Community re-integration measures for persons having completely served their prison sentences in Vietnam

Community re-integration measures for persons having completely served their prison sentences in Vietnam (Internet image) 

1. Subjects of community reintegrate in Vietnam

According to Article 2 of Decree 49/2020/ND-CP, the subjects applying measures of community reintegrate include:

- Inmates who are going to completely serve their prison sentences, inmates who are granted amnesty, inmates who are conditionally released from prison at detention facilities (hereinafter referred to as inmates);

- Vietnamese, foreigners and non-residents in Vietnam who are pardon recipients, are conditionally released from prison, or completely served prison sentence and come back to the community (hereinafter referred to as persons having completely served their prison sentences); organizations and individuals involved in community re­integration measures.

2. Community re-integration measures for persons having completely served their prison sentences in Vietnam

Community re-integration measures for persons having completely served their prison sentences under Chapter III of Decree 49/2020/ND-CP include:

2.1. Information, communications and education on community re-integration in Vietnam

- Information, communications, and education on community re-integration aim to orientate and encourage the community to educate, assist and abolish prejudice, differentiate, discriminate persons having completely served their prison sentences; raise awareness, sense of compliance with law, prevent recidivism and violation of law of persons having completely served their prison sentences.

- Information, communications and education on community re-integration:

+ Policies and laws of Communist Party and State on community re-integration associated with persons having completely served their prison sentences;

+ Rights and obligations of citizens, rights and obligations of persons having completely served their prison sentences as established in legislative documents;

+ Good measures and experience, advanced and typical model in management, education, assistance and abolishment of prejudice, discrimination against persons having completely served their prison sentences;

+ Positive people involving in community re-integration measures and good examples of typical successful rehabilitation;

+ Other matters regarding assurance of community re-integration of persons having completely served their prison sentences.

- Forms of information, communications, and education:

+ Means of mass media, grassroots information system, internet, websites, web portals of relevant agencies and organization;

+ Release of propagation publications, documents;

+ Seminars, community meetings, consultancy, special education held by speakers, local governments, agencies, and unions;

+ Traditional culture, popular culture, literary composition, arts;

+ Forms of other information, communications, education.

2.2. Psychological assistance, legal formality assistance in Vietnam

- Psychological assistance aims to support and help persons having completely served their prison sentences to build up their belief, will, ability to re-integrate into community and deter themselves from negative acts and violations of law. Descriptive psychological assistance: counseling to eliminate inferiority complex; practice life skills, community integration skills; improve the ability of self-solving difficulties and problems in social relations. Psychological assistance shall be undertaken promptly after the persons having completely served their prison sentences come back their places of residence, in the following forms:

+ Individual counseling, group counseling;

+ Provision of information and documents based on the need of persons having completely served their prison sentences;

+ Talks, community meetings, and forums with topics about matters on which persons having completely served their prison sentences need counsel;

+ Social network, websites, emails, telephone and other means of media.

- Persons having completely served their prison sentences may receive support and guidance on legal formality when they are participants in criminal proceedings, they are litigants in civil or administrative procedures; they are entering into civil contracts; they request the court to issue a criminal record expungement, they apply for issuance of police (clearance) certificate and perform other administrative procedures as per the law.

2.3. Vocational training, job creation for persons having completely served their prison sentences in Vietnam

- Persons having completely served their prison sentences who have joined vocational training at college, intermediate level or elementary level for less than 3 months, if eligible for vocational training assistance as per applicable law, shall be granted tuition fee remission, boarder policies, subsidies on training cost, meal allowance and travel expense.

If the persons having completely served their prison sentences are not eligible for vocational training assistance as per applicable law, vocational training assistance for them shall be subject to discretion of the People's Committee of province.

- Persons having completely served their prison sentences may apply for vocational-training loans as per the law on credit applicable to students; apply for job-creation loans from National Employment Fund, be given priority to register temporary employment policy as per the law on job creation policies and National Employment Fund.

Depending on provincial socio-economic circumstances, Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall cooperate with relevant agencies in advising the People's Committee of province to use other credit sources to grant concessional loans to persons having completely served their prison sentences for business or job creation.

- Persons having completely served their prison sentences less than 18 years of age shall be given priority to join vocational training and take out loans for job hunting; children having completely served their prison sentences may apply appropriate support, intervention and protection measures as prescribed by law.

- Depending on the need of the person having completely served their prison sentence and labor market, the employment service center shall provide consultancy, job placement free of charge for the person having completely served their prison sentence; then check up on job status of that person and report it to the regulatory agency responsible for job services.

2.4. Other assistance measures in Vietnam

- Persons having completely served their prison sentences shall be received, educated, assisted by local administrations, agencies, units, organizations and individuals for community re-integration and prevention of violation of law.

- The State encourages agencies, units, organizations and individuals to participate in counseling, vocational training and job placement activities to assist persons who have completely served their prisons to re-integrate into the community; and encourages employment of such persons in agencies, organizations, production and business establishments.

- Agencies, units, organizations and individuals who monitor, educate and assist persons having completely served their prison sentences shall be given priority to lease houses or infrastructure of the state; shall be eligible for tax remission as prescribed in relevant law on taxation and guiding documents thereof.

- Provincial-level People's Committees shall, according to their competence in land use planning, local land funds and other resources, assist organizations and individuals in organizing vocati

Quoc Dat

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