The European Union and the Council of Europe are assisting the Albanian prison service to further improve the treatment and protection of prisoners’ rights, by developing a unified guidance related to the reaction of prison staff to incidents that involve prisoners with mental health disorders.

In this view, the first draft of the Incident Protocol developed and shared with the prison authorities in Albania was further discussed and improved during a working group meeting that took place on 3-4 July, in Tirana, supported by the European Union and the Council of Europe. The multi-disciplinary working group brought together 17 professionals including doctors, psychologists, and prison police who offered their feedback and contribution in fine-tuning the provisions of the draft Protocol to the Albanian context while incorporating Council of Europe standards.

This Protocol will stand as an annex to Standard Operating Procedures in respect of prisoners with mental health disorders, developed during the second phase of the Horizontal Facility programme, and will regulate the practice of first reaction, means of restrain, separation, voluntary and involuntary treatment for prisoners with mental health disorders.

The WG meeting was organised under the action Enhancing the protection of human rights of prisoners in Albania, which is part of the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye 2023-2026.