The project aims to improve the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders in Georgia. It will support national authorities in continuing reforms directed at improving the quality of healthcare provision, rehabilitation, drug-related and other therapeutic services, enhancing human rights compliant prison management, and at ensuring sustainable training provision and well-being of the staff. 

The Project will assist national authorities in further developing and implementing appropriate policy, regulatory and strategic documents. It will also create training modules and programmes to ensure human rights compliant prison management, equivalence of treatment and the continuity of healthcare for prisoners and probationers, in line with Council of Europe standards and best practices. 

WHAT DO WE EXPECT TO ACHIEVE?

• Improved knowledge and skills of managers, operational and medical staff in prisons and probation on mental and healthcare provision to offenders, with specific focus on particularly vulnerable groups (juvenile, women, persons with disabilities, individuals with drug use and addictions, etc.);
• Strengthen institutional and operational capacities within the penitentiary and probation system to develop and implement human rights compliant, sustainable management practices for staff training and well-being, and apply rehabilitative approaches that facilitate individuals' reintegration into society;
• Strengthened capacity of the national human rights bodies and CSOs to conduct effective monitoring of the treatment, healthcare and rehabilitation services in penitentiary and probation system.

The project builds on the achievements of the European Union - Council of Europe (CoE) joint project “Human Rights and Healthcare in Prisons and Other Closed Institutions in Georgia” (2010-2017), and the VC projects on “Improving Mental Health Care of Persons Detained in Georgia” (2018-2019), “Enhancement of Human Rights and Health-Care Support to Penitentiary System” (2019-2022), “Enhancing Healthcare Provision in Georgia’s Penitentiary System” (2022-2023) and the Pompidou Group VC project ‘’Developing a Drug Prevention Support Network for Parents and Professionals in Georgia” (2022-2023).

A combination of needs assessments, expert advice, round tables, working groups and experts’ meetings, workshops and roundtables, tailor-made training, development and piloting of rehabilitation/treatment programmes and public awareness activities will serve to achieve the goal of the project.

Partners: Ministry of Justice of Georgia; Public Defender's Office/National Preventive Mechanism; relevant civil society organisations.

End beneficiaries: prisoners and probationers, with focus on offenders with mental health problems, offenders in need of special treatment, offenders with addictions (drug use disorders), offenders with disabilities, women offenders, juvenile offenders, family members and close relatives of offenders, children and adolescents in contact with the criminal justice system. 

The Project is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia (2024-2027). The project runs from 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2025.