Digest on Excessive Use of Force in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

The Regional Campaign to Decriminalise Petty Offences has long argued for a change in police arrest practices and increased accountability of law enforcement agencies. Deprose Muchena, the Director of Amnesty International’s Southern Africa office, writes that the brutal killing of George Floyd has resonated in Africa, highlighting the long-standing problem of excessive use of force by security forces, the normalisation of police brutality, and the lack of accountability for the brutality directed at vulnerable people. The abrupt introduction of overreaching regulations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased abuse of police powers and an urgent need to improve police oversight mechanisms.

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Date:
5 August, 2020
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The Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status is a coalition of organisations from across the world that advocate for the repeal of laws that target people based on poverty, status or for their activism.

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