Updates Archives
Mental Health, Patriarchy and the Criminalisation of Attempted Suicide
SALC: According to the WHO, for every suicide in Africa, there are approximately 20 attempts. While some countries have slowly moved towards repealing the criminal
Eswatini monarchy accused of silencing opponents
Al Jazeera: Africa’s last absolute monarchy is facing criticism over its human rights record. Earlier this year, a prominent lawyer was killed in Eswatini –
Sri Lanka: Proposed Online Safety Bill would be an assault on freedom of expression, opinion, and information
The ICJ is concerned that the newly proposed Online Safety legislation, if adopted in its present form, would serve to crush free expression and further
SERI launches a new publication reflecting on protest in South Africa
SERI: Protest has always been an important driver of social change in South Africa, before and since democracy. It has played a crucial role in
134 NGOs sign collective statement urging the international community to act on UN human rights chief’s ground-breaking call for systemic drug policy reform
IDPC: In a historical report released today, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights denounced the failure of punitive drug policies and the global ‘war on drugs’,
Iran’s compulsory veiling bill is a despicable assault on rights of women and girls
Amnesty International: Reacting to the news that Iran’s parliament has passed a new bill that would impose further draconian penalties severely violating women’s and girls’ rights
ACJR submission on the South African Judicial Matters Amendment Bill [B7-2023]
In May 2023, Africa Criminal Justice Reform made a written and oral submission to parliament regarding the The Judicial Matters Amendment Bill [B7-2023] in South
Dullah Omar Institute Submission to Special Rapporteurs Call for Input
In September 2023, the Dullah Omar Institute made a submission in response to the call from the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate
A society behind bars: the effects of Algeria’s widespread crackdown on human rights
Amnesty International: The Algerian authorities are leading a relentless crackdown on citizens for expressing any form of dissent. Be it participants in protest marches, journalists
Audit Reveals the Dirty Truth About Homeless Encampment Cleanups
Invisible People: How Sweeps Rarely Lead to Permanent Housing Situations for Homeless Encampment Residents. Homeless encampment “cleanups” have dirt on their name for good reason. Alternatively
Justice Collective submits testimony to UN on the mass fining of people from poor, racialized communities across Europe
Along with partners (RE)Claim/MCDS (France), Hungarian Helsinki Committee (Hungary), Justice Collective urges the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing and the Special
Interactive map reveals state-sanctioned violence against protesters worldwide
Amnesty International: Authorities across the world are increasingly resorting to unlawful use of force and repressive legislation to crush protests, Amnesty International said today, as
Mexico: Land, territory and environmental defenders are being criminalized for exercising their right to protest
Amnesty International: The disproportionate use of criminal law is one of the main threats facing the right to protest peacefully in defense of land, territory
Quash conviction and release rights defenders mobilised against torture
72 organisations, including FIACAT, are calling for the conviction to be quashed and for the release of two Bangladeshi human rights defenders who are about
Sub-national Governance, Law Enforcement and Oversight in Five African Countries: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia
On 31 August 2023, ACJR hosted a webinar on Sub-national governance, law enforcement and oversight in Five African countries. The webinar highlighted key issues relating
Nigeria: Activists advocate decriminalisation of minor offences to decongest prisons
Civil society group, Prisons Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), has urged federal and state legislatures to hasten the amendment of criminal laws and decriminalisation and
India: BNS Bill introduced by Amit Shah provides for community service as punishment for petty offences
People convicted of petty offences like defamation and drunken misconduct in public may soon get away with community service as a form of punishment, with
Illinois Supreme Court rules in favor of ending the state’s cash bail system
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled in favor of eliminating the state’s cash bail system, ending bail as a condition of pretrial release. In a
Stakeholders review Model State Law on Correctional Service in Nigeria
PRAWA: The first review workshop for a Model State Law on Correctional Service was held on the 7th of August at Rockview Hotel by PRAWA
Botswana religious groups threaten rule of law and refuse LGBTQ rights
SALC: Country’s Council of Churches applauded 2019 decriminalization ruling. Botswana is considered a secular state and all people have equal access to religious organizations and
Lebanon: New campaign calls on parliament to reform insult and defamation laws
