On May 22-26, members of the Campaign attended the 32nd session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), which is the principal policymaking body of the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. In the months leading to the session, Campaign members worked...

SALC: Mbabane, Eswatini: 16 June 2023 – Today, a five-panel bench of the Supreme Court of Eswatini passed a judgement setting aside the decision by the High Court that dismissed the application by Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities, ESGM, to be registered as a non-profit organisation.  In the 26-page long judgement,...

The murder of prominent human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko and the subsequent admission by the government that it hired ‘security experts’ to deal with pro-democracy activists have created a state of fear in Eswatini. As the “security experts”, who are largely seen as mercenaries, rove at night in search for...

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), in an amicus curiae brief submitted today, has requested the East Jakarta District Court to give effect to Indonesia’s international legal obligations concerning freedom of expression and information in their adjudication of a case concerning criminal charges against two human rights defenders, Haris Azhar...

The offence of being ‘rogue and vagabond’ saw people detained for how they looked. Now it’s gone, but there’s more to do. On 5 December, we at the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF) received an alert from Uganda’s Constitutional Court. The court was about to pass judgment in...

SALC & CHREAA: On 5 June 2023, the High Court of Malawi granted leave for judicial review to challenge the Lilongwe by-laws evicting informal traders from plying their trade on the streets and confiscating their goods. On 30 June 2013, the High Court will hear an application for an interim...

It's clear we're not going to achieve decrim in 2024" say activist The draft decriminalisation of sex work bill will be revised. The Department of Justice was advised that the bill needed more detailed regulations on sex work if it is decriminalised. However, sex worker activist groups are worried that...

CJ-PAP: The systemic oppression of marginalised communities by the criminal justice system is poorly understood and rarely questioned. Here’s how this is changing. In 1871, the British colonial government introduced the Criminal Tribes Act in India, a move that labelled several hundred nomadic tribes as ‘criminals by birth’. While the act was...

Data also shows black defendants more likely to be held in prison – yet more likely to be acquitted Black defendants spend on average more than 70% longer in prison awaiting trial and sentencing in England and Wales than their white counterparts, according to new data revealing racial disparities at...

States around the world should repeal discriminatory and archaic laws that reproduce historical inequalities and patterns of oppression. In 2018, Theresa May, then UK prime minister, expressed “deep regret” for Britain’s colonial legacy of laws that criminalize same-sex conduct. The legacy of colonialism extends beyond these laws, though, and is often deliberately...

SALC: On 31 May 2023, 28 men were arrested in Harare CBD under the country’s vagrancy laws. These arrests raise the question of why vagrancy laws still exist and are still being used. At least 22 African countries still have vagrancy laws, and Zimbabwe is the latest African country to...

Addis Ababa, 18 May 2023: The African Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI) organized the AUC-NANHRI Policy Dialogue on the State of National Human Rights Institutions in Africa, from 15 to 17 May 2023 at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia....

Responding to the Hong Kong government’s bid to seek a court order to prohibit people from singing, broadcasting or distributing the protest song “Glory to Hong Kong”, the Head of Amnesty International’s China Team, Sarah Brooks, said: “The Hong Kong government’s absurd campaign to outlaw a song shows just how...

SALC: SALC is alarmed by the passing of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill, also known as the “Patriotic Bill”, by the lower house of Zimbabwe’s parliament, which comes months before Zimbabwe’s elections on 23 August 2023. The suggested amendment by the Government aims to silence its citizens,...

Fines & Fees Justice Center: The United States’ overreliance on legal fees and fines is directly impacting one in three American families, according to a new survey just released from the Fines and Fees Justice Center and the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law. At least 17 million families with...

Demonstrations broke out in Senegal after a court sentenced opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison. He was convicted of “corrupting the youth” but cleared of rape. The charges relate to an incident at a massage parlour in 2021. Supporters say the violence across the country reflects widespread...

Amnesty International: Responding to the arrests of four people for “seditious intention and disorderly conduct” in Hong Kong ahead of the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown, Amnesty International’s interim Deputy Regional Director for Research Montse Ferrer said: “The Hong Kong government is once again using colonial-era ‘sedition’ charges to...

SALC: In the past several months, South Africa’s foreign policy has been in the spotlight for essential and existential reasons that significantly impact geopolitics and the continent’s stability.  The foreign policy for South Africa discussion document by the Department of International Relations highlights the “advancement of human rights and the promotion of...

