Back Fostering resocialisation and rehabilitation of prisoners in North Macedonia: EU and Council of Europe assist prison authorities

Skopje, North Macedonia 22 May 2026
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Fostering resocialisation and rehabilitation of prisoners in North Macedonia: EU and Council of Europe assist prison authorities

Resocialisation officers are professionals engaged in the criminal justice systems, prisons, or rehabilitation centres to help offenders reintegrate into society. Their primary role is to assist individuals in adapting to social norms, building new skills, and overcoming habits or behaviours that contributed to their criminal activity. A group of 21 resocialisation officers from eight penitentiary institutions in North Macedonia refreshed their knowledge of treatment programmes, previously developed with support of the Council of Europe.

With many new staff members joining prison teams and the evolving needs of resocialisation officers, this initiative focused on updating and expanding their expertise. This capacity building session highlighted several important treatment programmes designed over the past decade. These include the general cognitive treatment programme, a programme for violent offenders, and another tailored for individuals serving long sentences.

These programmes are crucial in helping sentenced individuals reintegrate into society – the main goal of a prison sentence. The participants included both experienced officers and recent recruits, bringing together a range of perspectives to enrich the important work of supporting inmates through the programmes that look into their attitude and readiness to move forward.

This activity was conducted under the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, and its action “Strengthening the capacities of the penitentiary system in North Macedonia”. 

Horizontal Facility III

The joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” (Horizontal Facility III) is a co-operation initiative, running from 2023 until 2026. The programme covers actions in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye. It enables the Beneficiaries to meet their reform agendas in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy and to comply with European standards, which is also a priority for the EU enlargement process.

The envelope of this facility amounts to ca. 41 million EUR (85% funded by the EU, 15% by the CoE).

Find out more about the Horizontal Facility III programme >>

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.