Amnesty International: The Lebanese authorities must immediately halt all prosecutions of journalists, human rights defenders, activists, and others who are critical of state officials, Amnesty International
Emergence of ‘Unsanctioned’ in Homeless Propaganda is Ominous
Invisible People: Politicians are using the word ‘Unsanctioned’ in homeless legislation, suggesting Sanctioned Encampments Will Become the Norm. For time immemorial, when politicians talk about homelessness,
Joint statement: Urgent call for protection of refugees’ rights and a halt to state sponsored lawlessness
We, a consortium of Institutions and Civil Society Organizations dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights, urgently call upon the Government to immediately cease the
‘It’s a huge sign of progress’: the battle to decriminalise suicide
Reposted from the Guardian: In at least 17 countries, suicide remains a criminal offence – a ‘huge barrier’ to mental health care. As Ghana becomes
Call for inputs re-opened: Decriminalization of homelessness and poverty
In many countries persons experiencing homelessness, living in poverty or situation of vulnerability continue to be disproportionately subjected to fines, deportation, arbitrary arrest, or detention
Martin v. Boise Survives a Legal Challenge
Invisible People: The 9th Circuit’s ruling that cities can’t force unhoused people off the streets if they don’t have adequate shelter options survived a legal
Thailand: Drop ‘insulting the monarchy’ charge against child protester involved in mock fashion show
Amnesty International: On 29 October 2020, pro-democracy protesters gathered around Bangkok’s Silom Road to call for political reforms. As part of the demonstration, protestors held
Human Rights Council Resolution on violence against women and girls in detention adopted
Penal Reform International: A resolution tabled by Canada was adopted at the Human Rights Council last week on ‘Accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of
Zimbabwe: President’s signing of ‘Patriotic Bill’ a brutal assault on civic space
Amnesty International: Responding to the news that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed into law the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill, 2022, commonly referred
Campaign members co-sign open letter demanding women rights forums to include criminalised women
An Open Letter to the organisers of Women Deliver and the Generation Equality Forum calling for all High-Level Forums on women’s rights to be inclusive of all women, particularly criminalised, incarcerated
Decriminalising and declassifying petty offences in Tunisian legislation
Recently, the Organization Against Torture in Tunisia organised an experts seminar, as part of this campaign’s activities. The seminar was held in a hotel in
Statement in response to the activity report of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and Policing in Africa (Item 7)
68th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights 14 April – 4 May 2021 Dear Hon. Chairperson, Hon. Commissioners, all protocols
Eleven people who are homeless go to court to challenge Cape Town’s discriminatory by-laws
Last week eleven people experiencing homlessness launched applications in both the Western Cape High Court and the Equality Court (South Africa) challenging the constitutionality and
Petty Offences Newsletter: November 2020 to February 2021 Activities
The quarterly digest of petty offences campaign activities for November 2020 to February 2021 is in three languages, English, Portuguese and French.
Imprisoned under the Cover of COVID
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism25 November 2020 Edward was lying on his bed when he heard shouting and banging. Last night had been fun: he’d
Documentary on Zambia prisons
The Legal Resources Foundation, Southern Africa Litigation Centre, Prisoners Reintergration and Empowerment Organisation and Decisive Minds put together a documentary on prison conditions in Zambia
Rwanda Should Stop Locking Up the Poor
Reliefweb 21 December 2020 African Court Decision Condemns Practice The African Court on Human and People’s Rights has held that states’ laws enabling the detention
COVID-19 Rules Haunt the Poor
The NationBy James Chavula27 January 2021 In 2017, a vendor moved the Constitutional Court to scrape a colonial law made by Britain in 1924 that
Decriminalization of Petty Offences in Morocco towards Restorative Justice
As part of the African campaign to decriminalise petty offences, the ADALA (Association “for the right to a fair trial”), with the support of the
South African vagrancy laws hark back to colonial times and violate human rights
Daily MaverickAbdirahman Maalim Gossar13 December 2020 In a watershed judgment, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights has ruled that vague, outdated colonial-era laws,
African Court’s Landmark Opinion Could Reduce Criminalization of Poverty, Prison Overcrowding
All Africa Open Society Foundations (New York)‘s Press Release 4 December 2020 Today, a continental court in Africa delivered a landmark opinion on colonial era
Repeal Vagrancy Laws as they are Discriminatory: African Court Declares!
