OSCE HOLDS TRAINING ON MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION IN ARMENIA
ArmRadio.am
27.04.2006 10:53
A four-day training course to increase the professional capacity of
public monitoring groups to monitor places of detention started in
Tsakhkadzor, Armenia.
The course, organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan together with
the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR),
is for members of the two Public Monitoring Groups established under
the Armenian Ministry of Justice and the Armenian police. It will
focus on reporting on conditions in penitentiary institutions and
the rights of detainees.
“Improving conditions in the places of detention and protection
of detainees’ rights is a priority area for the OSCE,” said
Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office. “I commend
the establishment of the Public Monitoring Groups, initiated by the
Armenian authorities and supported by civil society. They create an
effective mechanism for identifying the existing problems which in
turn helps improve the situation.”
During the training course, the 24 participants will get acquainted
with national legislation and international standards for the treatment
of prisoners.
They will also acquire practical knowledge on how to organize a visit
to a place of detention and report on it.
A number of local experts and the Chairperson of the Bulgarian
Helsinki Committee will present the specifics of monitoring pre-trial
detention places and police custody besides discussing key areas of
concern. The training session includes extensive group exercises,
mock investigations and actual visits to a detention cell, as well
as the preparation of a report.