Activities aimed at improving prison healthcare presented

A working meeting devoted to the topic of “Strengthening healthcare and protection of human rights in prisons in Armenia” took place today with the participation of Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Suren Krmoyan. Experts, as well as representatives of non-governmental organisations participated in the discussion held in co-operation with the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan.

During the meeting, a number of legislative drafts related to the sector of prison healthcare developed by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia were presented to the participants.

Deputy Minister Suren Krmoyan noted that the position of the Government of the Republic of Armenia in this sector is the following: "Convicts must receive the same quality medical aid as a citizen in liberty.” In this respect, the Deputy Minister also informed that, in co-operation with the colleagues of the CoE, the newest medical equipment have already been obtained, with which the medical units of 11 penitentiary institutions will be equipped in the coming months, and about 800 penitentiary officers have undergone training in medical ethics, medical secret and other areas. In closing, Suren Krmoyan added that the penitentiary medical aid in Armenia is currently being integrated into the system of civil medical aid.

While presenting the draft legal acts on prison healthcare to the participants of the meeting in more detail, Deputy Head of the Department for Drafting
of Anti-Corruption and Penitentiary Policies of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Diana Ghazaryan emphasised that the medical units of penitentiary institutions would undergo the procedure for relevant licensing in stages, the professional activities of doctors within penitentiary institutions would not be under the direct supervision of the penitentiary institution. A number of several other innovations aimed at maintaining health of convicts were presented at the working meeting as well, which was followed by a question–and-answer session with the participants.