OSCE supports the second penitentiary reform forum of Tajikistan focused on development of prison system
The second penitentiary reform forum of Tajikistan, supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, was held on 23 October 2023 in Dushanbe and focused on the development of the prison system in Tajikistan.
The forum was organized in a joint effort with the Main Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sentences under the Ministry of Justice of Tajikistan and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
The second forum aimed to discuss key issues related to the effective management of penitentiary reform in the country.
Experts, civil society representatives, and government officials discussed issues ranging from the prevention of violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism in facilities to instituting probation. They also discussed the importance of strengthening safety and security measures in closed facilities by sharing best practices from different countries and by developing a comprehensive prison rehabilitation programme, which includes the Draft Law on Probation as well as prisoner rehabilitation and risk assessment tool, aimed to define prisoners’ individual rehabilitation and reintegration plans.
“As part of the UN commitment to humane treatment of detainees and respect for human dignity, the OSCE participating States, have committed themselves to internationally recognized standards regarding the administration of justice and the human rights of detained persons,” said the Officer-in-Charge of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, Jukka Tuononen. “The organization therefore promotes the implementation of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the “Nelson Mandela Rules”). The overall rationale behind these rules is that prisoners must be treated with dignity and valued as human beings, and that the ultimate purpose of imprisonment – namely the protection of society from crime – can only be achieved if imprisonment is used to prepare prisoners for their successful social reintegration upon release,” concluded Tuononen.
An OSCE-supported two-day training was held following the forum for prison staff on the effective management of closed facilities.