The APT and the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), with the support of the Lithuanian Ombudsman, held a workshop for National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) on "Monitoring of Psychiatric Facilities", from 21 to 23 June 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The three-day workshop allowed for lively exchanges among peers on common issues of concern relating to the monitoring of psychiatric institutions, as well as developing further skills to handle challenges specific to such institutions. Part of the workshop also included a visit to a psychiatric institution.

Participants included representatives from Ombuds institutions from Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, as well as experts, including from the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT).

It was the second workshop organised together with the IOI, after a first edition on “implementing a preventive mandate” that took place in Riga, Estonia, in June 2015.

News Wednesday, June 29, 2016