situations and possible fields of improvement and cooperation. The working agenda was consisted of four presentations, each one followed by discussion, introducing the role, competencies and practical experiences of the Ministry of Interior, Public Prosecution Office, Ombudsman institutions and the role of National Preventive Mechanism and Civil society representatives. Total number of participants was 27, mainly representatives from above mentioned institutions and civil society organizations.

The focus of the event was put on the role of relevant state institutions in protecting the rights under Article 3 of the ECHR, as well as on notifying the gaps and lack of inter-institutional cooperation, mainly with the Ombudsperson institution. Representatives of civil society organizations contributed with their experiences and observations, giving some recommendations on improving the proceedings of the relevant state institutions.