On 5 September 2019, the Council of Europe launched a new free online course on the standards developed by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on the HELP online platform. The course was developed by the HELP Programme in close cooperation with the CPT Secretariat, and with the support of the Project “Strengthening the application of the European Convention on Human Rights in Georgia”, under the EU/Council of Europe Partnership for Good Governance. The purpose of the HELP course on CPT standards is to familiarize legal professionals with the CPT’s key standards concerning the five most important places of deprivation of liberty: police stations, prisons, immigration detention facilities, psychiatric establishments and social care homes. The module on Immigration detention includes: detention as a last resort; safeguards during detention; conditions of detention; children; staff; health care and removal of foreign nationals.

The course is also open for staff from places of deprivation of liberty, national preventive mechanisms (NPMs) and policy makers, as well as national human rights institutions, civil society organisations, university lecturers and students.

The course is available in English and will soon be translated into other languages.