Council of Europe assists Kosovo* institutions in developing protocols on reporting ill-treatment in prisons and other closed institutions

Back Council of Europe assists Kosovo* institutions in developing protocols on reporting ill-treatment in prisons and other closed institutions

Nino LAPACHI

Modified 3 Months ago.

@ Council of Europe

Accurate reporting of ill-treatment in prisons and other closed institutions and its effective investigation, including evaluating the medical evidence, is of utmost importance for preventing and tackling this phenomenon and improving the treatment of prisoners and persons held in other closed institutions.

Therefore, a workshop was organized on 14 June 2024 in Pristina, to discuss with the project partners and beneficiaries the needs vis-à-vis the development of protocols on documenting and reporting ill-treatment in line with the Istanbul protocol, followed by a three-day working group (WG) meeting on 18-20 June 2024 in Istok.

Representatives of the Prison Health Department of Kosovo, Kosovo Correctional Services, Institute for Forensic Psychiatry, Special Institute for Persons with Physical and Mental Disabilities, National Preventive Mechanism of the Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo, civil society and the prison inspectorate attended the WG meeting, co-facilitated by Council of Europe international and local consultants.

The event was characterized by a team spirit and collegial approach, where after three days of intensive work a protocol for reporting of ill-treatment and relevant tools, namely the Incident Report and the Checklist of injuries in prisons and other closed institutions, were developed in line with the requirements of the Istanbul protocol, thus marking a significant development towards improvement of the treatment of prisoners and persons held in other closed institutions in Kosovo in line with the Council of Europe standards and European best practices.

The documents were developed in a way that enables all institutions in question to use them equally effectively, whilst taking into consideration their institutional specifics.

The working group meeting was organized under the auspices of the Council of Europe project “Improvement of the treatment of persons deprived of liberty”.

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* All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions, or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United National Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.

Pristina, Kosovo* 14 June 2024

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Through bilateral co-operation activities and projects, the Division for Cooperation in Police and Deprivation of Liberty plays a major role in assisting the beneficiary countries to integrate the Council of Europe standards in their penitentiary, probation and law enforcement institutions. The work related to prisons, probation and the police is an integral part of the overall work of the Council of Europe related to human rights, democracy and the rule of law, the three pillars of the raison d’être of the Organisation, in accordance with its Statute. The main objective is to help the Member States improve their legislation and practice related to the work of the police as well the execution of penal sanctions and measures.

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