The 182nd UNAFEI International Training Course“Effective Support for Reintegration of Released Inmates– Toward Seamless Support for Employment, Housing and Medical Care”
1. Duration and Participants From 8 September to 3 October 2023
 17 overseas participants from 15 jurisdictions
 7 participants from Japan
2. Programme Overview
This training course focused on effective social reintegration support for offenders,
including those released from prison, especially efforts to achieve seamless support foremployment, housing, and medical care. In this course, the participants shared anddeepened their understanding of the legal systems and operational conditions in eachparticipating country, and intensively discussed good practices, challenges, and solutions
at all stages of criminal justice in each country.
The participants stayed for about a month at UNAFEI, where they spent their time
together and learned from each other about efforts to support offender reintegration into
society in their respective countries. The participants were able to build a network ofinternational cooperation that will last a lifetime.
3. Contents of the Programme(1) Lecturers
The following visiting experts from overseas and Japanese experts, as well as
UNAFEI faculty members, gave lectures as follows:Visiting Experts- Mr. Ou Sabun
Executive Director, Prison Fellowship Cambodia“Support for Reintegration of Prisoners in Cambodia through Public-PrivatePartnership”-

Ms. Heidi Maria Lind
Project manager, Development and Quality Unit, Development andGuidance Department, Prison and Probation Service of Finland“Criminal Justice System and Reintegration Assistance in Finland”

Japanese Experts- Mr. NAKAI Masatsugu
Chairman, Chibo Corporation“The Activities of Cooperative Employers Employing Offenders”-Mr. TAKASAKA AsatoPresident, NPO Re-Delinquency Prevention Support Center Aichi“The Private Activities to Support Prisoners Released from Prison”

(2) Individual Presentations
Participants shared the practices and the challenges in their respective
jurisdictions regarding the theme of the programme through their individualpresentations. Materials of all presentations were uploaded online for later
reference by participants.
(3) Group Workshops
The participants were divided into three groups by job category and exchanged
their views and knowledge through discussions on the following topics: In group
1, mainly judges and prosecutors, “Imposition of penalties and case dispositions
with due regard to rehabilitative perspectives” ; In group 2, which consisted mainlyof correctional officers in the facility, “Imposition of penalties and casedispositions with due regard to rehabilitative perspectives” ; In group 3, which
consisted mainly of officers in charge of community corrections, “Promotion ofcommunity-based treatment and multi-stakeholder partnerships in the social
reintegration of offenders”.
Each group concluded the programme by presenting their recommendations
based on the challenges they identified and what they learned in the lectures,presentations by the fellow participants and discussions.
4. Comments from the Programming Officer
In this training, practitioners from diverse professions working at various stages ofcriminal justice in countries around the world learned and discussed together. Treatment
and reintegration of offenders, the main theme of this training, are essential to prevent
recidivism and protect the safety of society, but the reality is that the necessity andimportance of these efforts are not fully understood in all countries. Practitioners involved
in offender treatment often face the lack of public support, misunderstanding, prejudiceand criticism, and they struggle with limited budgets and personnel. They are always
looking for ways to provide the best possible treatment and support and to make thegovernment and the public understand the importance of multi-stakeholder partnership in
offender reintegration.
The participants were keenly aware of the common challenges they face, even though
they are from different countries. It was also an opportunity to re-evaluate the excellent
policies and systems in their own countries and share them as suggestions for othercountries. I believe that all participants were able to gain a common understanding during
this training that, in the great proposition of rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders,multi-agency collaboration that does not stop at the framework of ministries and agencies,and cooperation from the private sector are indispensable.
The training was a valuable opportunity for participants to share a sense of empathy
and solidarity, to increase pride in their work, and to share their hopes for the future. I
sincerely hope that the knowledge and experience you gain from this training will help
you to improve and enhance the systems in your respective countries, and that thefriendships and cooperative relationships you build during this training will last for a longtime.