The action Further strengthening the treatment of detained and sentenced persons in line with European standards in Bosnia and Herzegovina will improve the protection of human rights of persons deprived of liberty by equipping the law enforcement, prison and forensic staff with the knowledge, skills and tools to

prevent ill-treatment and impunity, to facilitate detainees' and inmates’ reintegration in the community upon release from custody through, among other electronic exchange of information and to enable conditions for the preventive monitoring of the custodial practices. A wide range of local beneficiaries will directly participate in its implementation and will contribute with their substantial knowledge of the local legislation and good practices to the harmonisation of procedures with European standards and ultimately more fair and humane treatment of persons deprived of liberty. 

This action is implemented within the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” running from 2023 until December 2026.

What are the goals and objectives of the action?

• further improvement of human rights record in policing work across the law enforcement sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with the safety and security balance in check
• further enhancement of the process of resocialisation of forensic patients with specific needs such as women, geriatrics and juveniles, and their safe return to their families and communities is supported
• electronic exchange of prison-related data further embedded in practice in two entity jurisdictions,with a view to include all prisons
• capacities of the National Preventive Mechanism function holders to monitor treatment of persons in the places of deprivation of liberty is improved

Who benefits from the action?

• persons deprived of liberty across the custodial environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina whose human rights are prone to infringements and violations
• custodial staff (prison, police and forensic)
• Ministries of Justice, Ministries of Interior and Ministries of Health in Bosnia and Herzegovina  
• social welfare centres in BiH 
• Ombudsman Office, etc

How does the action work?

• through co-ordination/consultation meetings and drafting/training sessions; Beneficiary-specific outreach, mostly of “peer to peer” nature, these activities provide platform for discussions and decision making, as well as capacity building
• by publicising the standard-setting guides and training manuals
• through awareness raising activities
• the action builds on the best practices and results of co-operation under previous two phases of the programme: action “Enhancing human rights protection for detained and sentenced persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina” (2016 – 2019) and “Strengthening human rights treatment of detained persons based on European standards and best practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina” (2019 – 2022)

What do we expect to achieve?

This action aims to create the safeguarding mechanisms for the protection of basic human rights of persons deprived of liberty but also protection of the custodial staff from allegations of ill-treatment.

More specifically, the following achievements are expected:

• the internal training curricula in police agencies and forensic hospital is complemented with modules on human rights,
• electronic exchange of prison data is put into operation, enabling more transparent and efficient and accurate exchange of information between prisons and their competent Ministries,
• prisoners and forensic patients are better informed and equipped with knowledge and skills supporting their successful reintegration in the community upon release,
• existing and future staff of the Ombudsman Office is better equipped to perform the preventive monitoring function, and
• public safety is improved due to the lower rate of recidivism and better exchange of information between various agencies during temporary release(s) from custody.  

What is the budget of the action?

The total budget of the action is 1 450 000 EUR.

The budget allocated to the overall Horizontal Facility programme amounts to ca. 41 Million EUR (85% funded by the European Union, 15% by the Council of Europe).

How to get more information?

• Council of Europe: Co-operation in police and deprivation of liberty)
• Horizontal Facility website and e-mail address

About Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye

The “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” is a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe that enables the Western Balkans Beneficiaries and Türkiye to meet their reform agendas in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy and to comply with the European standards, which is also a priority for the EU enlargement process.