Deputy Minister of Justice Levon Balyan participated in the first meeting of the coordinating councils of the Council of Europe, “Strengthening the protection of the rights of persons deprived of liberty” and “Support to the strengthening of the probation service in Armenia.” The deputy minister thanked the Council of Europe for providing support to the reforms of the penal and probation sectors of the Republic of Armenia.
Levon Balyan noted that he had the opportunity to reflect on the successes achieved within the framework of the previous action plan. The deputy minister also said that it is about the opening of the first professional training center for probation beneficiaries, the introduction of tools for self-harm and suicide risk, as well as mental health examination and risk assessment in penitentiary institutions, the development of an electronic medical system, and an e-probation design, etc.
Levon Balyan highly appreciated the fact that the cooperation of the Ministry of Justice with the Council of Europe in the penitentiary sector has expanded, extending it not only to the field of prison medicine but also to addressing the problems of various aspects of deprivation of liberty in general. The deputy minister noted that it is expected to continue the cooperation in the already existing areas in the new phase, as well as to closely cooperate in assessing the risks and needs of convicts, individual punishment planning, preparing convicts for release from punishment, implementing effective resocialization programs, developing the capacities of the prison and probation systems, and other directions.
Summing up the speech, the deputy minister reaffirmed the readiness of the Ministry of Justice to ensure the continuity of reforms in the penal and probation sectors.
