ICwS: On 9 and 10 September 2024, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICwS) and its partners, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Commonwealth Secretariat (ComSec), held

ICJ-Kenya: NAIROBI, Kenya – The Africa Litigation Surgery Conference kicked off in earnest with delegates from across the continent converging in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. Under

Amnesty International: Responding to reports of the arrest and detention of student leaders, protest participants and members of opposition parties following the quota-reform protests, with

SALC: 30 July 2024, Blantyre – Yesterday,  the Mzuzu High Court ordered that 30 days should be the reasonable time envisaged under the Immigration Act within which deportation

Joint Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima As courts and parliaments in a number of countries are

Invisible People: San Francisco officials can begin conducting homeless sweeps again after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals partially withdrew a preliminary injunction against the city

SALC & CHREAA: Although the Constitution of Malawi provides for the protection of all children including migrant children, the continuous detention of these migrant minors

SALC & CHREAA: Despite being a constitutional democracy, local authorities in Malawi continue to perpetuate the colonial legacy by criminalising poverty and inequality through the

NHLC: In a profoundly disappointing ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court today decided that the US Constitution does not protect homeless people against cruel and unusual

GENEVA (25 June 2024) – UN human rights experts have called on governments to scrap “cruel and counterproductive” laws that are leading to people living in homelessness

SALC: Freedom of expression, a fundamental right crucial for open dialogue, critical thinking, and societal progress, is under threat in Africa due to outdated and

SALC: In the last year, we have seen Parliaments in Africa enact laws that contradict court rulings in Namibia and Kenya. In Uganda, and Ghana, new laws go as far

ICwS & ICJ: On 5 and 6 June 2024, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICwS) and its partners, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Commonwealth

ILF: Around the world, criminal justice systems disproportionately penalize people who are poor, including through fines and fees. On May 15, 2024 on the sidelines

SALC: Over the past five years, the highest courts in Namibia and Botswana have made significant decisions in favour of minority groups’ human rights through

Amnesty International: Reacting to news that Moldova’s parliament has passed amendments to the country’s Criminal Code which redefine “high treason,” Veaceslav Tofan, Executive Director of

ICJ-Kenya: Nakuru, Kenya – Since time immemorial, Kenya’s culturally rich communities proudly championed and practiced their own forms of justice that was tethered in basic

Peter Dimba, chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee in Parliament, has called for a thorough revision of the Penal Code, citing its numerous inconsistencies with

SALC: Some lawmakers have lamented [Malawian] Parliament’s delays to facilitate the review of Section 184 of the Penal Code, which provides for the offence of

INN: In March 2024, the 2nd Annual Global Freedom Fellowship, organized by Incarceration Nations Network, brought together 16 formerly incarcerated fellows from 13 countries for

Two years after it was filed at the regional court, a case challenging Sierra Leone’s laws on loitering has had its first day before judges

Prison Insider: Research findings and prevention work in collaboration with the prison administration Suicide and self-harm are major concerns in prisons around the world, with

SALC: In the centre of Southern Africa, we find one of the region’s most stable nations – Botswana. Having dominated the top spot in Africa

Parit Chiwarak, Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, and Arnon Nampa dared to call for reform of the Thai monarchy at a 2020 protest. They were arrested, charged, put

Kenya: Majority of remandees are held for minor crimes ranging from being idle, disorderly, littering, begging, urinating in public, and hawking. This is the reason

Amnesty International: Authorities across East and Southern Africa continued to impose severe restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and media freedom over the

Invisible People: In this compelling documentary, Invisible People traveled to Grants Pass, Oregon, a picturesque city of about 40,000 residents, which is now at the

Amnesty International: Two young Thai activists were today indicted on ‘groundless’ royal defamation and computer crime charges, Amnesty International has said. Niraphorn “Bie” Onnkhaow, an

In April 2024, the Dullah Omar Institute submitted a written statement on behalf of the Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status in response to the

NHLC: This past Monday [April 22, 2024], the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Johnson v. Grants Pass, a case about whether communities can make it

One week after International Women’s Day, a coalition of organisations and experts convened to address the rising trend of women’s criminalisation driven by poverty in

April 25 is Africa Pretrial Detention Day, aimed at drawing attention to the excessive use of pretrial detention and the need for urgent reform across

Amnesty International: Responding to a decision by Uganda’s Constitutional Court to only revoke parts of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 (AHA), a law which prompted rising

Advocating for a non-discriminatory approach in European policies ASF, Prison Insider, FEANTSA and European Alternatives participated in a workshop to discuss how to advocate for

Malawi: The High Court sitting in Blantyre yesterday adjourned to June 6 2024 the case in which people who were begging in the city are

SALC: After a year of postponements and delays, the High Court of Botswana has set 15 May 2024 as the date to hear the constitutional

Invisible People: Florida state lawmakers approved a bill that prohibits camping on public property at a time when homelessness has increased by more than 8%

Amnesty International: Following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Wa Baile v Switzerland, Amnesty International Switzerland’s Legal Advisor Alicia Giraudel,

ICwS & ICJ: On 7 March 2024, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICwS) presented its joint project on the decriminalisation of poverty and status to

At least 22 African countries – former colonies of the Belgians, British, Dutch, French and Portuguese – retain domestic laws that make ‘vagrancy’ illegal and

PALU: The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) and the Congress of African Journalists (CAJ) in coordination with the UNESCO Liaison Office to AU and UNECA,

AdvocAid: On Thursday, February 15, 2024, AdvocAid Sierra Leone engaged members of the Legislative and Human rights committees in Parliament on the decriminalisation and declassification of

Amnesty International: Responding to the passing of the “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2024” by Ghana’s parliament on February 28, Amnesty International’s Ghana

Amnesty International: Ethiopian authorities have used the state of emergency to silence peaceful dissent by arbitrarily detaining prominent politicians critical of the government and journalists,

Mohamed Wa Baile claims to have been subjected to ethnic profiling in 2015, when he was stopped by police officers in a train station in

Moving building towards a just Africa On 30th November to 2nd December 2023, campaign partner, Clean Start Africa organized The Beyond the Bars Conference. The

The Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status welcomes the adoption of the first-ever resolution on access to justice for all by the United Nations General Assembly. This

SALC: Despite significant successes by activists, the global anti-rights movement has swung the pendulum in favour of the increased use of the law and criminal

Amnesty International: Responding to the landmark verdict on 5 December on the killing of Nabaraj BK and five others by the West Rukum District Court

National Homelessness Law Center: WASHINGTON, D.C. – (November 3, 2023) Today, the United Nations Human Rights Committee highlighted serious and ongoing patterns of human rights abuses —