Frontline Justice

What leapt to my mind as I was talking to Mary Wyckoff, Global Rights’ Director of Programs, about our Paralegal Training Workshop in Kampala, Uganda in July was the name of our blog:  Frontline Justice.

I was struck by the “frontline” role that paralegals play in Africa.  With limited numbers of lawyers in many African countries, and fewer still outside of urban areas, community-based paralegals lead the charge in filling the justice gap. 

We see it ourselves every day from our paralegal trainings and mentorships in Morocco, Northern Nigeria and Uganda.

Paralegals not only fill the justice gap, but they also help resolve conflicts – large and small – throughout Africa.  They help people solve family conflicts.  Paralegals assist individuals, especially women and children, seek protection from violence.  They help people navigate confusing criminal justice systems.  They help resolve conflicts over land and natural resources.  They help people access health care and education.  The list goes on and on. 

At this frontline vantage point, paralegals can also often see underlying problems brewing in a community.  In this way paralegals can serve as an early warning and early prevention system to help mitigate a bigger conflict from occurring.  

At the end of our workshop, more than fifty organizations from twenty African countries called on governments to acknowledge the critically important role that paralegals play.  In the Kampala Declaration on Community Paralegals, our partners urged governments to do three things: recognize the role community paralegals play in providing primary justice services, invest more in paralegal efforts, and protect the independence of paralegals. 

We know if governments more actively support paralegals, the return on the investment for their countries will be great. 

I want to thank USAID for their support, and Namati and Open Society Justice Initiative for being such dynamic and forward-thinking co-sponsors of the workshop with Global Rights.  I especially want to thank the eighty-plus paralegals who actively participated in the workshop last month.  But, more importantly, I want to thank them for engaging every day in their communities at the frontline of justice. 

Susan

Posted by Susan M. Farnsworth

Our Commitment to Afghanistan

I keep hearing it over and over:  "Global Rights' program is so well respected here in Afghanistan." 

I am in Kabul to celebrate Global Rights' ten year anniversary in Afghanistan.  Saturday I walked into our event to be welcomed by a sea of young men and women in caps and gowns.  They were graduating from our Young Lawyers in Training (YLTP) and Family Law Clinical Training (FLC) programs from Al Biruni, Nangarhar and Kabul Universities in Law and Shar'ia.  Their excitement was contagious. 

Female YLTP & FLC Graduates

Joining the students were many of our current and former Legal Fellows and our partner organizations (NGOs and government ministries)  where our Fellows are placed. Participating partners included  Justice for All, Afghan Women's Network, the Ministry of Justice and many more. 

We were  honored that many of the law school deans and faculty joined us, as well as government ministers, members of Parliament, judges and prosecutors, our Human Rights Legal Practitioners who help train our students, leading human and women's rights advocates and our strong US and international supporters.  All in all there were 800 people who celebrated our 10th Anniversary with us!

More than 2,000 young people have graduated from YLTP and FLC over the ten years.  To date, we have placed 236 Legal Fellows (138 females and 98 males).  The Legal Advice Bureau has assisted 3,700 individuals. 

The statistics are impressive, but our work has such a ripple effect.   What I heard from our distinguished speakers again and again is how important rule of law is to a stable Afghanistan.  They highlighted Global Rights role in that critical process. Our work provides the next generation of lawyers with practical legal education that addresses human rights and the established  Legal Advice Bureaus provide legal assistance for the most poor and marginalized, especially women. 

Global Rights' Board Chair, J. Stuart Lemle; U.S. BG Dixie
Morrow; Global Rights Afghanistan Director, Justine Mbabazi;
& Global Rights' partner, Suraya Pakzad

As Brigadier General Dixie Morrow, the U.S. Deputy Coordinating Director for Rule of Law and Law Enforcement, said, "It is the principles that Global Rights and its partners teach and demonstrate that bring us together.  Program graduates use their knowledge to bring transparency, consistency, integrity and fairness to the justice system.  Treating everyone -- men and women, rich and poor, from all regions and every ethnic group, from the most powerful to the humblest -- with respect for their rights is the essence of a commitment to justice and human rights."  

