As part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen the protection of human rights of prisoners in Albania, professionals of the penitentiary system- representatives of the General Directorate of Prison Administration (DGPA), six prison facilities, and the Council of Europe (CoE) came together to design a new standardised national methodology for the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners.

During a 2.5-day working group meeting, organised in Korca between 29 and 31 March 2022, Albanian prison professionals evaluated the results of the piloting of Risk and Needs Assessment (RNA) and the Individual Sentence Planning (ISP) done in three prisons (Peqin, Fier and 'Ali Demi'), during the period January-June 2021. As part of this process, the advantages and difficulties encountered during the implementation of RNA and ISP on the ground were identified. Furthermore, the working group designed a national implementation plan, laying out the necessary interventions which would allow for the rolling out of these instruments at the national level.

To respond to the real needs of the Albanian penitentiary system, the working group drafted policy interventions to be implemented by DGPA, as well as auxiliary plans which define the concrete measures for the implementation of RNA and ISP in each penitentiary institution. At the opening session, the Director General of the DGPA highlighted that the ambition of the Albanian penitentiary system is to adopt a contemporary approach to prisoners’ rehabilitation and reintegration aligned with CoE standards and best practices.

This activity was organised within the scope of the action "Enhancing the protection of human rights of prisoners in Albania", a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe - Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022.