EU funds improved infrastructure and administration of Albania’s prisons

TIRANA, Dec 15 -Ambassador Helmuth Lohan, the head of the European Commission Tirana office, last week visited a training session for the newly recruited administration of the prison of Fush롋ruja. This training is part of the assistance provided under the 400,000 Euros EU project “Managing Prisons in a Humane Way,” which provides training about prisoners’ rights.
The project also provides help regarding the organizational structure of prisons, the handling of conflicts in prisons, and a prison staff code of conduct. These issues will be addressed in the manual “Making Standards Work,” published by the project.
The EU has assisted the Albanian Judicial and Penitentiary system in comprehensive ways. The prison at Fush롋ruja has been built as part of a project costing 3.8 million Euros. This prison now provides accommodation for 312 inmates, consisting of 176 low security detention inmates and 136 high security detention inmates. Another prison in Kor衬 and the pre-trial detention centre in Vlora, have also been built. A new detention centre for juveniles in Kavaja is now under construction. These new prisons, designed in accordance with European standards, should help reduce the overcrowding that is documented in the Progress Report 2008 for Albania. EU assistance in this field will be ongoing with another 10 million Euros.
However, opening new prisons is an important but insufficient step, according to officials. Prisons should not only serve a temporary punitive purpose but also prepare a safe return of detainees to society. Treatment of prisoners by staff is therefore a crucial issue. The infrastructure of the new prisons provides the facilities for an adequate program of activities for prisoners. The expertise and training provided through the project “Managing Prisons in a Humane Way” will raise the professional capacities of prison staff in the prisons in Fush롋ruja, Vlora and Kor衠and thereby create a safe climate in these institutions.
Lohan spoke of the recent celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He underlined that the respect for human rights is one of the founding principles of the European Union, common to all member states and needed to be complied with by all countries wishing to join the EU.