A significant legal resource aimed at dismantling laws that criminalise poverty launched in Nairobi this summer. It brought together over 60 judges, lawyers, and civil society leaders from across the Commonwealth.

The Practitioners’ Guide on a Human Rights-Based Approach to Criminal Law offers concrete tools for reforming unjust laws that disproportionately target marginalised communities. This could range from criminalising homelessness and informal trading to punishing those unable to pay civil debts.

Developed under the auspices of the Global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status (The Campaign), and hosted by the Institute of Commonwealth Studies with partners including the International Commission of Jurists, this Africa launch marks the first in a series of regional rollouts designed to equip legal professionals, policymakers, and advocates with practical frameworks for decriminalising poverty and status.

Some countries represented included Kenya, South Africa, Mauritius, and Nigeria. The event highlighted both the urgent need for reform and the growing momentum behind efforts to centre human rights in criminal law.

The guide serves as both an aspirational document and a practical toolkit; it also recognises that Commonwealth countries are at different stages of legal reform while providing actionable guidance for progress at every level.

Read more here.