Professionals responsible for monitoring places of detention in Montenegro have strengthened their ability to manage the emotional demands of their work helping them remain focused, objective and responsive when assessing the treatment and conditions of people deprived of their liberty. A specialised capacity-building session brought together monitoring officers of the Ombudsman’s National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) to explore practical ways of managing stress and emotional strain while carrying out their work.

The work of the NPM requires regular engagement with persons in particularly vulnerable situations, including prisoners, detainees and psychiatric patients, as well as exposure to challenging environments and accounts of possible violations of fundamental rights. Effective performance of these duties requires not only knowledge of applicable human rights standards and monitoring methodologies, but also the ability to recognise and manage the psychological and emotional impact of such work. Particular attention was therefore devoted to handling demanding professional situations while maintaining objectivity, empathy and appropriate professional boundaries.

Professional resilience is essential to effective monitoring. It supports sustained attention, sensitive interviewing and objective assessment of information, enabling monitoring officers to identify signs of ill-treatment, inadequate conditions and other infringements of rights that might otherwise remain unnoticed.

Representatives of the Administration for Execution of Criminal Sanctions (AECS) also participated, contributing to a broader understanding of the challenges faced by professionals working in and monitoring places of detention. The joint activity provided an opportunity to exchange experiences and perspectives, while strengthening inter-institutional dialogue and mutual understanding of the respective roles in protecting persons deprived of their liberty.

By strengthening the capacities of professionals responsible for monitoring closed institutions, the activity supports the prevention of ill-treatment and reinforces safeguards for persons deprived of their liberty. It also contributes to a stronger culture of human rights protection in Montenegro, keeping human dignity and fundamental rights at the centre of institutional practice and supporting alignment with European and international human rights standards.

Session was organised under the action, “Enhancing human rights protection for detained and sentenced person in Montenegro”, as part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”,  implemented by the Council of Europe.