On 23 November 2020, the Council of Europe organised a round table to present two strategic documents aimed at enhancing the management of violent and extremist prisoners (VEPs), namely the „Guidelines for management, education, and professional development of prison staff working with VEPs“ and the “Strategic guidelines for treatment of VEPs in Bosnia and Herzegovina“ with the related Action plan covering the period 2020-2025. Members of the project’s Working Group presented the documents to the Assistant Ministers of Justice, governors of prisons, including the newly opened State prison, representatives of law-enforcement agencies and representatives of BiH Ministry of Security.

The first document provides a series of recommendations for enhancing the capacities of the prison staff working with this category of prisoners, while the second one defines a line of activities aimed at further strengthening the BiH penitentiary system by increasing the cooperation with law-enforcement agencies, social work centres and other stakeholders, thus setting the necessary preconditions for VEPs rehabilitation and re-integration back into the community. Both documents were developed in line with the Council of Europe standards and best European practices.

During the discussion, the Ministries of Justice expressed full commitment towards the adoption of both strategic documents and their implementation in practice.

Following the health and safety recommendations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was organised in an online format under the project ''Structured Sentence Management For Violent And Extremist Prisoners", funded by the voluntary contribution of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom and the United States Agency for International Development Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and implemented by the Council of Europe.