On 01 May 2021 the Council of Europe initiated the implementation of an 8-months project entitled “Support to penitentiary system towards sustainable rehabilitation of violent extremist prisoners in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. The project is implemented in close cooperation with the three Ministries of Justice (Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of BiH, and Republika Srpska), and their respective partners from the entity and state penitentiary institutions.

The overall purpose of the project is to provide continued support to the authorities in BiH in their efforts to further build the capacities of the prison system and strengthen their skills with respect to managing violent extremist prisoners (VEPs). It will also ensure sustainability of the actions undertaken towards efficient reintegration of VEPs back in the community.

The previous Council of Europe projects[1] set the foundations and preconditions for structured case management of VEPs and inter-agency cooperation. The future key actions, supported under this proposal, will be focused on enhancement of the prison staff skills related to the multi-disciplinary approach in ensuring VEPs rehabilitation and preparation for release. This project will also aim to establish virtual education and training proficiency center, which will bring together the existing expertise and resources in order to sustain knowledge and skills attained in management of VEPs.

The main expected results of the project are:

1. Enhancement of the unified application of the VEP-specific tools throughout the penitentiary systems in BiH, and
2. Establishment of the BiH Penitentiary virtual Center of Excellence for preventing and countering violent extremism in prisons in a form of collaboration platform 

The project has an overall budget of 200,000 EUR and is financed under the Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018–2021.