Reforms of Penitentiary and Probation Services presented to international partners of the UNODC

Deputy Minister of Justice Levon Balyan received a delegation implementing a needs assessment mission in the sphere of penitentiary and prison reforms on behalf of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. During the discussion, Levon Balyan noted that, in the context of the ongoing judicial-legal reforms, special importance is attached to the effective protection of the rights and lawful interests of persons serving punishment, as well as the creation of guarantees for them. Presenting the reforms implemented by the Ministry of Justice in the probation and penitentiary sectors, the Deputy Minister emphasised that the Government of the Republic of Armenia has adopted a new approach in the criminal justice sector, that is, the transition from punitive policy to re-socialisation and restorative justice. The Deputy Minister indicated improvement of the legislative framework, modernisation of the infrastructures and facilities of penitentiary institutions and probation in line with European standards, introduction of new mechanisms for electronic management systems and improvement of the security system among the priorities of the Ministry of Justice. UNODC Inter-Regional Advisor Philipp Meissner and Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer Vera Tkachenko expressed gratitude for the meeting and attached special importance to the political will and willingness of Armenia from the perspective of solutions to the sector-specific issues. During the meeting, the international colleagues expressed their concerns and received answers to their questions. First Deputy Head of the Penitentiary Service Sahak Grigoryan; Deputy Head of the Probation Service Gurgen Afrikyan; Director of the "Legal Education and Rehabilitation Programmes Implementation Centre" SNCO Hayk Sanoyan; Head of Staff of the Penitentiary Service Artak Sargsyan and Head of the UN and Sustainable Development Division of the Department of Multilateral Policy and Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Davit Manukyan were also attending the meeting.