Prilep, 29 November 2021 (MIA) - The prisoners in the Prilep Penitentiary Facility now have a new equipped visitors’ room dedicated for their families and children visiting the institution, as well as an equipped library. Some 40 kids and their families will benefit from this novelty, which has become possible thanks to a joint European Union and Council of Europe action. Marjan Spasovski, Director of the Directorate for the Execution of Sanctions, at Monday's opening said that this activity is part of the efforts of the Directorate aimed at improving the penitentiary conditions in the country. Freek Janmaat, Head of Operations in the EU Delegation, highlighted the importance for the European Union of improving the detention conditions and of the efforts to advance protection of the fundamental human rights for the imprisoned persons and contribute towards their full integration in the society. “We cannot emphasize enough the importance of both professionalism and respect for the human rights of detained and sentenced persons when managing prisons. Improvement of prison management and supervision, professionalization of prison staff should be a priority, together with the provision of adequate health care and fight against any type of ill-treatment. Education, socialization, rehabilitation must also be priorities for preventing recidivism and preserving security in society,” he stressed. Lejla Dervisagic, who is Head of Operations in the Council of Europe Programme Office in Skopje, in her remarks said that the objective of the children’s corner and library is to help the sentenced persons in keeping their family relations and facilitate the reintegration process after their prison terms are over. She emphasised the important co-operation with the prison authorities in North Macedonia towards building a more secure and humane society that respects and protects the rights of detained and sentenced persons, in line with the European values and standards. The new equipped visitors’ room and the library were made possible through a grant of EU 4,000 in the framework of the joint European Union and Council of Europe action on “Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system and the external oversight mechanism in North Macedonia”, in close co-operation with the Prilep Prison, which contributed to this initiative with the provision of facilities, as well creative painting of the new premises, work of the sentenced persons and the Prison Police officers, said the Council of Europe in a press release About 40 kids and their families will benefit from the children’s corner in the Prilep Prison, the second in the country after the one opened three years ago in the Shtip Prison, with the support of the EU and Council of Europe. These initiatives reflect the commitment of the authorities to the implementation of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation (CM/REC-2018-5) addressing the needs of children with imprisoned parents. "It is estimated that more than 2 million children in Europe have a parent in prison. The majority of these children face emotional and material difficulties, and many are subjected to psychological stress and stigmatisation, but they and their traumas remain largely out from the public eye. In this context, preserving child-parent and family relations is of utmost importance for a successful social reintegration of former prisoners and for their future desistence from crime," said the press release. To help ensure improved protection of human rights of prisoners and their families, the European Union and Council of Europe are working closely with the public authorities in North Macedonia to improve the treatment and rehabilitation of inmates in prison facilities, as well as to strengthen the provision of health care in prisons. Their joint programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022", and its action on “Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system and the external oversight mechanism in North Macedonia” implemented in co-operation with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of North Macedonia and its Directorate for the Execution of Sanctions, is assisting key actors in overcoming shortcomings related to the protection of human rights in prisons, by strengthening the capacities of the penitentiary system and the External Oversight Mechanism (EOM) over the work of the prison police.