Enhancing the Protection of Human Rights of Prisoners in Albania

What is the goal?
- The Action aims to enhance the protection of human rights of prisoners in Albania by assisting the Albanian authorities in:
- introducing an effective human resource recruitment and management model and sustainable provision of training for prison staff;
- strengthening the provision of health care services to the prisoners with a particular focus on detainees with mental disorders, including the development of a suicide prevention strategy;
- preparing and piloting rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for prisoners in parallel with the application of a standard risk and needs management system;
- improving the differentiated treatment of vulnerable groups of prisoners.
Who benefits from the Action?
- public authorities such as: Ministry of Justice; General Directorate of the Prison Administration and prisons’ staff, Ministry of Health and Social Protection;
- partners and other stakeholders: Ombudsman, Ministry of Education, civil society organisations that provide services to persons in prisons and other closed institutions;
- as well as prisoners and related family and society at large.
How will the project work?
- through regular exchanges and close coordination with the project beneficiaries and key stakeholders to identify practical challenges and accordingly develop tailor-made methodologies;
- through a combination of technical expertise and participatory working groups with beneficiary institutions to develop tailor-made training materials, action plans, monitoring practices, and legislative advice etc.
- through capacity building and development of tailored trainings and implementation of pilot programmes targeting prisons’ staff and offenders.
What do we expect to achieve?
- the action contributes in improving the organisational and performance capacities of the penitentiary system to ensure human rights protection for prisoners;
- ensures improved provision of health care in prisons, particularly for prisoners with mental problems and for forensic patients;
- enhances the rehabilitation of prisoners through the application of a well-defined individual sentence planning and reintegration programmes for offenders.
How much will it cost?
- the total budget of the Action is 640 000 EUR;
- the budget allocated to the overall Horizontal Facility programme amounts to ca. 41 Million EUR (85% funded by the European Union, 15% by the Council of Europe).
How do we get more information?
- Criminal Law Cooperation Unit of the Council of Europe: https://www.coe.int/en/web/criminal-law-coop
- Horizontal Facility II Website: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/horizontal-facility/home
- Marija Simić, Horizontal Facility Communication Officer, [email protected], +381 63 601 337
- Besnik Baka, Horizontal Facility Communication Officer, [email protected], +355 69 217 8430

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.



