On 28-31 July, a delegation of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine headed by Deputy Minister of Justice Olena Vysotska paid a working visit to Tallinn, Estonia, to strengthen cooperation in the field of justice. As part of the working visit, the Ukrainian delegation visited the modern Tallinn prison built in accordance with European standards.

The working visit was organised by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Estonia to exchange experience, discuss new trends and future cooperation in finding and applying innovative approaches and solutions in the field of observance of prisoners’ rights. In particular, it focused on:

• creating appropriate conditions for the detention of convicts and persons taken into custody;
• creating an effective system for preventing and combating torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
• improving methods and tools for correction and re-socialisation of convicts and their further implementation;
• ensuring an adequate level of security and law and order in penitentiary institutions and pre-trial detention centres, etc.

The meeting also addressed issues related to cooperation between Estonia and Ukraine, the future of the training programme launched by the Estonian Centre for International Development, as well as the practice and development areas of the penitentiary and correctional systems in Estonia, Finland and Ukraine.