EU Delegation in the Kyrgyz Republic seeks proposals from NGOs with the purpose of implementing prison reform and humanised criminal code in that country.
Prisons in Kyrgyzstan are in a desperate condition. Insufficient nutrition, overcrowding, spread of infectious diseases are problems that are commonplace in Kyrgyz prisons. There is hardly any budget available for maintenance of prisons. During the Soviet period the prisons were profitable, since they produced goods with free labour. There is a common lack of awareness of the fact the maintenance of prisons is costly and that reducing the number of prisoners would reduce costs.
Unless a series of serious measures is taken, the situation may easily exacerbate. Although there is awareness of this threatening situation and the Kyrgyz government has been trying to address it, it is unlikely, despite of strong political will among key persons, that the Kyrgyz Republic can achieve a radical reform on its own. Involvement of international organisations and outside support is vital for the attempts to succeed.
In order to improve the situation the EU signed an agreement with UNODC on 18 December 2009 for the implementation of 3-years-long project to support prison reform in the Kyrgyz Republic. The purpose of this project is to support the Kyrgyz Government in policy formulation and design, in institutional capacity building and in improvement of sanitary premises in the designated prisons.
Activities:
– Training/capacity building;
– Awareness campaigns;
– Lobbying actions;
– Advocacy actions to increase the awareness of institutions on human rights promotion and respect;
– Drafting of policy or legislation recommendations by civil society representatives as part of a
Working Group in the law-making institutions;
– Publication of manuals, leaflets on best practices related to the priority themes;
– Promoting innovative approaches in addressing human rights issues, e.g. following best practices of other countries;
– Facilitating dialogue, consultation and discussion between different stakeholders;
– Organisation of conferences, workshops and seminars. However, conferences can only be funded if they form part of a wider range of activities to be implemented in the lifetime of the project. For these purposes, preparatory activities for a conference and the publication of the proceedings of a conference do not, in themselves, constitute such “wider activities”.
– Opinion surveys and analytical papers if they form part of a wider range of activities.
Deadline for submitting the proposal is August 23, 2011
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