OSCE Office in Yerevan

YEREVAN, 11 October 2005-The training centre for prison staff of the Ministry of Justice was re-opened today in Yerevan after renovation work supported by the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

The newly-renovated training centre, with two auditoria and a computer classroom, will have a capacity to host approximately 300 employees of the penitentiary system annually. In addition, tailored, short-term courses will be organized for 40-50 new staff and 27 specialists working in the sphere of rehabilitation and reconciliation.

"Armenia has achieved significant results over the past few years in reforming its penitentiary system," said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

"We hope that the fully-equipped training centre will contribute greatly to institutionalizing prison staff training and re-training," he added.

Better trained prison staff should provide for more effective protection of the rights of detainees.

The OSCE Office extensively supported the training process of prison staff from 2002 to 2004, paying particular attention to the development of curricula based on the experience and expertise of international professionals, working in the penitentiary systems of their respective countries.