Event
Event: Decisive action to reform laws that criminalise poverty and status
Side event to the 31st Session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Co-organised by Ghana, Mexico, South Africa, the United States, Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status, International Drug Policy Consortium, International Legal Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Penal Reform International, African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum, Community Advice Offices South Africa, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNODC Justice Section.
Criminal justice systems and imprisonment disproportionately affect segments of society that are living in poverty or are marginalised with many people imprisoned due to factors directly linked to poverty.
Held on 20 May 2022, this event aimed to define goals and decisive action to decriminalise poverty and status, linked to the work of the UN Crime Commission and other international mechanisms and initiatives. Participants shared learnings and experiences in enacting reforms and recommended actions that can be taken at the national, regional, and international levels to decriminalise poverty and status.
Programme
Opening remarks: Rachel Rossi, Deputy Associate Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
- Judge Motsamai Makume, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Legal Aid South Africa and Judge of the High Court of South Africa, South Gauteng Division
- Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Dominique Day, Chair of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent
- Nathalia Oliveira, Co-founder, Black Initiative for a New Drug Policy, Brazil
- Dr. Janeille Zorina Matthews, Lecturer in Law, University of the West Indies
Moderated by: Jennifer Smith, Executive Director, International Legal Foundation
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