Santo Domingo.– Raquel Peña, vice president of the Republic, led the closing ceremony of the International Forum on Mental Health and Penitentiary System, where he received the Ibero-American Declaration on Mental Health and the Penitentiary System, a document that establishes a regional roadmap to strengthen mental care and restorative justice in penitentiary centers.
The vice president received the statement on behalf of the Dominican Government. The text includes the findings and proposals of national and international experts who participated in the forum.
The declaration warns that the mental health crisis in most of the world’s prisons constitutes a human rights and public health emergency. It proposes actions to strengthen early diagnosis, improve care, expand specialized personnel and promote restorative justice as a basis for social reintegration.
The document, signed by specialists from Argentina, Spain, the United States, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, also recommends creating specialized mental health units in the territories, carrying out situational prison censuses and guaranteeing the continuous training of prison staff.
“This declaration is a shared roadmap towards a future where mental health is a central axis of rehabilitation and social reintegration. In the Dominican Republic, under the leadership of President Luis Abinader, we have assumed the task of transforming our prison system with concrete actions,” said Peña.
Peña highlighted that the Dominican Government relaunched a multi-year penitentiary reform plan in 2024, which contemplates the progressive elimination of traditional prisons and the transfer of inmates to more modern and dignified spaces.
“With this we will reduce the current prison overpopulation by 45%, giving way to a system focused on rehabilitation and human care,” he added.
The forum was coordinated by the National Office for Evaluation and Supervision of the Penitentiary System (ONAPREP), together with the Regional Penitentiary Academy (ARP), the Prisons Forum, the Dominican College of Psychologists (CODOPSI) and the Dominican Association of Social Work Professionals (ADOPTRASOC).
At the closing of the event, Raquel Peña stated that “the true progress of a nation is also measured in its ability to give second chances. Every step towards a more humane prison system is a step towards a more just and safe Dominican Republic.”
