Regulatory documents of the penal system require improvement

The discussion of proposals for amendments to the regulatory documents of the Department for the Execution of Sentences, primarily the Internal Regulations of Penal Institutions, took place during a ‘round table’ on the topic “Regulatory framework of the department: possibilities for change”. The event was organised by the human rights organisation “Donetsk Memorial”, the Penitentiary Society of Ukraine, and the Kharkiv Human Rights Group, and was held on 2 December in Kharkiv as part of the project “Increasing the Level of Protection of Prisoners’ Rights: Paths and Methods”, which is being carried out within the Human Rights Fund programme with financial support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The participants of the ‘round table’—scientists, representatives of public organisations, the Department for the Execution of Sentences, and the Prosecutor’s Office—examined more than one hundred proposals. These changes are intended to bring the agency’s important regulatory documents closer to international standards for the treatment of prisoners and to raise the level of human rights compliance. After the results of the discussion have been processed, the proposals will be sent to the Department with recommendations to consider and make the corresponding changes to the regulatory acts.