The Civil Monitoring Boards’ (CMBs) internal co-ordination and communication with external control mechanisms has been further strengthened following the second annual meeting of CMBs, held on 21- 22 October 2021 in Antalya. A total of 105 participants actively engaged in the discussion and benefited from the presentations on the novelties in international standards and best practices in prison monitoring, and on building synergies between national and international monitoring bodies, aiming to improve the quality of the civil monitoring system.
Four consultants, out of which are three former CPT members, facilitated the group works on topics relevant to the CMB members, such as interview techniques with inmates, writing effective reports, communication, and cooperation with other monitoring mechanisms, as well as individual complaints and referral mechanisms.
“The presentation of DOs & DON’Ts in interview techniques will improve the quality and efficiency of interviews between us and inmates” and “Discussions and exchange of experience between the CMBs and other external monitoring will ensure synergies among all the prison monitors in Turkey”, were some of the impressions shared by the participants during the event. It is once more evidenced that such coordination meetings significantly contribute to the better understanding of CMBs’ work and facilitate exchange of experiences between different CMBs and other external monitoring mechanisms.
The second annual meeting of CMBs was organized within the scope of the Project entitled “Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Civil Monitoring Boards in Turkey in line with the European Standards”, funded by Sweden, Switzerland, the Republic of Turkey, the Human Rights Trust Fund of the Council of Europe and Canada.
