The reform of North Macedonia's penitentiary facilities started in 2005, aiming to improve the living conditions of inmates in line with the European Prison Rules. This has been achieved by the rehabilitation of the existing infrastructure, construction of new facilities, and improvement of security and safety systems.
This investment concerned four institutions: Idrizovo Penal Correctional Facility, Skopje Prison, Kumanovo Penal Correctional Facility, and Tetovo Juvenile Educational Correctional Facility.
WBIF assisted this initiative through a technical assistance grant to support the project preparation, in particular, to provide advisory and review services of the main designs that were prepared by local design companies. In addition, technical assistance aimed to facilitate the alignment of operational practices with EU standards. To assist with maximising the knowledge and best practice transfer, a study tour to the UK was undertaken with visits to prisons operated by private entities, government, and local authorities.
