OSCE Office supports training on conflict prevention in Kyrgyz penitentiary facilities

JALAL ABAD, Kyrgyzstan, 21 August 2008 - Methods of conflict prevention in detention facilities was the focus of a training course that ended in Jalal Abad today.

The four-day event, organized by the OSCE Centre's field office in Osh and the local NGO Spravedlivost, brought together some 50 police and justice department officers from three provinces.

"The event was an important part of the OSCE's work in assisting the Kyrgyz Ministries of Justice and Interior to reduce tensions in penitentiary and detention facilities and to prevent potential conflicts by taking into account the rights of detainees. It also promoted increased access to detention facilities for public control purposes and partnership between police and civil society," said Hugo Karlsson, a Human Dimension Officer at the OSCE field office.

Valentina Gricenko, Director of Spravedlivost, added: "This event contributes to enhancing confidence between law enforcement bodies and the public. It will also help increase trust between police, human rights defenders and international organizations, and improve human rights protection in penitentiary facilities and conditions of detention."

The training course was held in the framework of OSCE project "Supporting the penitentiary system reform and promoting human rights awareness in Osh, Batken and Jalal Abad provinces". The OSCE is also assisting in implementing the Kyrgyz National Penitentiary Reform Programme, which aims to humanize the criminal justice system in the country.