Launch of briefing paper on the decriminalisation of poverty and status in South Asia

A Report on Discrimination and Subjugation: Laws Criminalising and Penalising Poverty and Status in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICwS) has published a new briefing paper on the decriminalisation of poverty and status focussed on Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as part of the global campaign.

The report concludes by making a number of recommendations, including that “the governments in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka need to carry out a complete and holistic review of all discriminatory laws that can or have been used to penalise conduct associated with poverty and status, with a view to repealing and/or substantially amending these laws.”

Around the world, including within the Commonwealth, individuals experiencing poverty are disproportionately represented in criminal justice systems, as a direct result of laws, policies and practices that criminalise and punish status and conduct associated with poverty.

States rely on the blunt and punitive hammer of criminal laws against those already facing discrimination, marginalisation and stigmatisation, based on notions of public interest grounded in overly expansive conceptualisations of public order, public safety, national security, public health, or other interests.

Focussed on at the situation in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the report first sets out the relevant international law and standards before analysing the laws criminalising and penaising poverty and status in the relevant countries and making a number of recommendations.

The Report will be officially launched at a side event at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Samoa 2024.