As members of the Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status, the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust and the International Legal Foundation (ILF) brought together actors in South Asia, primarily civil society activists, organisations and legal practitioners, for the first regional Convening on Decriminalising Poverty and Status in South Asia in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 24- 25 January 2025. The Global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status is a coalition of organisations from across the world that advocate for the repeal of laws, reform of policies and change in practices that target people based on poverty, status or for their activism.

This Convening was the first event of its kind and intended to initiate, facilitate and support partnerships that address criminalisation of poverty and status across South Asia. Using the criminalisation of poverty and status as a critical lens for identifying instances of structural discrimination and violence, the convening adopted an intersectional and interdisciplinary approach to address inequalities in criminal legal systems and practice.

Activists and organisations from the African continent, where there is a strong and successful regional campaign to decriminalise poverty and status, also participated and shared their experiences and learnings.