Strengthening the Protection of the Rights of Persons in Detention
Start date: 1 January 2023
Duration: 24 months
Funding: EUR 550,000, Donors contributing to the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023–2026
Partners: Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Penitentiary Service, Prison Medicine Centre
Built on the results of the Council of Europe’s “Enhancing Health Care and Human Rights Protection in Prisons in Armenia” project (hereinafter referred to as the 2019-2022 project), the “Strengthening the Protection of the Rights of Persons in Detention” project supported the Armenian authorities in further strengthening penitentiary reforms and prison health care, as well as the protection of the rights of persons deprived of their liberty.
The Council of Europe provided assistance at the policy and operational levels, supporting the authorities in implementing penitentiary reforms and introducing practical changes in the penitentiary system, in particular following the adoption of the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Penitentiary Code in 2022.
The project focused on the following priority areas:
- Further strengthening the institutional capacity of the Prison Medicine Centre to provide quality healthcare services in the penitentiary system
- Further strengthening the knowledge and skills of medical and non-medical personnel on various health topics
- Development and testing of preventive healthcare programs in penitentiary institutions
- Strengthening the capacity of penitentiary system staff to implement tools and rehabilitation programmess for persons in detention
- Harmonization of the legislative framework on human rights with the new Penitentiary Code.
The project was implemented in close cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health, Prison Medicine Centre with the involvement of a wide range of other local stakeholders and civil society organisations.
The main conventions underlying the project are the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and the The European Convention on Human Rights , as well as the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
