Partner Invisible People gives an overview of how homelessness is years in the making: Homelessness is an event that can happen suddenly. One minute a person is housed. The next...
Promoting Health and Rights: Prioritising People in Detention in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
Upcoming online webinar on "Promoting Health and Rights: Prioritising People in Detention in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond" will be held Wednesday 8 March 2023 at 15.00 GMT. This webinar will...
The nature and extent of institutionalisation of persons with disabilities in Africa: the Kenyan experience.
CAPMHK: Globally several attempts to deinstitutionalize mental health and promote self-autonomy, independent and communal living for persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities have happened. CAPMHK has been advocating repeals of...
“We must decriminalise poverty to achieve equal access to justice”
Last week the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London held a seminar at Marlborough House on the Decriminalisation of Poverty and Status in the Commonwealth....
Busting eight myths about sex work ahead of deadline for public comments on decriminalisation bill in South Africa
Sonke Gender Justice: As we approach the deadline to comment on the draft Criminal Law (Sexual Offences And Related Matters) Amendment Bill, which will see the buying and selling of sex...
‘Is poverty criminalized in Peoria? A lawyer provides her take’ – Campaign in WCBU article
In the WCBU article 'Is poverty criminalized in Peoria? A lawyer provides her take', Alexus McNally, a researcher from campaign partner, The International Legal Foundation, speaks about the work of...
South Africa invites for public comment on decriminalising of sex work
South Africa is poised to become the first African country to decriminalise sex work following the publication of an amendment to the country’s criminal law for public comment. South Africa’s...
The Cape Declaration adopted by consensus
One of the key outcomes of the Stellenbosch Convening, was the adoption by consensus of the Cape Declaration by participants of the Campaign's Annual Convening in Stellenbosch, South Africa in...
Ugandan Constitutional Court declares parts of the ‘Rogue and Vagabond’ Offence unconstitutional
Today, five justices of the Constitutional Court of Uganda (Frederick Egonda-Ntende, Elizabeth Musoke, Christopher Madrama Izama, Monica K Mugenyi, and Christopher Gashirabake JJCC) in a unanimous decision, declared as unconstitutional...
South African Deputy Minister advocates for reform to ease prison overcrowding
https://www.youtube.com/embed/rKNgujOpr-g South Africa's Deputy Minister of Justice, Hon John Jeffery talks to SABC News in South Africa about criminal law and incarceration on the African continent, and more specifically South...
The Djerba Declaration launched at Summit de la Francophonie side-event
On the 19 November 2022, francophone partners hosted a side-event, ‘Decriminalisation of poverty, status and activism: what role for the OIF?’, at the 18th Summit of the Organisation de la...
APCOF addresses EU-AU Dialogue on behalf of Campaign
Campaign partner APCOF submits a statement on behalf of the Campaign, to the EU-AU Consultation with Civil Society. The statement calls on the EU-AU dialogue to include consideration of the...
Campaign submits statement at 73rd ACHPR session
APCOF submitted the below statement on behalf of the Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status, in response to the report of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and...
Reflections on Women Prison Conditions – ACHPR
At the 73rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Louise Edwards, Director of Research and Programmes at APCOF gave the following reflections on the action...
Malawian High Court outlaws sweeping arrests
Article from Malawi Nation, Wed Nov 18, 2021: Last week, the Malawian High Court declared the police’s indiscriminate sweeping exercises unlawful and in violation of various constitutional rights and international...
Malawi High Court Declares Mass Arrests (Sweeping Exercises) Unconstitutional
Blantyre, 9 November 2022 – On 8 November 2022, the High Court of Malawi issued a judgment declaring the police’s indiscriminate practice of sweeping exercises unlawful and in violation of...
South African civil society issue statement ahead of UPR
On 16 November 2022, the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group examined South Africa's human rights record for the fourth time. This review comes at an...
The crime of being poor – images of human rights violations in prisons aim to spark rethink of incarceration
Former Constitutional Court judge and current inspecting judge of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS), Edwin Cameron, was one of the speakers at the prison conditions exhibition hosted by...
Regional meeting on prison oversight mechanisms
On 27 and 28 October 2022 a large, multi-sectoral group of stakeholders from across Africa met in Johannesburg to consider urgent action to address cruel, inhuman, and degrading conditions that...
Exhibition: The Ties that Bind Us
On 27 October 2022, SALC co-hosted a photo exhibition entitled "The ties that bind us". The exhibition looked at the conditions in detention accross Africa and urged reform of criminal...
PRI issues statements against criminalistion of women to UN working group
In October 2022, PRI responded to a call for input by the UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, for its upcoming report to the Human Rights Council...
Campaign issues joint statement on colonial laws at the UN Human Rights Council
On 28 September, as part of its 51st session, the UN Human Rights Council held a panel discussion on the negative impact of colonial legacies on human rights. Tríona Lenihan...
Special Report on Petty Offences covered in Nigerian media
Premium Times Nigeria run a special report entitled 'Criminalisation of petty offences in Nigeria violates the poor' which heavily features campaign engagement with both the ACHPR and the Nigerian criminal...
Stellenbosch Conference closes with coalition’s draft Joint Declaration
From 27 to 29 September 2022, representatives from over 40 organisations from over 30 countries, gathered in Stellenbosch, South Africa, for the Campaign’s Annual Convening to explore the theme: “Decriminalising...
Criminalization of Homelessness is Racially Discriminatory, Must be Abolished, Say UN Human Rights Experts
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND- The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva yesterday stated “it remains concerned at the increasing number of state and local laws that criminalize homelessness...
