On November 9, 2023, a high-level expert meeting was held in Lviv to discuss the issues of involvement of convicts into labour, as well as to present and discuss a draft Law of Ukraine “On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine (Regarding the Peculiarities of Involving Convicts into Labour, and Economic Operations in the Penitentiary System)”.
The event with the participation of the Members of Parliament of Ukraine, leadership of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Department of Criminal Sentences, Lviv Regional Military Administration, Industrial Chamber and local business representatives was supported by the Joint Project “European Union and Council of Europe working together to support the Prison Reform in Ukraine Plus” (SPERU+ Project).
"The Council of Europe's Office in Ukraine welcomes the initiative of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine to create an optimal model of involvement of prisoners into labour and to reform and develop prison workshops and other capacities for employment,” – stressed Erlend Falch, Deputy Head, Council of Europe Office in Ukraine.
Yuriy Kuzbyt, MP, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Budgetary Policy, in his speech noted the new stage of cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and emphasized on the importance of legislative initiatives to modernize the industrial capacities of the prison system, to stimulate business to cooperate with penitentiary institutions, to increase the labour resources of Ukraine and to improve the conditions of detention of convicts.
"The work of convicts is an important element of resocialization, the idea of which permeates the entire Penitentiary Reform Strategy," – emphasized Olena Vysotska, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine. "Business may not know about our reform, but we are ready for an open dialogue with business, to see and perceive us as a reliable partner," – added the Deputy Minister.
During the event, the Ministry of Justice presented the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine (Regarding Features of Involving Convicts to Work and Business Activities in the Penitentiary System)". The Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, in its turn, presented an expert analysis of the draft Law and recommendations to it.
"We believe that the Council of Europe recommendations will enable the Ministry of Justice and the Parliament of Ukraine to consider the best European practices when developing the Ukrainian model of involving prisoners into labour and adapting it to national needs," – Erlend Falch added.
Olga Derkach, manager of the SPERU+ Project, noted: "The SPERU+ Project considers development of this draft law to be a significant achievement of the Ministry of Justice, as it aims to promote involvement of convicts in work for the purpose of resocialization and improvement of the use of rehabilitation approaches and tools for the transition from a punitive to a more rehabilitative regime".
During the discussion, all parties agreed that the work of prisoners should be considered exclusively as the main element of preparation for reintegration of prisoners into society.
Additional information:
“European Union and Council of Europe working together to support the Prison Reform in Ukraine Plus” (SPERU+ Project) is the fourth component of the Joint Project of the European Union and the Council of Europe “European Union and Council of Europe working together to strengthening human rights in Ukraine” which is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
SPERU+ Project is fully in line with the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026. Particularly, the Project will address the objective of ‘continued support to the authorities in building modern prison and probation systems with a focus on shifting from punitive to rehabilitative approaches in the context of war and post-war recovery period’.
SPERU+ Project builds on the results achieved within the EU and the Council of Europe Joint Project “Support the Prison Reform in Ukraine” (JP SPERU) as well as on the strategic goals and reform plans adopted by the Government of Ukraine in the Strategy for Penitentiary Reform 2021-2026 towards “creation of a humane system of execution of criminal sanctions, that will guarantee the safety in the society and ensure social adaptation of inmates”.