Dr. Obaidullah Obaid, Minister of Higher Education

The Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Obaidullah Obaid, stressed the need for young people in Afghanistan to learn about human rights as part of their education.  He commended Global Rights and our university partners for teaching the importance of human rights as part of our curriculum.

I wish I could convey all of the inspiring words that were spoken on Saturday.  Despite the violence that continues to plague parts of the country,  the day's event filled us all with hope for the future of Afghanistan and the courage to continue Global Rights'  work. 

I want to express my deepest thank you to all of those who participated in our 10th Anniversary celebration, our dedicated staff and to all who have supported us over the years.  We are grateful and proud of what we have done together and what is possible in the future.


- Susan

Posted by Susan M. Farnsworth

Impact in Burundi

Wow. It is always good to hear that Global Rights is having an impact. So I was particularly pleased when we received an email from Steven Goldberg a volunteer with the International Senior Lawyers Project who co-facilitated our Strategic Litigation workshop in Burundi last week. Here is a bit of what he wrote about the impact of our training:

"I wanted to give you a brief update from Burundi, at least from my perspective.

This is obviously an extraordinarily ambitious program. You are educating people about international law, you are getting them to think about how to apply principles underlying that body of law in their own countries to specific legal problems, and how to do that strategically.

The trainers you've chosen -- all African -- are terrific. Knowledgeable, experienced, and totally committed to this work.

...The skills part of the training has been useful on several levels. It has made people think about the practicalities of doing this work: When working with communities, how do legal issues get defined, how does the lawyer avoid letting his or her own biases define the work as opposed to the people he's representing, who is the client when dealing with groups of people, how do you create trust with your clients to facilitate disclosure of the facts you need to litigate, how can the work be done in such a way that empowers the client. These are not necessarily issues and skills people think about as they train to become lawyers, and then practice law but really are important whether you are doing divorces or large impact cases.

Steven Goldberg at the Strategic Litigation workshop

We've also tried to do this part of the training in a way that gets the participants actively involved, and that's been a success. People have been actively involved, willing to participate in role-plays, filled with questions and comments. We've had to be flexible about how to do this. But my sense from the participants is that they are enjoying the training and finding it valuable.

...Now being home, the impact of this experience on me has been significant -- apart from the training and cases. The participants in the workshop were amazing people: so committed, bright, willing to take significant risks challenging their various governments in cases challenging human rights violations.

I left Africa this time with a sense of perspective that change takes time. I also have optimism about the future given the amazing people I met.

Thanks so much for this experience."

- Steven Goldberg, Attorney at Law

I am glad to know that our USAID-funded program is helping to build lasting legal skills that will have long-term impact on strengthening participation in rule of law.  Click here to read more about our strategic litigation workshop. 


- Susan


Posted by Susan M. Farnsworth

"Your Country Needs You”: A General’s Words of Encouragement in Afghanistan

“As a judge I can say, you are the kind of people I would like to see representing someone in the court,” U.S. Brigadier General Dixie Morrow said to 30 of our Legal Fellows in Kabul.

“I know one of the things this program will train you to do is to provide defense services to the people of Afghanistan who need you the most. I have lived my life to serve the public in my country and I am hopeful you will do the same.  Your country needs you."

Global Rights Legal Fellows with BG Morrow

This Global Rights’ training session was special. It’s not every day that a female Brigadier General addresses our Legal Fellows. The U.S. Embassy’s Acting Coordinating Director of Rule of Law and Law Enforcement Brigadier General Dixie Morrow recently shared her legal and public service career with 30 of our Fellows during a training on research in the law.

She discussed the importance of criminal defense and the value of public service.  She then asked the Fellows to tell her about their experiences working at local Afghan organizations.

