Ensuring protection of human rights in line with European standards remains in the core priorities of the Horizontal Facility II programme in the Western Balkans and Turkey. To assist beneficiaries and local partners in the process of advancing the protection of human rights, different interventions have been envisaged during this period in Albania, Montenegro and Turkey.

In Albania a series of regional discussions with Albanian judges and senior experts was concluded with a two-day exchange on the harmonisation of judicial practice in Vlora, with the participation of 20 judges from Fier and Shkodra. This exchange had a particular focus on the implementation of the legislation on treatment of property in line with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). During the meeting important aspects surrounding property rights and the European Convention for Human Rights were discussed.  

The City of Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, joined the campaign on the free legal aid for victims of domestic violence and lit up  the Millennium Bridge in the purple colour of the campaign. This awareness raising initiative kicked off on 1 October and is aimed at raising awareness among women and other victims of domestic violence of the availability of free legal mechanisms.

To support anticipated reforms and ensure a better protection of the right to liberty and security in Turkey, the European Union and the Council of Europe, in co-operation with the Ministry of Justice, gathered close to 100 legal professionals for a roundtable in Istanbul to analyse and put forward practical policy recommendations. The roundtable comes in the context of the awarding of compensation for persons subjected to “erroneous or unjust imposition of protective measures” which has been a key commitment of Turkey’s new Action Plan on Human Rights.