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Fact sheet 27: Sub-national law enforcement and oversight in four African countries: Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia | by Janelle Mangwanda Fact sheet 27: Sub-national law enforcement and oversight in four African countries: Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia | by Janelle Mangwanda

Sub-national law enforcement (when properly organised) supplements the work of national police at a local level by strengthening community-police relations and allowing for the swift response to emergency situations. However, this is only possible if each local law enforcement agency has, amongst others, formal standardised training, independent budgets, and existing effective mechanisms for public complaints, oversight and monitoring. This Fact Sheet provides a situational analysis of sub-national law enforcement in two west African countries, one east African and one southern African country; namely, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia and highlights some of the challenges present in each context, particularly with regards to enforcement targeted at those working within public spaces.

Fact sheet 26: Public Spaces & Informal Work: Principles and Approaches to Law & Policy-Making | by Kristen Petersen Fact sheet 26: Public Spaces & Informal Work: Principles and Approaches to Law & Policy-Making | by Kristen Petersen

Public space forms the setting for a number of activities, including the setting for community life and livelihoods of the urban poor, such as street vendors or waste-pickers. There is growing evidence pointing to the problematic way in which public space is governed. In many developing countries, laws and policies, particularly at a local government level, tend to restrict the ability of people to earn a livelihood or perform life-sustaining activities in public spaces. Contravention of local ordinances or by-laws is frequently treated as a criminal offence, compromising informal dwellers and workers’ livelihoods, denying due process protections and often violating their human rights. In this factsheet, we contextualise how laws and policies result in the criminalisation of the poor and consider principles that are fundamental to good policy-making.

Why are municipalities not publishing procurement information on their websites and the eTender Portal? Why are municipalities not publishing procurement information on their websites and the eTender Portal?

This report presents the findings of a study conducted by the Dullah Omar Institute (DOI) in partnership with the International Budget Partnership South Africa (IBP-SA). The study examined the state of transparency in local government procurement, in particular the reasons why municipalities do not publish key procurement information on their websites and National Treasury’s eTender Portal timeously and consistently. Procurement information in this context includes tender notices, tender specifications, and tender awards.

[Report] An assessment of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) in South Africa [Report] An assessment of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) in South Africa

After signing the Optional Protocol to UNCAT (OPCAT) in 2006 and ratifying it in March 2019, South Africa designated a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) being the coordinating structure. Since ratification in March 2019, it appears that to date, the NPM has not been fully functional and institutional arrangements for visiting places of detention under the banner of the NPM remain unclear. There is also uncertainty as to how the constituent parts of the NPM will fulfil the responsibilities under OPCAT. In view of the above, the members of the Detention Justice Forum (DJF) agreed to assess the operational functionality of the NPM in the respective sectors of the DJF member organisations. This also provided an opportunity to identify issues for clarification on the NPM’s mandate and its relations with other components as well as government departments responsible for places where people are or may be deprived of their liberty. This report provides the findings of the assessment performed amongst members of the Detention Justice Forum (DJF) based off a questionnaire that was developed. This report was prepared by K Petersen & J Mangwanda, December 2022

Submission by Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) to the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions

ACJR’s submission is in response to the call from the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions (UNSR) to collect information on practices for the investigation, documentation, and prevention of deaths in custody in the criminal justice context. The UNSR’s report aims to raise awareness about deaths in custody globally and to contribute to the protection of the right to life of those deprived of liberty, including practical recommendations and best practices on the effective investigation, documentation, and prevention of custodial deaths. This submission focuses on South Africa and pays particular attention to custody situations under the control of the police and the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). The submission would inform the UNSR report to be presented to the Human Rights Council in June 2023.

STATEMENT ON LAW /POLICY CHANGES TO CHILD MENDICITY (BEGGING) IN GUINEA-BISSAU

It was reported from Guinea Bissau on 20 March 2023 that a new law will prohibit Islamic leaders using children for begging. The President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló ordered that from Monday, 27 March 2023, child mendicity will be prohibited and that fathers or Koranic teachers of any child caught begging in the streets of the country would be arrested. The President considers shameful to send children in the streets of Bissau and neighbouring countries to raise support for their Koranic teachers. The regular practice perpetrated by some Islamic leaders have created an alarming phenomenon nationally and in the region. As members of the global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status advocating for the repeal of laws that target people based on poverty, status or for their activism, we are, however, concerned for those children who beg on the streets not sent by their religious teachers, but forced by their economic and social situation. For those children, mendicity may be the only means of subsistence because the state may not have adequate social, economic and other relief measures in place to combat their poverty. The full joint statement can be found here.

Summary report on consultations with civil society stakeholders: “The NPA that we want” Summary report on consultations with civil society stakeholders: “The NPA that we want”

Much of the media attention given to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is centered on high-level corruption investigations, especially linked to the Zondo Commission’s findings and recommendations. While this is important, it should also be asked what happens at ground-level in our courts where ordinary cases are heard on a daily basis. The question can indeed be asked: What are our expectations of the NPA when having to engage with the criminal justice system as a victim, witness or even an accused? Do we know what we want from the NPA in real and practical terms? In June and July 2022 ACJR commissioned a series of consultation workshops with stakeholders to discuss these questions and develop descriptions of “the NPA that we want”. The consultations yielded valuable observations and insights, demonstrating on the one hand that people generally have a deep understanding of the challenges facing the NPA and, on the other hand, clear understandings of what they expect of the NPA, especially as these relate to the four core values of professionalism, independence, accountability, and credibility.

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