ICwS & ICJ: On 5 and 6 June 2024, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICwS) and its partners, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)(Opens in new window) and the Commonwealth Secretariat (ComSec)(Opens in new window), held an Africa regional consultation on a human rights-based approach to criminal law with stakeholders in Nairobi, Kenya.

The consultation took place as part of a joint project, as part of the Global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status, to produce a Practitioner’s Guide on a human rights-based approach to criminal law, including on ways to further the decriminalisation of poverty, homelessness and status. Over 30 participants attended the consultation, including judges, lawyers and civil society from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. Similar further consultations will take place with stakeholders from Asia and the Caribbean respectively later this year.

The Guide will be launched at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in October 2024 and will serve as a reference and guide to justice sector actors and others – such legislatures, government officials, policy-makers, national human rights institutions, oversight bodies, victims’ groups, human rights advocates, civil society organizations and academics. The Guide will offer a clear, accessible and operational legal framework and practical legal guidance.

Read full article: A human rights-based approach to criminal law: Africa regional consultation