Thanks to the support of the National Endowment Democracy (NED), IBJ is launching a pilot legal aid project in Rwanda with the goal to assist the Kigali Bar Association and Ministry of Justice to ensure systematic access to justice for all Rwandans. Led by the dynamic and entrepreneurial John Bosco Bugingo who is now officially IBJ Rwanda Fellow, the project will commence with the establishment of a Defender Resource Centre (DRC) in Kigali. Strategically located in the capital city, the centre will operate as a legal aid centre where families of accused persons can seek legal advice. The DRC is also collegial space where defense lawyers can work, prepare their cases, and meet with clients and witnesses. Printed and electronical legal resources and materials will be stocked there to ensure lawyers have continuous access to learning opportunities.

Above: IBJ’s DRC is about to be established in one of Kigali’s blossoming streets. (Photo by Sanjeewa Liyanage)

The 2009 legal defense training generated a lot of interest from Rwandan lawyers. Many asked how they could be involved with IBJ in the reform of the justice system. Building on this momentum, IBJ is establishing a core group of volunteer lawyers, strategically located in each of the country’s five provinces, who will provide committed and competent counsel to vulnerable Rwandese lost within the justice system. These lawyers, along with a group of younger lawyers, will be trained intensively in the summer 2010 in collaboration with the Kigali Bar Association.

Above: Making sure that defense lawyers have continuous access to legal resources is a priority. (Photo by Sanjeewa Liyanage)

The volunteer lawyers will join forces with other dynamic and committed legal professionals in a Criminal Defense Task Force. This collaborative platform will meet three times a year to discuss the state of legal aid in Rwanda, obstacles to the protection of defendants’ rights, potential solutions to those obstacles, and means of implementation. The Task Force will work generating concrete solutions to practical problems of access to counsel and raising the profile of democratic criminal defense in Rwanda more generally.

Above: John Bosco Bugingo, IBJ Rwanda Fellow (left), presenting the “Know your Rights” poster with a peer at the Kigali Bar Association Annual Meeting in 2008 (Photo by Whitney Price).

Ultimately, the hope is to support the Ministry of Justice’s comprehensive legal aid strategy to ensure universal access to justice in Rwanda. IBJ is now one step closer. Cheers to NED!

Above: IBJ will continue working with the Kigali Bar Association and the Ministry of Justice to promote universal access to justice in Rwanda. (Photo by Sanjeewa Liyanage)

Above: IBJ Fellow Astère Muyango briefing volunteers who were to conduct the awareness campaign while IBJ staff would organize the round table. Photo: Caroline Arnaud

IBJ warmly thanks all the attendees for their participation. In addition to four lawyers who kindly traveled from Bujumbura, many members of Bururi and Makamba jurisdictions were present, such as the president of the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Bururi, the director of the Rumonge prison, and the Procureur de la République of Bururi. At the end, there were more than 25 people who tried to solve the delicate problem of pre-trial detention. After having indentified the challenges to an efficient penal system, the participants considered the possible causes of these dysfunctions.

Above: All the stakeholders of Bururi and Makamba provinces’ legal system gathered to find solutions to the issue of the pre-trial detention. Photo: Caroline Arnaud

They showed a real commitment to denounce the obstacles they encountered, identifying, throughout open discussions, what is not working. A new problem was pointed out: several police officers and members of the administration try to leverage a loophole in the law to arrest people for an offense which is not forbidden by the penal code. Indeed, many people are arrested for “consumption of prohibited alcohol”, while this alcohol, although dangerous, is not forbidden by the Burundian Penal procedure code. The aim of these illegal arrests is quite clear-cut: policemen do not release detainees unless they pay a semi-official bail. The participants strongly condemned this too recurrent practice and let themselves in for trying to make its consumption officially out-of-law. They moreover committed to several other concrete engagements, such as meeting each other on a regular basis, as a dialogue platform in which everyone express his difficulties is definitely lacking. Each participant made real commitments to improve the legal system within their capacity. Lawyers even proposed to offer pro-bono legal assistance to pre-trial detainees of the Bururi and Makamba provinces. IBJ acclaims this exemplary commitment.

These three-day events ended with everyone being willing to make change happen, for what IBJ expresses its profound gratitude.

Above: Divided in different groups according to their function, participants discussed about what they could do in order to improve the legal system in Bururi and Makamba province. Here lawyers discussing. Photo: Caroline Arnaud

Patrick Dunkwu and Fitzpatrick Maria form the JusticeMakers team in Lagos, Nigeria. Photos by John Densky. Text by Chelsea McConnell.

In breach of the Nigerian constitution, the police force is known to arrest criminal suspects without allowing them to notify their family or a lawyer.  Patrick documented cases of prisoners being held for years without trial.  The detainment of accused people is further facilitated by the Holding Charge system, which gives the police the power to detain suspects while they are searching for, and gathering evidence against them.

