The Working Group for development of Staff Management Strategy for high security units managing violent and extremist prisoners met on 29 and 30 September 2020 in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to finalise their work on the development of this important document.

The Staff Management Strategy defines the process of selection, recruitment and professional development of prison staff directly working with violent and extremist prisoners, and harmonises the process with standards and recommendations of the Council of Europe. Proper selection of the prison staff and their continuous specialised training are crucial factors in successful rehabilitation and reintegration of violent and extremist prisoners and in preventing the spread of harmful effects of radicalisation in prisons.

As a follow-up to the meeting, the final version of the strategy will be presented to the Ministries of Justice officials and prison officials at the coordination meeting scheduled for November 2020, who are expected to approve and later on adopt the document.

The Working Group is composed of representatives from the MoJ of BiH, Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska, as well as Zenica and Bijeljina prisons. The meeting was held in line with the health and safety recommendations of the CoE and the local authorities with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The activity was organised 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.