The fifth Steering Committee (SC) meeting of the Project “Enhancing the Effectiveness of the CMBs in line with the European Standards” took place in a hybrid format on 5 October 2021 in Ankara. The results achieved over the last 6-month period (April-September 2021) were presented, along with information on the need to extend the project on a no-cost basis in order to complete the project as planned and ensure sustainable impact, without jeopardising the quality of the outputs and the effectiveness of project activities.
Among the achievements highlighted in the meeting were the finalisation of the three prison monitoring handbooks, the preparation of the CMBs training modules, as well as raising awareness among 395 CMB members on the new prison monitoring toolkit developed by the project. Furthermore, the Steering Committee members noted the increase of the CMBs’ visibility among prisoners and professional sphere, which was achieved by distributing leaflets, explaining their mandate and how they may further assist prisoners. Finally, the first on-site piloting of the new monitoring toolkit at Sincan Prison was evaluated as a success.
The meeting brought together 31 participants, including representatives from the Ministry of Justice Directorate General for Prisons and Detention Houses, representatives of CMBs, civil society, enforcement judge, public prosecutor, the Ministry of Justice Directorate General for Foreign and EU Affairs, Embassy of Switzerland, Embassy of Sweden and Embassy of Canada in Ankara, as well as the Council of Europe. The Steering Committee members engaged in fruitful discussion on the attained results and the future activities and, as a result, adopted the work plan for the upcoming period (October 2021 – 31 March 2022) and agreed on the need for a no-cost extension for the project.
The Project “Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Civil Monitoring Boards in Turkey in line with the European Standards” is funded by Sweden, Switzerland, the Republic of Turkey, the Human Rights Trust Fund of the Council of Europe and Canada
