REHABILITATION AND REINTEGRATION OF VIOLENT EXTREMIST PRISONERS.

The Ambassador of the Netherlands in Uganda, Ms Karin Boven and the Commissioner General of Prisons, Can. Dr. Johnson Byabashaija were the chief guests at the Consultative Round Table Workshop Meeting organised by theUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and The Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) under the Joint Global Initiative supporting the management of violent extremist prisoners and the prevention of radicalization to violence in prisons.

The three-day event from 19th to 21st October 2021, will be focusing on an Integrated Approach to Rehabilitation and Reintegration of prisoners including Violent Extremist Prisoners.

The purpose of the meeting is to share best practices and agree on a plan of action for an integrated approach for Rehabilitation and Reintegration in Prisons including for Violent Extremist Prisoners (VEPs).

Other guest speakers were Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, under-secretary general, United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) and Ms.Valerie Lebaux, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) who gave their statements virtually through video links.

The Commissioner of Prisons, Elizabeth Nanfuka, the Head of the Rehabilitation and Reintegration department in UPS gave a presentation on the rehabilitation and reintegration programmes used by the Service.

 It is envisaged that at the end of the three day meeting, the Uganda Prisons Service and relevant key stakeholders will have a shared understanding of existing Uganda Prison Service practice related to Rehabilitation and Reintegration, identified and discussed existing frameworks and models in Uganda for community based initiatives and an exchange on emerging practice models related to Rehabilitation and Reintegration including for Violent Extremist Prisoners.

Present were the Director of Prisons, Corporation and Cooperate Affairs Moses Kakungulu, Commissioner of Prisons, Safety and Security, Wilson Magomu, Assistant Commissioner of Prisons, Juliet Nantale, Assistant Commissioner of Prisons, Safety and Security Operations, Simon Wansadha, Assistant Commissioner of Prisons, Prisoners Administration, Jacob Kivumbi and various Rehabilitation & Reintegration officers.