Regional conference on justice-affected women in Africa held in Kampala
From 18-20 October 2023, Penal Reform International (PRI) in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Uganda Prison Service (UPS), Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) and with the financial support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Embassy of France in Uganda, organised a regional conference on the theme ‘Unlocking Barriers: Rights of Women in the Criminal Justice System in Africa’.
Doreen N. Kyazze, PRI’s Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa speaks on panel on women and the death penalty in Africa
Conference delegates included Justices of the High Court of Kenya and Uganda, Ambassadors of embassies, members of the police force of Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan, members of the army of Uganda, members of the National Human Rights Institutions of Kenya and Uganda, lawyers and law associations, Commissioners of Prisons of Kenya and Uganda, members of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, Representatives of United Nations agencies, members of the civil society of Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia, people with lived experience of imprisonment, human rights experts, the media and development partners.
Conference delegates at a discussion on healthcare provisions in the UN Bangkok Rules
Over the three days, 257 delegates representing seven countries from across Africa discussed workable and lasting solutions to ensure gender mainstreaming in criminal justice systems in the African region. The first of its kind, the conference considered recommendations in an open and collaborative forum, which identified the challenges, strategies and comparative jurisprudence on the progressive steps taken towards gender mainstreaming in the criminal justice sector in Africa.
Lesa Nyambe, Head of Office at UNODC East Africa (far left) on the Sustainable Development Goals and breaking justice barriers for women
A set of joint recommendations were adopted, with consensus among conference delegates to take every step possible to implement, promote and disseminate these recommendations within their respective mandates, bearing in mind the need to achieve gender equality. These recommendations are based on best practices from across the region and international standards on the rights of women in the criminal justice system and would considerably progress gender equality in the African region.