Ensuring Sustainable Penitentiary Actions in managing rehabilitation of violent extremist prisoners in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ESPA-VEP)
On 1 April 2022 the Council of Europe initiated the implementation of a 33-month project entitled “Ensuring Sustainable Penitentiary Actions in managing rehabilitation of violent extremist prisoners in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ESPA-VEP)”. It was implemented in close cooperation with the three Ministries of Justice (Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of BiH, and Republika Srpska), and their respective partners from the entity and state penitentiary institutions.
The overall objective of the project was to provide continued support to the BiH authorities in their efforts to further build the capacities of the prison system and strengthen practical skills of prison staff with respect to managing violent extremist prisoners (VEPs). This was also ensuring sustainability of the actions undertaken towards efficient reintegration of the VEPs back in the community.
The project had an overall budget of 770,000 EUR and was financed under the Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2020–2025. It was completed on 31 December 2024.
Project documentation
- Work plan (October - December 2024)
- Work plan (July- September 2024)
- Work plan (April - June 2024)
- Work plan (January - March 2024)
- Work plan (October - December 2023)
- Work plan (July - September 2023)
- Work plan (April - June 2023)
- Work plan (January - March 2023)
Useful information
Final Steering Committee meeting of ESPA-VEP project in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The final Steering Committee (SC) meeting of the project “Ensuring sustainable penitentiary actions in managing rehabilitation of violent extremist prisoners in Bosnia and Herzegovina” (ESPA-VEP) took place on 4 December 2024 in Banja Luka. The SC gathered all prison directors and representatives...
Strengthening operational work for reintegration of violent extremist prisoners: towards safer prisons and society
Information exchange is the essence of cooperation and coordination between prisons, law enforcement agencies and security agencies. Maintaining a constant flow of information between all relevant actors is of key importance for achieving good results in the field of prevention of violent...
More wellbeing and mental health for staff working with violent extremist prisoners in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The main driving force in preventing and combating radicalisation and extremism inside prisons is their staff. Therefore, investing in human potential, providing a system of professional development as well as protecting well-being and mental health of staff is crucial for ensuring effective...
Inter-institutional cooperation on rehabilitation and reintegration of violent extremist prisoners in Bosnia and Herzegovina enhanced
Rehabilitation and reintegration of violent extremist prisoners (VEPs) and other prisoners vulnerable to radicalisation demands holistic approach in order to cover their needs but also to be aware of the risks for safe and inclusive society. Therefore, it should be ensured that rehabilitation and...
Building training, mentoring, and monitoring skills for further empowering prison staff and strengthening capacities within penitentiary institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina
A training session aimed at enhancing skills in training, mentoring, monitoring, and evaluation was held on 22-23 October in Sarajevo for the project's core group of local trainers, as well as participants from the justice ministries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and...
Strengthening inter-institutional cooperation on rehabilitation and reintegration of violent extremist prisoners into the society in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Council of Europe is supporting prison staff in Bosnia and Herzegovina to strengthen their capacities and protocols in managing and rehabilitating violent extremist prisoners (VEPs) and effectively reintegrating them into the society. One of the important aspects of this support is...
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Equipping prison staff with skills to provide peer-to-peer trainings on management of violent extremist prisoners
With the support from the ministries of justice on all levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Council of Europe has delivered a training of trainers on the management of violent extremist prisoners (VEPs) for prison staff from all prisons in the country on 14-17 May, in Sarajevo. The aim of...
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Prison directors further enhance knowledge on effective management of violent extremist prisoners
For effective management of prisoners, it is essential for senior level prison management to regularly renew and enhance their knowledge of the latest international and domestic developments in the field. Therefore, the Council of Europe organised an awareness raising workshop for all prison...
Bosnia and Herzegovina: support to authorities in improving well-being of staff working with violent extremist prisoners
Working with prisoners is a very demanding job; working with violent extremist prisoners (VEPs) and prisoners with a tendency to radicalisation can put an additional psychological pressure on prison staff. For the latter to be able to do their job without feeling intimidated or stressed and...
Second group of prison staff successfully completed training on management of violent extremist prisoners
The second group of prison staff from Bosnia and Herzegovina, coming from multidisciplinary teams working directly with violent extremist prisoners (VEPs) or inmates at risk of becoming radicalised, have completed all six modules of the new specialised in-house training programme, facilitated by...
Call for proposals on award of a grant to implement a series of activities on establishing inter-agency coordination platforms
The Council of Europe is launching a call for proposals on award of a grant to implement a series of activities on establishing inter-agency coordination platforms within the framework of the Project “Ensuring Sustainable Penitentiary Actions in managing rehabilitation of violent extremist...
First group of prison staff successfully completed specialised training on violent extremism and radicalisation
Sixteen prison staff from Bosnia and Herzegovina, coming from multidisciplinary teams working directly with violent extremist prisoners (VEPs) or inmates at risk of becoming radicalised, have completed all six modules of the new specialised in-house training programme for prison staff,...
Council of Europe supports authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina in developing information-sharing protocols on radicalisation
The first working group (WG) session, gathering the representatives of entity Ministries of Justice, Federal Police Administration and Police of Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Centre of Social Welfare from Jajce, Bijeljina and Zenica prisons, and the State prison, took place on 25-27...
Steering Committee members take stock of progress under the radicalisation project in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The 3rd Steering Committee (SC) meeting of the project "Ensuring Sustainable Penitentiary Actions in managing rehabilitation of violent extremist prisoners in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ESPA-VEP)” took place on 14 June 2023, in Konjic. Decision-makers from the three Ministries of Justice and prison...
Importance of interagency cooperation in rehabilitation work with violent extremist offenders highlighted in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Good cooperation between the different agencies involved in the rehabilitation of prisoners is a key prerequisite for success. It is with this awareness that representatives of the ministries of justice, prisons, Jajce, Velika Kladuša, Zenica and Hadžići social welfare centres and a...
Guidebook and training programme on addressing radicalisation in prisons of Bosnia and Herzegovina finalised
A Working group composed from Council of Europe project partners representing the entity Ministries of Justice, prisons in Bijeljina, Zenica, Tuzla, Banja Luka, Mostar and the State prison met on 27-28 April 2023 in Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to finalise the Guidebook for operational work, a...
BiH authorities discussed methodology for prison staff training on managing violent extremism
The Working Group (WG) session on developing specific training programme for prison staff working with violent extremist prisoners (VEP), with focus on the legislative and institutional framework, took place from 26 to 27 January in Konjic. The meeting brought together representatives from the...
Study visit to the French Department of Prison Administration
On 29 and 30 November 2022, representatives of the Ministries of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska (RS) and prison practitioners from prison establishments under their respective jurisdictions (BiH delegation) paid a visit to the...
The Council of Europe assessed Bosnia and Herzegovina’s prison staff training needs on addressing radicalisation and violent extremism
The presentation of the results from the training needs assessment visit under the project "Ensuring Sustainable Penitentiary Actions in managing rehabilitation of violent extremist prisoners in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ESPA-VEP)" was held on 18 November, 2022 in Sarajevo. It featured the main...
First Steering Committee Meeting on the “Ensuring Sustainable Penitentiary Actions in managing rehabilitation of violent extremist prisoners in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ESPA-VEP)” project
The first Steering Committee (SC) meeting of the project “Ensuring Sustainable Penitentiary Actions in managing rehabilitation of violent extremist prisoners in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ESPA-VEP)” was held on 21 June in Banja Luka. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of...
European Prison Rules
CPDL Highlights
