Event

Event: Challenging the criminalization of poverty and marginalization in Africa – and beyond

Side event at the 65th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, organised by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Ghana to the UN (Vienna), Penal Reform International, the International Drug Policy Consortium, the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum, and the Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status. 

The criminalization of people who use drugs is a major driver of policing and incarceration across the world, targeting people living in poverty and experiencing intersecting forms of marginalization.

This side event, held on 16 March, presented the emerging initiatives on the reform of drug laws in Africa, and their connection with efforts to decriminalize petty offences and to realize justice for marginalized populations.

Speakers

Opening remarks: H.E. Ambassador Philbert Johnson, Permanent Representative of Ghana to the UN in Vienna

  • Hon. Maria Teresa Manuela, Special Rapporteur on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and Policing in Africa, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Happy Assan, Tanzania Network of People who Use Drugs
  • Maria-Goretti Loglo, International Drug Policy Consortium
  • Janelle Mangwanda, African Criminal Justice Reform

Moderator: Doreen N Kyazze, Penal Reform International

Promote our resources

If you download a resource, please link to it from your website or share with your professional network.

Please contact us if you have any questions about our resources.