Some of the Legal Fellows shared their proudest achievements – for example providing legal assistance to women, redrafting bylaws, and helping rural farmers understand their rights. Brigadier General Morrow was impressed by what these young men and women were doing to improve the Afghan justice sector for their fellow citizens fresh out of school.  

We want to thank BG Morrow for taking time out of her busy day to learn more about the good work our Legal Fellows are doing and share her words of encouragement.  We need to continue investing in Afghanistan’s next generation.  Our Legal Fellowship Program gives recent law graduates confidence and skills to support and strengthen justice in their country.  I am confident that one of them one day will be Afghanistan’s General Morrow.


- Susan

If you want to help support our amazing Legal Fellows and their work, you can make a tax deductible contribution here.


Posted by Susan M. Farnsworth

Sleeping Better at Night

She was trapped.  She was desperate. And she did not want to marry a 60-year-old man.

Two years ago, 14 year old Aminat ran 125 kilometers away from home to seek our paralegals’ help in Bauchi State, Nigeria. She heard there were individuals in Bauchi who could help defend her rights. She needed to know that there was some section of some law that would protect her from marrying this man.

Our trained paralegals were able to educate both Aminat and her father on the law that actually gives women the choice of whom they marry and when they marry.

Aminat is currently in school.  She did not have to get married. Aminat now wants to be a lawyer and make a difference in the world.

Abi Baiyewu, Global Rights’ Nigeria Country Director, made our work so real when she told Aminat’s story, at our recent event on April 25, 2012.

Whether it is in Nigeria, Afghanistan or Morocco, Global Rights is making a difference in the lives of young women around the world. We are ensuring that women like Aminat are able to live free of any human rights violations.

This certainly makes me sleep better at night.

-- Susan

P.S.  If you want to help change the lives of young women like Aminat, please make a contribution here. 

Paralegal Profile: Eye Opener to Justice

In late March, Megan Chapman spent a short week with Global Rights’ three local partner organizations in Bundibugyo, Uganda – Child Concerns Initiatives Organisation (CCIO), Bundibugyo NGO/CBO Forum, and Bundibugyo Women’s Federation (BUWOFE) – and met a number of paralegals and program beneficiaries in their communities. Earlier blog posts have highlighted success stories from Bundibugyo. This post is the first in a series focused on the paralegals themselves, aiming to give a fuller picture of just a few of these volunteers working on the front lines of justice and legal empowerment in their communities.

Just five days after completing his initial training with 14 other new paralegals working with BUWOFE, Tibamwenda John had already helped to resolve two incidents of domestic violence in his parish within Nyahuka Town Council. John is six years retired from a long career in government service with the Ugandan Prisons Service and nearly a decade as the parish chief.


Although he protests he is too old to ride the bicycle that BUWOFE gave him to assist with his paralegal work, it is evident that retirement is not slowing him down.

With a broad grin and a chuckle, John agrees that we can “foot” to his home once I assure him I can handle the kilometer distance and, yes, even the mud. We exit the one-room Nyahuka Town Council office, where he serves as the Chairman of the Local Council III (LC3) Court, and head up the rutted road toward the DRC border. He points out the main hospital in town where one of his wives works and he serves as a volunteer board member. Up another hillside, he points to a house in a grove of cacao trees and explains with quiet pride how he and one wife have used money earned from cacao – a major local cash crop – to build a permanent structure (made from bricks rather than the more common mud and sticks), complete with a zinc roof and real metal doors, even while managing to send all their children to university.

Along the way, we take a detour via the house of a woman who chairs the 20-person BUWOFE “self-help group” of which John is one of just three male members. The group originally formed a savings and credit cooperative with support from BUWOFE during Bundibugyo’s recovery from years of insurgency and now raises awareness in the community on issues like domestic violence and girl-child education. It is this group that elected John to be trained as a paralegal.

