On 27 and 28 October 2022 a large, multi-sectoral group of stakeholders from across Africa met in Johannesburg to consider urgent action to address cruel, inhuman, and degrading conditions that are endemic in places of detention. Immediate action is required to meet the minimum standards in line with our domestic and international obligations. The group included leaders in prison management and oversight from 17 African nations. They included judges and other judicial officers, lawyers, people formerly incarcerated and representatives from correctional services, national human rights institutions and civil society. The meeting called for the reform of criminal laws in line with the Principles on Decriminalisation of Petty Offences adopted by the African Commission and emphasised the need to move away from mass incarceration and towards a legal system that provides restorative justice. The Rivonia Statement was adopted at the event. The event was co-hosted by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, Africa Criminal Justice Reform and the judicial inspectorates of South Africa, Malawi and Namibia.

Read the Rivonia Statement here: https://www.southernafricalitigationcentre.org/2022/10/28/the-rivonia-statement/