Advocacy

You will find here the most important advocacy opportunities at the European and international
levels through which civil society actors can have a stronger impact on prison policies across
the continent. This page is updated monthly.

If you want to work on a common initiative related to one or several topics listed below, please contact us at community@prisonlitigation.org


UNITED NATIONS


63rd session 7 September – 9 October 2026

The programme includes interactive dialogues with the Working Groups on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and on Arbitrary Detention, and with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. It will also feature discussions on country situations, including oral updates by the Group of Independent Experts on Belarus and by the High Commissioner on Ukraine, as well as interactive dialogues with the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine and with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia. Lastly, the Universal Periodic Review outcomes for Belgium, Denmark, Estonia and Latvia will be adopted.

>> NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC can be accredited to participate as observers. See details here.

146th session 19 October – 6 November 2026

The Committee will review Austria‘s report.

>> Submit by 21 September 2026. See details here.

Call for input Prison overcrowding

The SRT has opened a call for input in view of the drafting of a technical guide on practical measures to reduce and prevent prison overcrowding.

>> Submit by 30 September 2026. See details here.

80th session 2 – 13 November 2026

The CESCR will examine Austria‘s report and examine Portugal under the follow-up procedure.

>> Submit by 2 October 2026 . See details here.

85th session 16 November – 4 December 2026

The CAT will examine the reports submitted by Norway and Moldova.

>> Submit by 19 October 2026. See details on the session here and on NGO participation here.

Call for input LGBT persons deprived of liberty

The IE SOGI has published a call for input on the situation of LGBT persons deprived of liberty. The inputs received will informed the IE’s report to be presented at the 65th session of the Human Rights Council.

>> Submit by 30 November 2026. See details here.


COUNCIL OF EUROPE


Country visits 2026/2027

The CPT has scheduled visits to the following countries in 2026: Finland, Lithuania, Poland, MoldovaSerbia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

It has also announced visits to those countries in 2027: Albania, Andorra, Croatia, Iceland, Latvia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Türkiye.

>> See list of visits for 2026 on the CPT’s main page, and list of visits for 2027 here.


EUROPEAN UNION


Victims’ rights Call for evidence & public consultation

The European Commission has published a call for evidence and a public consultation on the EU Victims’ Rights Strategy 2026-2030, currently under preparation.

>> Contribute to the call for evidence by 4 September 2026 and to the public consultation by 5 November 2026. See details here.

European Prison Litigation Network
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