At a seminar held in Nairobi, representatives from the National Council heard the findings, provided input and validated the finalisation of a comprehensive audit of the criminal justice system in Kenya. The report was prepared by Legal Resources Foundation Kenya, Resources Oriented Development Initiative Kenya, and CSPRI.
The UN Human Rights Committee published its concluding observations following South Africa's review in March 2016. Key points raised in the Alternate Report coordinated by CSPRI were among the concluding observations.
The UN Human Rights Committee is the body mandated to oversee the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in states party to the Covenant.
Around 1000 prisoners were pardoned by the President during his State of the Nation address in December 2015. While these pardons offer temporary relief for the overburdened penitentiary system, implementation of more comprehensive measures, which form part of ongoing legal reform, will be necessary to effect real change.
Paper on arrest in Africa released
PPJA has released a paper exploring the issues around arrest in Africa. The paper considers the historical roots of policing in Africa and how these have been translated in the post-colonial context. The paper suggests not all people are at an equal risk of arrest, but rather that it is the poor, powerless and out-groups that are at a higher risk of arrest. The report concludes with a number of recommendations, calling for further research, decriminalisation of certain offences, and restructuring of the police in African countries.
The CSPRI presentation "Toward the rational allocation of policing resources" builds on work done for the Khayelitsha Commission and presents new data analysing the situation in KwaZulu-Natal.
CSPRI researcher Gwénaëlle Dereymaeker presented CSPRI's research findings on South Africa's anti-torture legislative framework at the Pan-African seminar hosted by REDRESS in Nairobi, Kenya, on 28-29 September.
CSPRI researcher Jean Redpath provided insights around the problem of pre-trial detention in the African context, with particular emphasis on problems in measuring the impact of interventions and of policy change.
