The Department of Political Thought at the College of Political Science, the University of Baghdad, hosted a scientific seminar entitled “The Impact of the 2025 to the General Amnesty Act Amendment on the Proliferation of Drugs (An Analytical Study).”
At the outset of the seminar, Dr. Haider Ali Abdullah elucidated the primary objective of general amnesty, which serves as a legal mechanism to reduce penalties for specific types of offences. However, the amendment to the General Amnesty Act in 2025 triggered controversy about the implications of the proliferation of drugs. Yet, he explained the need to address both the negative and positive dimensions of the Act to make better judgments regarding drug control efforts.
Several key recommendations evolved in the final plenary of the seminar, including the necessity to revise certain provisions within the General Amnesty Act, the exclusion of drug traffickers and individuals with severe criminal records from its scope, and the enhancement of rehabilitation and reintegration programs for released individuals to prevent backsliding into drug use or trafficking.
