Mr X is a Congolese man who was living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In early June 2006, he lost his passport. He went to the Tanzanian police to register...

Some 20 years ago, Ibrahim Kingori Njoki was involved in a brawl. He was later convicted of creating a disturbance, contrary to Section 95(1) of the Penal Code. The law...

Hope Behind Bars Africa has said that most awaiting trail inmates in Nigeria have been languishing in our Custodial facilities for petty crimes like loitering or hawking. The human rights...

The outrage caused by the jailing of a mother for ending her pregnancy after the legal limit should spark a wider rethink of archaic legislation. The case of a mother...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

(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...

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,...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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),...

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...

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...

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,...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...