In partnership with the Uzbek NGO INTILISH and the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, DVV International recently launched the project “Re-entry pathways into society for (ex-)prisoners” in Uzbekistan. Funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the project aims at contributing to the establishment of a human rights-responsive environment for the protection and promotion of social, economic and cultural rights of vulnerable groups, particularly women detainees and ex-prisoners of both genders. In this process, the project aims at equipping civil society organisations (CSOs) with the necessary competences to plan and conduct relevant interventions in prisons and to organise advocacy activities that promote the human rights of (ex-)prisoners.
Over the next two years, the project’s goal is to strengthen Uzbekistan’s CSO network on human rights and democratisation by building inter-sectoral networks as well as platforms for policy discussions. Recommendations to reduce stigma and discrimination will be developed in order to raise public awareness on the situation of (ex-)prisoners. Staff of prisons, CSOs and state organisations will be given the opportunity to participate in workshops and round tables to discuss human rights issues, penitentiary psychology, gaps in the existing legislation as well as the needs of (ex-) prisoners, and similar topics. Furthermore, the CSOs involved will offer diverse vocational training on life, civic, health and business skills as well as social services, psychosocial support, and consultation services to the (former) inmates.
In this project, the DVV International office in Uzbekistan can build on its well-established local partners. They bring along extensive expertise in working with the target group of (ex-)prisoners and in protecting their human rights as well as their access to different areas of life, like employment, health care, legal consultation, etc.
While implementing this project, DVV International’s partners, through their membership in the Prison Education Network, will also actively contribute to advocacy at the international level for the right to education in prison. The network was founded together with DVV International in 2017 and brings together over 30 civil society actors and individual experts from nine countries (Armenia, Belarus, Germany, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan).