On 28 October 2024, the second Steering Committee meeting of the Council of Europe Project “Towards More Humane Detention Conditions and Reduced Reoffending in Ukraine” (DECOPRIS) took place in Kyiv. The event gathered key national penitentiary reform stakeholders, including representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the State Department of Execution of Criminal Sanctions, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the Agent of the Government before the European Court of Human Rights, Ukrainian civil society organisations, to discuss recent achievements, current challenges, and the next stages in the project implementation.

When speaking at the opening, Maciej Janczak, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, expressed gratitude to the national partners for their commitment to improving detention conditions and advancing prisoner rehabilitation in Ukraine. His address was followed by that of Viktoria Litvinova, Deputy Prosecutor General, who emphasised the need for enhanced cooperation to strengthen human rights protection within Ukrainian detention facilities. In his turn, Serhii Hrechaniuk, Head of the Department for Execution of Criminal Sanctions of the Ministry of Justice, reassured the participants that penitentiary reform will continue and that the international expertise delivered by the DECOPRIS project is appreciated. Finally, Donche Boshkovski, Head of Unit II in the Cooperation in Police and Deprivation of Liberty Division at the Council of Europe, reaffirmed the Council’s continued support to Ukrainian penitentiary reforms.

Following a productive discussion, the Steering Committee unanimously approved the proposed project’s 6-month work plan for November 2024 – April 2025. The participants shared with the project team valuable feedback and suggestions for future project activities.

The third Steering Committee meeting of the DECOPRIS Project is scheduled for April 2025.