A more humane criminal justice response that protects the rights of women and vulnerable groups involved in minor drug offences
PROPORCIONALIty and criminal ALTERNATIVES
Criminal policy on drug trafficking is undergoing a process of renewal in Latin America and the Caribbean. New approaches are being developed to reverse the impact of a maximalist criminal and penitentiary response, especially in the case of minor drug offences, a problem that affects vulnerable sectors of the population, especially women.
Poverty, social exclusion, lack of access to services and opportunities are factors that drive many women to enter the lowest link of drug trafficking as a means of subsistence. In this context, imprisonment does not address the structural causes underlying the problem. In contrast, proportionality in penal systems and the application of alternative measures to imprisonment offer solutions in the field of restorative justice.
Within the framework of the design of new criminal policy strategies, the COPOLAD III programme contributes to the generation of technical tools that allow judicial operators to advance in the application of proportional measures and alternatives to imprisonment. This enables the application of a more humanised punitive response, paving the way for women involved in minor drug offences to fully exercise their rights.
At the REGIONAL level, the programme supports the Conference of Ministers of Justice of the Iberoamerican Countries (COMJIB) and the Inter-American Association of Public Defender’s Offices (AIDEF) in the creation of regional instruments and standards, in line with the human rights, gender and public health approach.
At the NATIONAL level, COPOLAD III provides technical support in particular to Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago, according to different needs and demands. Support includes carrying out legal audits of penal frameworks, proposals for legislative reform of the penal framework to incorporate proportionality and alternatives, or the development of protocols for adopting alternative measures.
1 IMPLEMENTING PARTNER: FIIAPP (Fundación Internacional y para Iberoamérica de Administración y Políticas Públicas)
