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Strengthening rights: Council of Europe supports enhancing protection of rights of detainees in Armenia

Reforming closed institutions is often a complex process, but between 2023 and 2024, the Council of Europe comprehensive follow up project “Strengthening the protection of the rights of persons in detention” supported local authorities in safeguarding the rights of detainees in penitentiary and police facilities. In partnership with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Internal Affairs, the initiative has driven substantial reforms to align national practices/system with European standards, enhancing both welfare of persons of deprived of liberty and institutional efficiency.

Some of the key accomplishments of the Project include:

  • Technical expertise for the transfer of prison healthcare from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Health, enhancing care integration.
  • Introduction of telemedicine for specialised consultations.
  • Enhanced mental health and suicide prevention mechanisms and empowered staff.
  • Implementation of a risk and needs assessment tool for tailored rehabilitation of inmates.
  • Establishment of a woodworking centre for inmate vocational training.
  • First ever certification of social workers in prisons.
  • Improving documenting alleged ill-treatment in police facilities with pilot programmes in Yerevan and Masis.

This initiative is part of the broader commitment of the Council of Europe to support Armenia in strengthening human rights protections and modernising its criminal justice system. The collaboration has laid the groundwork for sustainable, positive change, fostering a more rehabilitative approach that hails humane treatment and successful reintegration of persons deprived of liberty. The multifaceted achievements of this project reflect a forward-thinking transformation in Armenia’s approach to the protection of rights of persons deprived of liberty․

The Project is financed within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023-2026 and implemented by the Council of Europe.

YEREVAN, ARMENIA 16 DECEMBER 2024
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 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).