China, Colombia sign treaty on transfer of sentenced persons

On behalf of their respective countries, Fu Zhenghua, China's Minister of Justice, and Carlos Holmes Trujillo García, Colombia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, signed a treaty on the transfer of sentenced persons between the two countries in Beijing on July 31.

The treaty's signing was witnessed by the leaders of the two countries.

As an important legal document on the judicial assistance between the two countries, the treaty lays the legal foundation for cooperation on the transfer of sentenced persons.

Once the treaty is in force the two sides will be in a position to transfer citizens of one side who are serving sentences in the other side back to their home country to continue serving their sentences, so as to help them avoid difficulties in language and culture, habits of living, religion, correspondence and visits, which will be good for their correction and their reintergration into society.

The two countries completed negotiations and initialed the treaty in December 2016. They agreed that the treaty would be officially signed during the visit by Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez to China.

So far, China has signed bilateral treaties on the transfer of sentenced persons with 16 countries, namely Ukraine, Russia, Spain, Portugal, South Korea, Australia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Thailand, Kirghizia, Iran, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Belgium, and Pakistan and Colombia.

The treaty with Colombia remains to be ratified by the legislative bodies of the two countries to become effective.