Children caught using cannabis will no longer be criminally prosecuted
GroundUP reports: The Constitutional Court has ratified a High Court order declaring sections of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act as unconstitutional because it criminalises the use and possession of...
Over 50 organisations to attend Annual Convening
From 27 to 29 September 2022, representatives from over 50 organisations from over 35 countries, will gather in Stellenbosch, South Africa, for the Campaign’s Annual Convening to explore the theme:...
Understanding the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s Methods of Work
The short video provides an explanation on how the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention's mechanism could play an important part on the advocacy work against arbitrary detention of marginalised...
Partners submit shadow report on racial injustice in the US
For the U.S. review by the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Miami Law Human Rights Clinic, National Homelessness Law Center, and partners submitted a shadow report on racial...
Economic right activity in check in Malawi
Due to economic challenges the country is sailing through, some people have resorted to doing business at a small-scale to earn a living. However, those that are doing business through...
City of Cape Town to return belongings to homeless after agreement in court
City of Cape Town has been ordered by the Western Cape High Court in South Africa, to return the belongings of the homeless living around the Castle in the CBD....
‘Petty Offences, Major consequences’ : TelQuel special feature
Co-founder of Relais, Youssef Madad is interviewed in TelQuel Feature on ‘Petty Offences, Major Consequences’. In his interview, entitled ‘Neighbourhoods are the right grounds for establishing a post-prison restorative policy’,...
CAMPHK files as amicus to decriminalise suicide in Kenya
In Kenya attempted suicide as laid out by Section 226 of the Penal Code is a misdemeanor punishable by Two (2) Year’s imprisonment or a fine or both, pursuant to...
Bid to overturn Sierra Leone loitering laws that activists claim ‘criminalise poverty’
The Guardian: Citing claims of violence and rape by police, lawyers and activists mount legal challenge to laws brought in under British rule A case has been filed against the...
Poor traders in Jail
https://www.youtube.com/embed/zSrDMLGXHgQ Campaign partner, Crime Check TV release a video that highlights the effect of dutybearers using vagrancy and loitering laws to target poor traders in Ghana. The video is a...
“Justice for All” event kick-starts a year of action
https://youtu.be/z5RUZcGY5Bg Side event to the 31st Session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Co-organised by Ghana, Mexico, South Africa, the United States, Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status,...
‘Decriminalising petty offences’ JoyNews Special
https://youtu.be/mb6EChnC7s8 ‘Decriminalizing Petty Offences’ special on JoyNews Online. Mina Mensah, Director, CHRI and Samuel Lardy Anyenini, Director of Programmes, IHRDA exchanged with the host of Joy News’ programme ‘The Law’ on how laws on...
Campaign issues statement at 71st ACHPR Ordinary Session
https://youtu.be/md1wP4qf6aI As part of the civil society engagement at the 71st Ordinary Session of the ACHPR, the campaign issued the attached collective statement, via it’s campaign partner, the African Policing Civilian Oversight...
Court case filed against Sierra Leone to overturn discriminatory loitering laws
AdvocAid has filed a case at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria, against the Government of Sierra Leone, seeking to overturn...
“Counting the cost of exclusion” seminar – Highlights
Linking criminal law, political exclusion and socio-economic inequality On 24 March 2022, the Global Campaign to Decriminalize Poverty and Status hosted a virtual seminar on Counting the Cost of...
Online petition launched to decriminalise cannabis in Kenya
Campaign partner, CAPMHK has launched an online petition calling for the decriminalisation of cannabis for personal use in Kenya. In Kenya, when one is found guilty of possession of cannabis for personal use, they...
ILF work in Nepal selected as a World Justice Challenge finalist
Campaign partner, The International Legal Foundation has been selected as a finalist for the World Justice Challenge for their work on decriminalising poverty in Nepal. Read full details on the...
Why the courts alone can’t solve homelessness
An op-ed from APCOF describes how, despite a court order, the City of Cape Town was yet to return the seized possessions after evicting homeless staying in District Six, including...
12 inmates regain freedom in innovative e-Court sittings
In response to congestion of custodial centers in Nigeria in the aftermath of the COVID 19 Pandemic, PRAWA with the support of OSIWA, piloted the use of technology in supporting...
Quarterly Digest: July to Dec 2021
Missed out on the latest updates from our partners? You can read the complete quarterly digest here: Digest - July to Dec 2021
Implications of petty offences in Uganda – A documentary
Criminal laws, particularly those providing for petty offences such as vagrancy laws, have consistently been used to arrest, detain, evict, or exploit the labour of persons who are deemed unfit...
City of Cape Town’s ‘broken windows’ policy demands more than a criminal justice response
In December 2021, campaign partner, APCOF crafted an OP-Ed in South Africa’s Daily Maverick entitled ‘City of Cape Town’s ‘broken windows’ policy demands more than a criminal justice response’, in response to...
Campaign issues statement at 69th Ordinary Session of the ACHPR
https://youtu.be/DeRntOVR8B4 As part of the civil society engagement at the 69th Ordinary Session of the African Commission of Human and Peoples' Rights, the campaign issued the following collective statement, via...
‘Equal before the Law?’ – Petty offences on BBC podcast
"The vendor who changed Malawi: Mayeso Gwanda took the state to court after his arrest for an outdated and vague petty crime. While he was successful in changing the law,...
‘Poverty is not a crime’ media campaign launched in Tunisia
https://youtu.be/k2lj7PYx86s As part of their activities under the Campaign to Decriminalise Petty Offences in Africa, the Organisation against Torture in Tunisia (OCTT) has launched an media campaign to raise the...