Amnesty demonstrates Vietnam’s humanitarian tradition

The granting of amnesty to prisoners reflects the clement policy of the Vietnamese Party and State and the humanitarian tradition of the nation, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in an article on the occasion of the 70^th National Day (September 2^nd, 1945).

According to the Deputy PM, who is also Chairman of the Central Advisory Council on Amnesty, amnesty is also a way to recognise inmates’ rehabilitation in prison, which is the result of close coordination between detention camps, families, relevant agencies and the whole society.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) meeting with prisioners granted amnesty.

After the National Assembly adopted the Law on Amnesty in 2007, the President has granted five amnesties, under which a total of 63,499 inmates were freed ahead of their scheduled release dates and 678 others had their sentences delayed or suspended.

Deputy PM Phuc stressed that the rate of relapse among the pardoned prisoners was very low, at a mere 0.73 percent, citing 2013 statistics from the Ministry of Public Security.

He attributed the outcomes to the effective rehabilitation work in prison as well as the assistance of local authorities and communities to former offenders in re-integrating into society.

The Deputy PM explained that in view of several major national anniversaries in 2015, including the 85th birthday of the Communist Party of Vietnam, 40 years of southern region liberation and national reunification, 70 years of the National Day and the upcoming 12^th Party National Congress, the President has decided to grant an amnesty.

Under the President’s Decision 1366/2015/QD-CTN issued on July 10, the Central Advisory Council on Amnesty and the Prime Minister have issued documents on the implementation of the President’s decision. All the documents were published in the mass media and disseminated to each inmate.

According to the preliminary report of the Ministry of Public Security, more than 18,000 prisoners across the country have met conditions to receive amnesty.

To ensure publicity and transparency, an inter-sector assessment team including representatives from the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the President’s Office have conducted assessments of each prisoner profile.

Besides the amnesty, the Party and State also take measures to create favourable conditions for pardoned prisoners to re-integrate into the community and stabilise their lives, Deputy PM Phuc wrote, citing the Government’s Decree 80/2011/ND-CP issued in September 2011 on measures to facilitate re-integration of pardoned prisoners.

In July this year, the Prime Minister also sent a public notice requesting local authorities nationwide to coordinate with the Vietnam Fatherland Front and relevant socio-economic organisations to effectively implement Decree 80/2011/ND-CP.