COVID-19 and petty offences in West Africa

Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) will facilitate a webinar discussion on COVID-19 and petty offences and its impact on marginalized groups in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Guinea Conakry.

Governments across Africa have put measures as a response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, through the establishment of either states of emergencies or states of disasters. While these and other additional measures are a response to the crisis, the enforcement of lockdown regulations has also created new sets of petty offences which previously did not exist. The poor and marginalized are worst impacted as many have been forced to breach the rules and regulations for the purposes of survival.

Members of the campaign on the Decriminalisation of Petty Offences in Africa will have a general discussion on the COVID-19 regulations in their respective countries, addressing the impact thereof on persons (including vulnerable groups such as women and girls) and highlighting their organizational efforts and recommendations to addressing an appropriate response to dealing with the pandemic.

Panelists will include representatives from South Africa, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Guinea Conakry.

The event will take place on 4th June 2020 at 11:00am (GMT) 12:00pm (WAT) 13:00pm (SAST)

Register in advance for this meeting on Zoom following this link.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.