Namati’s blog highlights the perspectives and ongoing work of leading practitioners and scholars in the field of legal empowerment. Legal empowerment explores ways of putting law and government into people’s hands – an ambition underpinning efforts to advance justice throughout the world, whether under the banner of human rights, international development, access to justice, governance and accountability, or citizen’s participation.
Deep in the Cut: Reflections from Rivercess County, Liberia
Deep in the heart of Rivercess County, the mud homes stand completely illuminated by the scorching sun. Their thatch roofs consistently prove match for the daily rains. Above, the blue sky plays backdrop for the treetops that surround each village. The forests and trees act as a frame, allowing another world to come into focus.
It is in this corner of Liberia where this journey begins. Baseline surveys, questions lost in translation, smiles at accents not completely understood. Under the unforgiving afternoon sun, it can be slow and tedious work. But there is something like strength in embracing the unfamiliar, trusting the process, and fighting to win.
The goal: organize local communities to receive formal ownership papers from the State for their customary lands. Land that has no title or deed, simply worked and lived upon for generations. As we seek to build the capacity of communities to manage their land and natural resources, establish community governance structures, and harmonize boundaries with neighboring clans, I realize we are talking about something revolutionary.
The importance of protecting rural land ownership rights rests, in part, on peacebuilding. These efforts are equally tied to sustainable development, social justice, and food security. The larger … More »
“It’s a holistic approach”
An interview with Namuchana Mushabati
Namuchana Mushabati is a trained lawyer working as a Programs Officer for the Legal, Sexual and Reproductive Rights Project with Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA). Through the Access to Justice program, the Zambia chapter of WLSA provides legal aid services to women and children in the capital city of Lusaka, as well as various rural districts throughout the country.
“A PARALEGAL IS A PERSON who has basic knowledge or understanding of the law and actually provides legal aid and services to victims of gender-based violence or those whose human rights have been deprived.
I can give you an example of a case that a paralegal resolved completely without the involvement of a lawyer.
There was a widow with six children. After the death of her husband, the widow and her brother-in-law were made was joint administrators of the deceased husband’s estate.
Soon after, the brother-in-law started collecting money from different places without actually informing the widow, and without giving this money to her and the children, who were actually supposed to be the sole beneficiaries of the deceased’s estate.
There are some cases that the paralegals manage to resolve on their own without … More »
Law and Development from the Ground Up: Bridging Health Care by the Sewa River
In Sierra Leone’s rainy season, the Sewa River, feared by many locals for its powerful currents, floods over its banks separating entire villages from basic services. Konta health clinic in Kenema district operates near the shores of the Sewa, and during the six-month rainy season, five of Konta’s 17 dependent villages cannot access the clinic. If women in those villages give birth during the rains, they entrust care to traditional birth attendants; if children fall ill, they turn to traditional medicine, stockpiled drugs, and, often, prayer. As one woman explained during a recent community meeting in Konta, these are the only options, even if the all-too-frequent consequence is death. Hearing her account, it’s difficult not to feel a strong sense of injustice, even in an incredibly resource-constrained country like Sierra Leone. But is there a role for the law in remedying this situation?
The community around Konta has offered one compelling answer. Konta’s residents have enacted a “bylaw” to improve clinic access as part of the government of Sierra Leone’s community compact health intervention, in which community members work with health clinic staff to design and implement their own solutions to health problems. Under the Konta bylaw, all households around … More »
Incorporating Justice in the Post-2015 Development Framework
Download the fact sheet: ‘Incorporating Justice in the Post-2015 Development Framework‘
In 2015, the nations of the world will decide on a global development framework that succeeds the UN Millennium Development Goals. Justice plays a fundamental role in eliminating poverty; it empowers the poor with the means to challenge the root causes of deprivation, displacement, and dispossession. Yet, justice is missing from the current round of goals.
Namati and the Open Society Foundations are rallying allies from around the world to campaign for the incorporation of justice and legal empowerment into the post-2015 development agenda. Join us as we advocate for a post-2015 framework under which all people can exercise their basic rights to dignity, safety, and livelihood – the underpinnings of equitable development.
A new development framework needs new strategies for eradicating poverty. Justice—a principle missing from the current MDGs—needs to be part of the next generation of development efforts.
Justice is important enough to warrant its own goal. Lack of legal power and protection is a major reason why people fall into, and remain in, extreme poverty. Around the world, more than four billion people are living outside the reach of the law—mostly because they are poor.… More »
Successful Models for Partnership and Implementation
Download the fact sheet: ‘Successful Models for Partnership and Implementation‘
In 2015, the nations of the world will decide on a global development framework that succeeds the UN Millennium Development Goals. Justice plays a fundamental role in eliminating poverty; it empowers the poor with the means to challenge the root causes of deprivation, displacement, and dispossession. Yet, justice is missing from the current round of goals.
Namati and the Open Society Foundations are rallying allies from around the world to campaign for the incorporation of justice and legal empowerment into the post-2015 development agenda. Join us as we advocate for a post-2015 framework under which all people can exercise their basic rights to dignity, safety, and livelihood – the underpinnings of equitable development.
An estimated four billion people around the world live outside the protection of the law, mostly because they are poor. To combat this, efforts to strengthen access to justice are making tangible and measurable impacts on development outcomes across a wide range of sectors, from health to gender equity to the environment.
As with other challenges tackled by the Millennium Development Goals, the scale of the problem demands collaborative responses—from governments, business, civil society, international organizations, … More »