Statement in response to the activity report of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and Policing in Africa: 79th Ordinary Public Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights 14 May to 3 June 2024

Dullah Omar Institute statement on behalf of the Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status in response to the activity report of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and Policing in Africa. This submission focuses on the challenges related to the criminalisation of minor or petty offences at sub-national level. The submission notes that in several African countries, local law enforcement agencies often enforce subnational laws in an arbitrary, discriminatory and violent way which infringes on fundamental human rights. It was further noted that there is a lack of strong and effective internal and external oversight and monitoring mechanisms to regulate the enforcement practices of subnational law enforcement agencies to protect people against human rights abuses. The submission also highlights the existence in several African states of quasi-state and private security agencies or vigilante groups with delegated powers to prevent crime, maintain public order, police the use of public spaces, and in some cases, effect an arrest. The challenge, however, is that the majority of these security agencies are populated by informally trained personnel and enforcement is conducted in a brutal manner and is often characterized by a lack of due process. In general, the submission recommends that the African Commission and the Special Rapporteur on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and Policing in Africa should urgently prioritise the role of subnational governments in their work to promote the decriminalisation of petty offences.