|
Report on the second
working session offered
to the albanian prison
administration in Lezha prison
On 27 December 2005
Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) held the second working session with the
senior and middle management staff of Lezha prison in the framework of the
enhancement of the awareness and recognition of human rights and rule of law by
Albanian prison administration. The expert invited by AHC to offer his
expertise in this session was Mr. Jan van den Brand, Director Portfolio and
Coordinator of the External Relations in the Dutch National Agency of
Correctional Institutions in the Netherlands, at the same time, expert of the
European Council in Eastern and Central Europe.
Mrs. Edlira Papavangjeli, Programs’ Coordinator was representing
Albanian Helsinki Committee in this activity.
The
methodology used in this working session was the participatory technique, where
theoretical concepts were interlinked with the practice and models of good
practice. The participants in this working session provided the AHC and its
expert with their challenges, issues and reality in this penitentiary
institution and how things could be improved in this regard in the near future.
This session was
focused on several significant issues related to the principles and good
practices, which make possible the operation of secure, safe and orderly
prisons. Representatives of security and education sector as well as the
management team participated actively in this working session. The first part of
the session was focused on defining concepts like security, justice and control,
what it means to operate in a secure and safe prison; what does security means
for the community wide perspective; how is safety achieved for both the staff in
the prison and the persons deprived of their liberty; how justice is rendered in
a secure penitentiary institution and what does this mean with regard to the
treatment of persons deprived of their liberty with humanity and fairness.
All these concepts had
reference to articles written by international professionals in different
European countries as well as were explained through concrete examples from the
part of the expert. The participants worked on concrete and real incidents that
have happened in their institution lately and were trained to objectively
analyze these situations from each sector (uniform staff and education sector),
their respective outcomes and what could be ways of preventing such incidents
from happening in the future.
The second part of the
session was focused on issues of how to improve the communication and
cooperation between the security and education sector in this institution with
the same goal in providing persons deprived of their liberty a humane and fair
treatment. Experiences were brought from other countries regarding how this
cooperation be bettered through improving the communication structure between
these two disciplines in the institution.
Another strength of
this activity was the opportunity it gave for the participants to work together
on a very important assignment given among others during this working session,
namely the meditation over the lacks and challenges faced in this particular
institution. Each sector presented issues that will be brought to the attention
of the General Director of Prisons in an official letter drafted by Mr. Van den
Brand. This will serve as a positive pressure and lobby to the respective policy
and decision taking bodies in the prison system aiming at the further
improvement of the situation and condition of the Lezha prison in order to make
it a secure and safe institution.
|
