OSCE presents training centre for Kyrgyzstan’s penitentiary service officials

A public presentation of an OSCE-supported training centre for the staff of Kyrgyzstan’s State Penitentiary Service (GSIN) took place in Bishkek on 30 August 2013.

Vice Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Tokon Mamytov, other government and GSIN officials, duty and veteran prison officers and local journalists attended the large-scale event.

The training facility was first established with support of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek in 2010 and has since become a major centre for professional education of Kyrgyzstan’s prison officials. It has several lecture halls, staff offices, a library, and living quarters for visiting students. Since its establishment, more than 500 prison officers improved their professional skills during some 50 training events. The public presentation coincided with a graduation ceremony during which 33 prison inspectors received certificates of successful completion of an advanced training course.

“The OSCE Centre in Bishkek works with Kyrgyzstan’s Penitentiary Service to support the implementation of the National Strategy of the Penitentiary System Reform ‘Umut-2’,” said Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. “Major practical aspects of our co-operation include providing expert and consulting support, improving work conditions, and expanding the professional education opportunities for the prison staff. We believe assistance provided by the OSCE will further strengthen the institutional capacity of Kyrgyzstan’s penitentiary system.”

As part of the event, facilities built and a vehicle purchased with the OSCE support for the personnel of the GSIN Military Service were also presented.

Zarylbek Rysaliev, the Chairperson of the State Penitentiary Service said: “Improved quality of our officers’ professional education and strengthened physical infrastructure of GSIN are among the most significant outcomes stemming from our co-operation with the OSCE Centre in Bishkek under the penitentiary reform process. We hope to continue our joint work in these areas in the future.”