Amnesty International: The launch of the Malalamishi app by the Director of the Office of Public Prosecutions this week offers another glimmer of hope for all criminal suspects and convicts across Kenya’s prisons. This and the global report on the state of death penalty sentencing and executions must raise our...

A number of organizations sent a letter to Malaysia’s Home Affairs Minister and Minister of Law urging that the government repeal the Sedition Act, in advance of the hearing of Wan Ji. The letter was sent ahead of a now-postponed hearing before the Court of Appeal in which Islamic preacher...

PRI: While 261,200 children are estimated to be in detention globally, child-specific justice legislation, child-friendly courts and specialised procedures continue to divert children away from the criminal justice system and contribute to a decrease in the number of children in prison in many countries. In this blog, Milana Carse examines teen courts in the...

Maputo, 24 May 2023 – Today, 2000 Mozambican citizens, under the leadership of lawyer and human rights activist, Maria Alice Mabota, filed a petition before the Constitutional Council against section 8(2) of the Sentence Execution Code of 2019. The case is supported by REFORMAR and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, under the...

Amnesty International: A Tunisian court’s decision to sentence opposition figure Rached Ghannouchi to prison under Tunisia’s anti-terrorism law highlights an intensifying campaign against the country’s largest party, which comes as part of a crackdown on dissidents and perceived critics of President Kais Saied, Amnesty International said today.  On 15 May,...

Amnesty International: The Beirut Court of Appeals’ decision to dismiss the petition by lawyers seeking the annulment of apparently unconstitutional amendments to lawyers’ code of ethics is a missed opportunity to uphold the rule of law and human rights of lawyers in Lebanon, 14 members of the Coalition for Freedom...

APCOF delivered a statement on behalf of the Campaign during the 75th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, held in Banjul and online. The statement focuses on the criminalisation of women and girls. It was made in response to report of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of...

On 2 December 2022, in a ground-breaking decision for street vendors and other informal workers, the Constitutional Court of Uganda in Francis Tumwesige Ateenyi v Attorney General found the country’s vagrancy laws to be unconstitutional. Vagrancy laws have come under the spotlight across the world because many define vagrancy in a vague...

SALC: On 8 May 2023, the High Court of Malawi delivered a judgment declaring that the unwritten or written policy of the Government requiring all learners, including children of the Rastafari community, to cut their hair before admission into government schools is unlawful and constitutes a violation of the right...

Ndifuna Ukwazi: Treating the life-sustaining activities of street-based people as a criminal nuisance, in the manner that the City of Cape Town’s by-laws do, will perpetuate the stereotype that all people experiencing homelessness are criminals. Western Cape High Court Judge Judith Cloete recently handed down judgment in the contentious matter between The...

(May 5, 2023, Washington, DC) – The National Homelessness Law Center is outraged over the strangulation and murder of Jordan Neely Monday, May 1, 2023. The Law Center condemns the NYPD, Mayor Eric Adams, and Governor Kathy Hochul for their failure to hold Jordan’s vigilante killer responsible, and for their subsequent efforts...

SALC: The Botswana courts are among the very few in Southern Africa that has set a trajectory in realizing and protecting LGBTIQ+ rights.  In 2016, the Botswana Court of Appeal, in the Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO) registration case, proclaimed that “members of the gay, lesbian and transgender community, although...

SALC: Publishing false news or alarming/misleading information, defined differently in different jurisdictions, has a long and infamous history. From ancient Rome to the present day, publishing stories that are not true or meant to mislead has always been used for profiteering, influencing people’s views and opinions, and encouraging people to...

Amnesty International: Authorities across East and Southern Africa escalated their attacks against journalists and press freedom across the region to suppress reporting of corruption and human rights violations throughout 2022, the Media Institute of Southern Africa and Amnesty International said today to mark World Press Freedom Day. “There has been...

The Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (IE SOGI), Mr. Victor Madrigal-Borloz, will dedicate his report to the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly to the issue of the historic and ongoing impacts of colonialism on the enjoyment of...

Hope Behind Bars: On February 17, 2023, viral social media allegations of extra-judicial killings led to the arrest of three police officers in Anambra state. CSP Patrick Agbazue, SP Nwode Nkeiruka and Inspector Harrison Akama were alleged to have masterminded a kidnapping and organ trafficking syndicate, in direct violation of their duties...

