Spotlight

Reflections on impact: UN Special Procedure on extreme poverty and human rights

Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, discusses how she has leveraged her position to strengthen the voices of those who are routinely ignored by their governments and the international community.

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Using Foreign Bribery Fines to Finance Legal Empowerment

Namati CEO Vivek Maru and Margaux Hall argue that fines collected for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) could be used to establish a multilateral financing mechanism for the direct legal empowerment of citizens worldwide.

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Timap for Justice Launches Community Paralegal Manual

Timap for Justice, a Sierra Leonean NGO and member of the Global Legal Empowerment Network that provides basic justice services, launched its manual for community-based paralegals. The manual draws on years of lessons learned and presents an effective model for paralegal training that can be applied to a variety of contexts.

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Kampala Declaration

The Kampala Declaration on Community Paralegals urges governments to strengthen access to justice and accountability across the continent by embracing the potential of community paralegals. From July 9-11, 2012, more than fifty organizations from twenty African countries met in Kampala, Uganda, where they debated and adopted the declaration.

The Kampala Declaration remains open for further signatures. Please contact [email protected] to add your organization to the list of signatories.

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A Letter to Rio+20: Sustainable Development Isn’t Possible Without Land Rights

Namati CEO, Vivek Maru, and Rights and Resources Initiative Coordinator, Andy White, argue that community land rights and protection are crucial to sustainable development. As it stands now, these rights are ommitted from the Rio+20 Conference Resolution, putting billions of vulnerable people further at risk.

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Latest News

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  June 13, 2013

  Burma legal aid movement inspired by South Africa

  Inspired by South Africa’s legal aid system, lawyers from Burma’s Legal Aid Network (MLAW) and government officials are piloting justice centers in Yangon and Mawlamyaing. These programs provide aid in criminal cases to those otherwise lacking legal counsel. If successful, the programs will be replicated nationwide.

• June 10, 2013

  New Research: Expanding Access to Legal Services in Alberta through E-Learning

  A new report from Athabasca University identifies information and communication technologies capable of delivering legal services in rural remote and Aboriginal communities in Canada. The report calls for targeted legal education and service delivery through e-learning to satisfy unmet demands.

• June 6, 2013

  South Sudan Law Society: ‘Improved Accountability Is the Only Path to Sustainable Peace’

  In a new report, Network member South Sudan Law Society analyzes the key challenges faced by local justice systems attempting to meet the legal needs of rural Sudanese caught up in conflict. Among other recommendations, the report suggests expanding access to justice by permitting paralegals to represent clients in court for minor disputes.

• June 1, 2013

  Simeon Koroma, Timap for Justice: ‘Community-based, community owned’

  Simeon Koroma, co-founder of Timap for Justice , is interviewed by the Harvard Human Rights Journal on the origins of Timap, as well as the challenges of operating a legal aid organization in Sierra Leone, and the future of legal aid in the country.

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  May 30, 2013

  Video: African Leaders Voice Support for Justice in the Post-2015 Agenda

  Watch as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Macky Sall, Aminata Touré, and others make the compelling case for justice in the UN Millenium Development Goals.