The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in its 59th Ordinary Session, has today declared that vagrancy laws as contained in national laws are
Findings on Petty Offences Violations in Nigeria
Lawyers Alert in partnership with Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) released petty offences violations data report for Nigeria. The data is captured using
Johannesburg cannot Police its Future
The Mail & Guardian On 29 June this year, amid the generalized panic and concern about rising Covid-19 infection and police brutality both locally and
Kenya’s Gulag: The Dehumanisation and Exploitation of Inmates in State Prisons
The ElephantBy Patrick Gathara Kenyan prisons today carry the DNA of their forebears – the colonial prisons and Mau Mau detention camps. They are about
Petty Offences Newsletter: Digest of Campaign activities in September 2020
In September 2020, the Regional Campaign to Decriminalise Petty Offences hosted a virtual conference entitled Policing Pandemics, Balancing Rights. The conference communique and recordings of the
Petty Offences Newsletter: Increased Criminalisation in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Africa
Regional Campaign partners remain deeply concerned about the criminalisation of poverty across our continent. It is critical that the Principles on the Decriminalisation of Petty
ZIMBABWE: Balancing Human Rights and Enforcement of Public Health Measures
ICJ Kenya By Richard Ncube Corona virus which is popularly known as COVID 19 has taken a terrible grip of the world- it is described
Enemies of the Nation: How the ‘war on drugs’ has failed South Africa
The Daily Maverick First published by GroundUp The global “war on drugs” has failed. The decades during which it has been waged have inflicted devastating
PRESS RELEASE: With People in Detention Vulnerable to Uncontrollable spreads of COVID-19, Ground-Breaking Research Investigates the Gruelling Reality of Female Imprisonment in Sierra Leone
AdvocAid First comprehensive study of women in Sierra Leone’s prisons finds 62% of those interviewed were pre-trial detainees Pretrial detention contributes to overcrowding, which is
Malawi Human Rights Groups Warn of COVID Deaths in Packed Prisons
The Guardian Human rights campaigners in Malawi are calling on the government to urgently release people from its notoriously overcrowded prisons as cases of Covid-19
In Prisons Across Sierra Leone, Women are Detained because they Owe Debt
Progressive International Women’s imprisonment is closely related to poverty: women are in debt because they are poor and cannot afford basic life expenses, and their
Lawyers Alert Releases Data on Human Rights Abuse Associated with Petty Offences in Nigeria
The Nigerian Voice Data on human rights abuse associated with petty offences in Nigeria covering the period October 2019 and March 2020 have been released
Thousands of South Africans who Broke Lockdown Rules could have Criminal Records
Business Tech The Department of Justice and Correctional Services is currently working on new legislation which will stop admission of guilt fines attracting criminal records
Three Months in Jail for Breaking Lockdown Rules, Judge Orders Release of Waste Pickers
The Citizen Forced to choose between hunger and breaching the lockdown regulations, two waste pickers chose the latter – and wound up behind bars for
Prisons, Overcrowding and Preventing Covid-19 Transmission
Over 163,000 people are in correctional facilities in South Africa. Outbreaks of Covid-19 in these prisons can have catastrophic consequences for both prisoners and the
Amnesty International: Sub-Saharan States must Protect Detainees against COVID-19
Amnesty International In many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, prisons are overcrowded. Prisoners often live in squalid conditions and the healthcare systems inside prisons are extremely
Malawi to Decongest Prisons With Covid-19 Cases Rising Fast Among Inmates
AllAfrica Minister of homeland security, Richard Chimwendo Banda , acknowledged that the situation in the the country’s prisons over Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is deteriorating because
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
Overhaul and Align Laws on use of Force
The Mail & Guardian By Sean Tait On April 10, Collins Khosa was allegedly assaulted by members of the South African National Defence Force and