FFJC: Imagine spending a week in jail for being unable to pay a bill. That’s what happened to Roxana Beck. After she pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor of “frequenting a place where controlled substances were used, sold, or manufactured,” an Idaho court imposed a bill of $683.50 in fines and...

The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), the premier continental forum for lawyers and lawyers’ associations, which membership has grown exponentially and now comprises of over five regional lawyers’ associations (RLAs), over 54 national lawyers’ associations (NLAs) and over 1,000 individual lawyers, is holding its annual conference, bringing together a broad...

CleanStart: Congratualations to Teresa Njoroge, the CEO & Founder of the CleanStart, for being awarded the coveted Elevate Prize. Through Clean Start, her innovative approach has transformed the lives of countless women who have been caught up in the criminal justice system. The Elevate Prize 2023 has been awarded to...

APCOF has been admitted as amicus curiae in Gelderbloem and Others v City of Cape Town (WCHC 5708/21 and EC06/2021), which will be heard in September/October 2023. The proceedings were launched by Ndifuna Ukwazi on behalf of a number of applicants against the City of Cape Town in the Western...

Lawyers Alert with the support of the Open Society Initiative of West Africa (OSIWA) is implementing a project that seeks to deepen efforts at decriminalization of petty offences in Nigeria, facilitate synergy in advocacy efforts to decriminalize Petty offences, and to provide legal representation to persons accused of Petty Offenses....

From CHRI: Some selected judges and members of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have endorsed a Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) Right To Information (RTI) training manual for judges in Ghana. The event which brought together key stakeholders like the Coalition on the RTI, Parliament of Ghana, RTI Commission, RTI Division...

AdvocAid, L.A.W.Y.E.R.S., I.LR.A.J., A Girl At A Time, Amnesty International, and Girlz Empowered are concerned about the recent arrest of Zainab Sheriff who was arrested and detained for a video she posted online expressing her frustration with the current government. Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right recognized and protected in Chapter 3 of the Constitution of...

One of the Sultan of Malaysia’s purchased a painting depicting parliamentarians as apes and frogs, a commentary on floor crossing, with no consequence (top image). In contrast, political cartoonists have been charged with sedition and arrested numerous for publishing drawings critical of the state (bottom image). 

IDPC: History was made this week at the UN. The Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the most ambitious and progressive resolution on drug policy to date, titled ‘Contribution of the Human Rights Council with regard to the human rights implications of drug policy’. While the environment at the Commission on Narcotic...

The Human Rights Clinic and Program at the University of Miami School of Law, in collaboration with the Human Rights Society, the Office of Intellectual Life, the Environmental Law Program, and the International and Comparative Law Review at the University of Miami School of Law, the National Right to Food...

From Amnesty International: Responding to the opening today of the trial of journalist Hanane Bakour who faces up to three years in prison and a fine after being accused of “publishing fake news by using electronic means that harm private life” for a Facebook post where she criticized the holding of...

From SALC: Daniel Digashu, one-half of one of the two couples fighting for the right to be recognised by the Namibian state, writes about how they found community in their historic journey to the Supreme Court. The queer people of Namibia (young and not) are fighting not only for their rights but...

No fewer than 41 health Civil Society Organisations have called on the Nigerian Federal Government to end the criminalisation of suicide in the country. The Punch reports that section 327 of the Criminal Code Act, 2004 states that “any person who attempts to kill himself is guilty of a misdemeanor...

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia is seeking to decriminalize suicide attempts, its law minister said on Tuesday, the latest in a recent slew of legal reforms pursued by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government. The announcement comes a day after Malaysia’s parliament on Monday voted to remove the mandatory death penalty, trim the...

The measure passed Tuesday April 4, 2023, also creates vending zones, waives unpaid civil citations and streamlines the licensing process. It requires the mayor’s signature and congressional review before it becomes law. Watch the full video: DC Council votes unanimously to decriminalize street vending

Through this call, the Support. Don’t Punish campaign aims to identify and support local partners (up to 7) with funding of between USD 4,000 – 5,000 for strategic, creative and collaborative projects to be carried out from June to December 2023, and launched on the occasion of the 2023 Support. Don’t Punish...