It only takes a few moments of conversation to understand the reasons that John was given this vote of confidence. Hard work and volunteerism seem to run at his core. Sitting under a picture of Barack Obama in the small house that belonged to his first wife (now of late) from which he plans to do his paralegal work, John explains his motivations.

John's paralegal log book where he records the cases
he handles

As the LC3 Chairperson, he is already involved in local dispute resolution (the third level of appeals in the local court system recognized by the Ugandan state the operates side-by-side with judiciary). But, he explains, the LC3 is required to charge fees; as a paralegal, he can help people closer to home and without court fees. Moreover, he hopes to be able to prevent disputes.


In this regard, he is most keen to receive a follow-up training promised by BUWOFE on will-writing: “Once I have received that training, I will be able to help so many to stop fighting in their families!”

Just before we leave John's home, Joshua, the BUWOFE coordinator, takes out a bag of  t-shirts that have just been printed for all the newly trained paralegals. John holds up the shirt that will identify him, although I suspect little identification is needed around here, as “Paralegal – eye opener to justice.” 


- Megan

P.S. Click here to view a photo album from my trip to Uganda!


Posted by Megan Chapman

We Must Commit to Protect Women

"The lesson is that we must be committed permanently to the adoption of legislation against violence against women, in all its forms. Once fully enacted, this legislation will provide protection to the woman when she is being abused or threatened. We need the perpetrators of these crimes to be tried for violations of human rights."  – Ambassador Melanne Verveer (translated from French transcript)

Last week, Melanne Verveer, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, was in Morocco as part of a trip to Morocco and Tunisia to discuss ways to advance women’s empowerment and political and economic participation. Among other leaders in women’s rights, Ambassador Verveer had an opportunity to meet with our Maghreb Regional Director, Stephanie Willman Bordat.  The two were able to discuss the current situation of women’s rights in Morocco and agree that a violence against women (VAW) law in the country must be passed.

Global Rights Maghreb team and local partners at a sit-in at
the Moroccan Parliament for Amina Filali

Ambassador Verveer’s visit occurred while Morocco is still reeling from the tragic suicide of Amina Filali, a 16 year old girl who took her life after being forced to marry her rapist in order to preserve the honor of her family. Article 475 of the Moroccan penal code (yes, the actual law) allows a “kidnapper” to marry his victim if she is a minor, even though legal marriage age in Morocco is 18.

The ability of her rapist to escape responsibility for his crime is not only due to Article 475 but, also because of the lack of strong laws to protect women from violence.   Since 2006, the Moroccan government has been promising a VAW bill but, to date, the Family Ministry has not presented such a bill to the entire cabinet for approval.

Yet, model legislation is ready, crafted as a result of the hard work done by a vast network of women’s organizations that span the breadth and depth of the country.  To see the VAW legislation our local partners drafted, click here for Arabic, and a summary in French and English.

Global Rights has been working with these women’s organizations for over ten years to build their knowledge and skills on women’s legal rights in Morocco.  Coordinated by Global Rights, Moroccan women have come together to draft model legislation to combat violence against women.  Such legislation is needed to prevent more young girls and women, like Amina, from taking their own lives because of violence that has been perpetrated against them, for which they have no recourse. 

In 2009, the Maghreb team and their local partners organized an unprecedented three-week caravan throughout Morocco to mobilize support for a NGO drafted violence against women legislation. The caravan stopped in 33 cities, towns, and villages and had over 2,000 people participating in round table conferences and awareness-raising sessions.  Unlike anything that has been done before, this caravan encouraged women to speak out about domestic violence. At each and every event, participants told Global Rights at least one story of a woman who had committed suicide to escape from violence.

Ambassador Verveer’s remarks noted that the case of Amina Filali was a “wake up call” to take steps to pass a VAW law in Parliament.  I want to thank Ambassador Verveer for making the strong statement she did. We support the repeal of Article 475 of the Moroccan penal code and encourage a strong law that more comprehensively protects women from violence.

- Susan

Posted by Susan M. Farnsworth