Over the last 6 months a total of 19 local inter-agency coordination forums on improving VEP’s management and supporting their reintegration back into the society took place in the Western Balkans region. They brought together some 480 representatives coming from different governmental levels, institutions and agencies, P/CVE coordination bodies, civil society organisations, prison and probation systems, social welfare, mental health protection and employment services.
The forums raised the awareness on the need to put unified efforts to support reintegration of released VEPs and actively involve different actors in entire society in prevention and combatting of violent extremism and radicalisation. Multisectoral approach, continuous information exchange, carrying out a comprehensive individualised assessment of risks and needs of VEPs and the involvement of the local stakeholders in the development of the VEPs’ release plans, were only some of the major recommendations coming out from discussions along with those specific for each beneficiary.
The implementation of the local coordination forums will continue in 2022 with aim to ensure ownership of the established forums by the authorities and the key players, with a view on setting sustainable and long-term support to this category of prisoners after their release.
These local-coordination forums are being implemented under the Grant Agreements signed between five Beneficiaries in the Western Balkans and the regional action “Enhancing penitentiary capacities in addressing radicalisation in prisons in the Western Balkans”, implemented within the joint European Union and the Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022".