Malawi: Human Rights During a Lockdown
The Weekend Nation By Victor Mhango from the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) and Anneke Meerkotter and Chikondi Chijozi from the
Municipal oversight bodies must be beefed up to protect against human rights abuses by police
The Daily Maverick In the wake of the controversy surrounding a video of Cape Town resident Bulelani Qolani being dragged naked from his shack by
UN Torture Prevention Body: COVID-19 shows need to Strengthen National Preventive Mechanisms
GENEVA (2 July 2020) — The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) has called for the role of domestic monitoring bodies, officially known as National Preventive Mechanisms
UN Statement on COVID-19 Exacerbating the Risk of ill-treatment and Torture Worldwide
On 26 June 2020, the UN Anti-Torture Mechanisms issued a statement on how COVID-19 exacerbates the risk of ill-treatment and torture worldwide. The statement notes
Sex Workers in Africa Are More Vulnerable During COVID-19
The Global Fund Sex workers in Africa are among the communities suffering the most due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as lockdowns and police crackdowns leave
Why Criminal Justice Reforms are on Course
The Daily Nation By Grace Ngenye When I read the Daily Nation article (June 17, 2020) on the Committee on Criminal Justice Reforms (NCCJR), my
Judge rules that kids who possess or use cannabis cannot be criminals
Times Live A law that criminalises children who possess or use cannabis has been declared unconstitutional by a Johannesburg high court judge. Judge Ingrid Opperman
CSOs Call for Urgent Decongestion as Prisons Record COVID-19 Cases
On 14 July 2020, the Malawi Prison Service registered its first COVID-19 case at Mzimba Prison through a prisoner. On the same day, an inmate
Decongest prisons now!
The COVID-19 pandemic has again highlighted the urgent need to decongest prisons throughout Africa. Although many countries have initiated decongestion measures, there is a simultaneous
APCOF Statement- Special Rapporteur on Prisons Conditions of Detention and Policing in Africa
The African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF) welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to the Special Rapporteur on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and Policing
Nigerian court rules against arrest of sex workers
A Nigerian court has voided the arrest of commercial sex workers in Abuja by law enforcement officials. The Abuja Federal High Court presided over by Justice
Street Vendors and Public Space: An interactive e-book
By: WIEGO Date: February 2020 Through photography and text, this e-book offers an in-depth look at the important role street vendors play in cities, the challenges
NEWS: ZAMBIA SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS PRISONERS’ RIGHTS TO FOOD AND IMPROVED PRISON CONDITIONS
SALC : ANNEKE MEERKOTTER Lusaka, 16 December 2019 – The Supreme Court of Zambia on 9 December 2019 handed down an important judgment on prisoners’ rights.
Litigating to Protect the Rights of Poor and Marginalized Groups in Urban Spaces
Download PDF For centuries, and across the world, penal laws have been used to regulate urban spaces, with a cruel focus on relegating poor and
Protecting Malawi’s sex workers from police: ‘They say we’re sinners’
Although there is no law against prostitution in Malawi, sex workers routinely face abuse and wrongful arrest by police who give in to social stigma
Uganda Launches Coalition to Decriminalize Petty Offences
21 Civil society organizations have formed the Uganda Coalition to decriminalize petty offences. The coalition was formed at a 2-day retreat convened by the Human
UGANDA: Stop Arresting People For The Crime of “Idle and Disorderly”
H.E the President of the Republic of Uganda has directed that no person should be arrested for the crime of “idle and disorderly”. The President has
UGANDA: Scheduling Conference For ‘Rogue and Vagabond’ Petition Adjourned To 25th September 2019
Today the petition challenging the constitutionality of Section 168 (1) (c) and (d), of Uganda’s Penal Code Act, which creates the offence of ‘being rogue
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.
@DecrimPS
#DecrimPoverty | #DecrimStatus | #DecrimActivism