Better education for prison inmates

On Human Rights Day, the DVV International Office in Belarus commemorated the right to education for prisoners. Jointly, with state and civil society partners, it issued recommendations on the development of education in Belarusian penal institutions.

On 10 December, the world commemorates Human Rights Day and recalls the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948. The right to education is also enshrined in Article 26 as a human right. DVV International in Belarus chose this date as an occasion to recall the human right to education for prisoners. Because education is an essential prerequisite for successful social reintegration.

In order to improve the situation of prisoners, DVV International along with its partners – the non-governmental organisation “Community Development Projects”, the Department of Penalty Execution of the Belarusian Ministry of the Interior and the Academy of the Belarusian Ministry of the Interior – adopted recommendations on the development of education in Belarusian penal institutions.

The recommendations were the subject of the international conference on "Educational, socio-correctional activities and psychological aid in the penitentiary system", which took place from 16 to 18 November 2016 in the Belarusian city of Gomel. More than 100 experts from eleven countries (Belarus, Bulgaria, the UK, Germany, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, the Netherlands, Russia, Uzbekistan and Ukraine) took part.

The recommendations encompass four fields of action: 1) improve the legal and administrative provisions for education in prisons; 2) increase the quality of the provision and implementation of education and training in penal facilities; 3) improve the scientific and methodological provisions of the educational activities of the incarcerated, as well as 4) promote the exchange of experience and strengthen international cooperation.

Shortly before its official launch, the Republic of Belarus passed a National Human Rights Plan. DVV International Belarus now hopes that the recommendations will contribute to the improvement of the educational offer and the humanisation of the Belarusian penal system altogether.

The document is available under the following link: Recommendations on Developing Education in Penitentiary Institutions of the Republic of Belarus