Kazakhstan - regional leader in the penitentiary system reforming - E.Hannah

ASTANA.KAZINFORM - Kazakhstan is a regional leader in reforming of the penal system. This was reported by the Executive Director of "Penal Reform International" (PRI) Alison Hannah during the regional conference "Formation of a new penal legislation in Central Asia: Trends and Challenges", held in Astana.

"We believe that in Kazakhstan has taken many good steps in the criminal justice and prison system. For example, Kazakhstan ratified the optional application - the Convention against Torture. It shows a positive commitment of the country aimed at improving prison conditions. Now the next step will be undertaken aimed at improving independent public oversight of places of detention. Implementation of these plans will result in the legislation of Kazakhstan in line with international best practices in this area ", E.Hannah said. According to her, not so long ago Kazakhstan was the third in the ranking of countries by the number of the prisoners in the total number of the country's population.Since then, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan have taken huge stride to reduce the number of the prison inmates. "Kazakhstan is a leader in the penal system reforming in the region. There are many countries where the number of the prisoners is reduced by simple amnesties. But amnesty is not a long-term solution to the issue. It is particularly important that all parts of the penal system worked in a team. We believe that Kazakhstan is moving in the right direction," the chairwoman of the PRI said.