Proporcionality and alternative penal sanctions
Promoting a more humane criminal response that protects the rights of women and vulnerable groups linked to minor drug crimes
Criminal policy on drug trafficking is undergoing a process of renewal in Latin America and the Caribbean. Progress is being made towards new approaches to reverse the impacts of a maximalist criminal and prison response, especially in minor drug offences, which affect vulnerable sectors of the population, with a particular incidence on women.
Incarceration does not solve the structural causes of this problem. On the other hand, the search for the proportionality of criminal systems and the application of alternative measures to incarceration offer solutions, among which the restorative justice approach stands out.
COPOLAD III supports the adoption, at regional and national level, of a more humane punitive penal response that protects the rights of women and vulnerable groups, both from a regional approach and in national actions in various countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Results
Generation of regional standards on penal alternatives
Promotion of proporcionality and alternative penal measures with a focus on social inclusion
- ‘Pact for the humanisation of criminal and penitentiary policy in Ibero-America’, as a result of a technical accompaniment to the Conference of Ministers of Justice of Ibero-American Countries (COMJIB). It includes a diagnosis of the legal frameworks of a selection of Latin American countries and a document of guidelines and standards for the development of policies in accordance with the principles of proportionality and alternatives.
- Regional Protocol for Specialised Defence for Women in Conflict with the Law for the commission of drug offences, with a human rights, gender and public health approach, developed within the framework of technical support to the Inter-American Association of Public Defenders (AIDEF).
- Development of protocols for the defence and comprehensive care of women in conflict with the law for committing minor drug offences (Costa Rica and Paraguay). The AIDEF guidelines are taken as a reference.
- Pilot experience in a municipality in the Dominican Republic to address the determinants and recidivism factors in young people involved in minor offences, promoting the recovery and social inclusion of young offenders.
- Development of a normative proposal in Trinidad and Tobago for the treatment of minor drug offences under the approach of ‘Deterrence Commissions’ as a model for the strengthening of penal alternatives in the Caribbean country’s legal system.
Results
Generation of regional standards on penal alternatives
- ‘Pact for the humanisation of criminal and penitentiary policy in Ibero-America’, as a result of a technical accompaniment to the Conference of Ministers of Justice of Ibero-American Countries (COMJIB). It includes a diagnosis of the legal frameworks of a selection of Latin American countries and a document of guidelines and standards for the development of policies in accordance with the principles of proportionality and alternatives.
- Regional Protocol for Specialised Defence for Women in Conflict with the Law for the commission of drug offences, with a human rights, gender and public health approach, developed within the framework of technical support to the Inter-American Association of Public Defenders (AIDEF).
Promotion of proporcionality and alternative penal measures with a focus on social inclusion
- Development of protocols for the defence and comprehensive care of women in conflict with the law for committing minor drug offences (Costa Rica and Paraguay). The AIDEF guidelines are taken as a reference.
- Pilot experience in a municipality in the Dominican Republic to address the determinants and recidivism factors in young people involved in minor offences, promoting the recovery and social inclusion of young offenders.
- Development of a normative proposal in Trinidad and Tobago for the treatment of minor drug offences under the approach of ‘Deterrence Commissions’ as a model for the strengthening of penal alternatives in the Caribbean country’s legal system.
¿Cómo trabajamos?
Esquema regional
Conformación de tres grupos de trabajo con 28 países para generar reflexión a través de seminarios, guías conceptuales y metodológicas e intercambio de experiencias.Articulación con el Observatorio Interamericano de Drogas (OID) de la Comisión Interamericana para el Control del Abuso de Drogas (CICAD-OEA).
Aterrizaje multipaís y nacional
Lanzamiento de 22 acciones nacionales de fortalecimiento de OND con metas previstas y rutas de acompañamiento
Communication
Implementing partners
