PROJECT SUMMARY

01/12/2011

On 1 March 2011 Human Rights Action (HRA) with partner organisations: Centre for Civic Education (CCE), Centre for Antidiscrimination “EQUISTA”, Women’s Safe House, Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, and Latvian Centre for Human Rights, has started implementation of 18-month project ”Monitoring Respect for Human Rights in Closed Institutions in Montenegro”. The project is financially supported by the European Union managed by the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro (90% or 117 991,69 €) and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany (with the amount of 13,100 €).

The overall objective of this project is to improve protection from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment in Montenegro and to strengthen effective implementation of expert international bodies (The Committee Against Torture – CAT and The Committee for the Prevention of Torture – CPT) recommendations for Montenegro. In addition, the project aims to support the control functions of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Parliament of Montenegro in relation to the respect of human rights of residents in closed state institutions.

The project entails:

Development of monitoring reports with assessment of the respect of human rights in relation to the international standards, and recommendations for the improvement of conditions in the Institution for Execution of Criminal Sanctions (prisons), Police detention units, Public Institution for people with mental disability “Komanski most“, the Centre for Juveniles in conflict with law “Ljubovic” and psychiatric hospitals (Specialised Psychiatric Hospital in Kotor, psychiatric wards in Nikšić and Podgorica);
Presentation and discussion of the reports at the round tables with the management of the respective institutions, relevant ministries and other stakeholders;
Publication of brochures on the rights of detainees, prisoners, and residents of the above mentioned closed institutions in Montenegro;
Facilitating access of the members of judiciary (prosecutors and judges) to relevant professional literature relating to the European standards of effective prosecution of torture, in terms of translation of the relevant documents, judgements of the European Court of Human Rights and recommendations of international expert bodies;

Public campaign promoting the understanding of the protection from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, and also persons who are found guilty of criminal acts, and other vulnerable residents of closed institutions;