- Home
- About us
-
Our work
- Elections
- Civil society
- Rule of law
- Democratic governance
- Legislative support
- Freedom of religion or belief
- Freedom of peaceful assembly
- Gender-based violence
- Human rights defenders
- Human rights and new technologies
- Human rights and gender-responsive security sector
- Human rights and anti-terrorism
- Migration and freedom of movement
- National human rights institutions
- Torture
- Trafficking in human beings
- Hate crime
- People with disabilities
- Racism, xenophobia and discrimination
- Roma and Sinti
- Gender equality
- Special meetings
- News
- Events
- Resources
Press release
OSCE events focus on probation reform in Central Asia
- Date:
- Place:
- BISHKEK/WARSAW
- Source:
- OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek
- Fields of work:
- Human rights
BISHKEK/WARSAW, 20 July 2004 -An OSCE-conference held in Bishkek on 19 and 20 July focused on reform of Kyrgyzstan's probation service, including the possibility of transferring this service from the Interior to the Justice Ministry.
"The transfer of the probation service to the Ministry of Justice is a logical step that should follow the successful transfer of the penitentiary system between the same ministries," said Ambassador Markus Mueller, Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. "I would especially note the greater role of the probation service in expanding the alternatives to imprisonment."
The ongoing process of humanizing criminal legislation gives new tasks to the Kyrgyz probation service, including broader use of alternative forms of punishment.
"The ultimate success of this process depends on the reform of the probation service in accordance with international standards," said Cynthia Alkon, Head of the Rule of Law Unit of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
The conference, which also looked at different forms of co-operation between institutions and non-governmental organizations, will be followed by a 10-day summer course for staff from correctional institutions throughout Central Asia.
The course will focus on international and regional experiences in the area of probation-service development. It is the second programme of this kind to be organized by the ODIHR. The first course, held last year in Kazakhstan, dealt with questions concerning the general reform of the penitentiary service in Central Asia.
"We selected the subject of this year's summer course - development of probation services - specifically because of the importance of probation in the process of humanizing criminal policy, introducing alternative forms of punishment, and strengthening the implementation of international standards," Cynthia Alkon said. "All these elements demand the development of probation services, which remain a weak link in the system of carrying out punishment in the countries of Central Asia."
Both the conference and the course were organized by the ODIHR, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, the Justice Ministry of Kyrgyzstan, the Soros Foundation-Kyrgyzstan, and Penal Reform International.
"The transfer of the probation service to the Ministry of Justice is a logical step that should follow the successful transfer of the penitentiary system between the same ministries," said Ambassador Markus Mueller, Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. "I would especially note the greater role of the probation service in expanding the alternatives to imprisonment."
The ongoing process of humanizing criminal legislation gives new tasks to the Kyrgyz probation service, including broader use of alternative forms of punishment.
"The ultimate success of this process depends on the reform of the probation service in accordance with international standards," said Cynthia Alkon, Head of the Rule of Law Unit of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
The conference, which also looked at different forms of co-operation between institutions and non-governmental organizations, will be followed by a 10-day summer course for staff from correctional institutions throughout Central Asia.
The course will focus on international and regional experiences in the area of probation-service development. It is the second programme of this kind to be organized by the ODIHR. The first course, held last year in Kazakhstan, dealt with questions concerning the general reform of the penitentiary service in Central Asia.
"We selected the subject of this year's summer course - development of probation services - specifically because of the importance of probation in the process of humanizing criminal policy, introducing alternative forms of punishment, and strengthening the implementation of international standards," Cynthia Alkon said. "All these elements demand the development of probation services, which remain a weak link in the system of carrying out punishment in the countries of Central Asia."
Both the conference and the course were organized by the ODIHR, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, the Justice Ministry of Kyrgyzstan, the Soros Foundation-Kyrgyzstan, and Penal Reform International.
Contact
