Institute of Commonwealth Studies: Around the world, outdated laws continue to penalize individuals not for their actions, but for who they are and what they lack. Minor infractions such as homelessness, loitering, begging, vagrancy, and informal trading, disproportionately target society’s most vulnerable. Instead of addressing the root causes of economic hardship, these legal frameworks trap marginalized communities in a cycle of criminalization.

To confront this systemic challenge, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICwS), in collaboration with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Commonwealth Secretariat, launched the Practitioners’ Guide on A Human Rights-Based Approach to Criminal Law, Including the Decriminalization of Conduct Associated with Poverty and Status at the Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies (CALRAs) Conference in Singapore on 13 July 2026. 

Read full article: Asia Launch of the Practitioner’s Guide on the Decriminalisation of Poverty and Status