Using his JusticeMakers grant, Patrick has mobilised a network of legal aid lawyers and paralegals to visit prisons, courts and police stations.  By arming them with mobile telephones, Patrick has helped detainees receive legal representation as early as possible, as well as ensure that their families are notified upon arrest. In his latest report, Patrick praised the ‘tremendous support’ from the Nigerian Bar Association who helped make his project possible, by encouraging its members to work with him.

A view from a prison cell of young Nigerians playing football in the morning.

Patrick has visited over 20 police stations in Lagos to offer immediate legal support to arrested criminal defendants, filed cases in courts to enforce their fundamental rights, and successfully conducted a human rights and legal aid training programme for paralegals and his local community.  So far, Patrick has ensured the release of 38 criminal defendants from unlawful detention, which was made possible by the volunteers stationed at prisons.

Patrick’s main challenge was the hostility he received from police officers in the initial stages of his project.  Through holding a series of consultations and meetings with senior prison and police officials, Patrick was able to pave the way for collaboration.  From the meetings, he received written confirmation from senior officials directing junior police officers to allow him access to criminal defendants.

The courts in Lagos were more often than not without electricity. As a result the accused are shipped back to prison and must wait often months for the next appearance.

In the future Patrick hopes to replicate his project in other parts of the country. A number of local NGOs in Nigeria have extended invitations to him for help with the development of their legal aid programmes.

Incredibly, Patrick was also recently (in January 2010) invited to Ghana by a local NGO to train lawyers and paralegals to replicate his project there.  The Ghana based NGO read about Patrick’s project through the JusticeMakers website.  While in Ghana, Patrick successfully trained 18 lawyers and 12 paralegals on legal aid delivery strategies and the use of ICT to deliver legal aid to prisoners.

“My lawyer friends working in big corporate organisations and who earns fat salaries always tell me that they do not understand my passion for defending criminal defendants almost for no material gains when I did not go to law school free of charge.”  Explains Patrick in a recent report that does not do justice to the amount of compassion he has.  “I always refer them to the biblical saying, that man shall not live by bread alone.”

Be in Vision Pakistan and Pakistan Lawyers Foundation (PLF)

Be in Vision Pakistan and the PLF, JusticeMakers partners in Karachi, Pakistan, have worked in tandem to promote the competition. They have done outreach in the media, promoted at workshops they hosted and posted information in densely populated and critical areas such as the court house and city hall.

On February 10, The Frontier Post, a widely circulated English newspaper in Pakistan, published the JusticeMakers Press Release with the help of Be in Vision Pakistan and the Pakistan Lawyers Foundation.

The team from Be in Vision Pakistan and Pakistan Lawyers Foundation stand in front of their JusticeMakers banner at the Karachi Bar Association workshop they hosted. 

Pine Tree

Pine Tree is a social justice NGO in La Trinidad, Philippines that focuses on the environmental and cultural rights of indigenous peoples. On January 27th, the launch date of the competition, they hosted an event to raise awareness about the JusticeMakers competition and criminal justice issues. There were 46 participants from both the government and non-governmental sectors, media coverage and student observers from local universities. According to Michael Bengwayan, president of Pine Tree, the event was “lively and participants were enthusiastic. It was very informative and raised a lot of curiosity. In the end, lots of interesting ideas emerged!”

Legal Rights Forum Pakistan

Legal Rights Forum is another criminal justice NGO in Karachi, Pakistan that focuses on providing legal aid and legal rights education. They posted flyers and informational packets in over 60 Bar Associations and Legal Societies throughout Pakistan. They sent over 500 SMS messages to lawyers and NGO officers promoting the competition. In early February they conducted multiple round table discussions highlighting JusticeMakers and facilitated a lecture in a LLM University classroom.

Legal Rights Forum of Pakistan (LRF) hosted a JusticeMakers Launch Event at the Karachi Bar Association, where hundreds of lawyers were in attendance.

Legal Rights Forum of Pakistan (LRF) hosted a JusticeMakers Launch Event at the Karachi Bar Association, where hundreds of lawyers were in attendance.  

Malik Tahir Iqbal, the Founder and Chairman of LRF, gives a lecture to students at the Sindh Muslim Law College in Karachi, highlighting the JusticeMakers Fellowship. 

Translated Press Releases

When we released a press release announcing the 2010 JusticeMakers Competition, we originally only had it an English-language version. However, with the help of our JusticeMakers Partners were were able to get it translated in the following languages: Urdu, Hebrew, Bahasa, Pashto, Taglog, Mongolian, Thai, Nepali, and Russian. If you would like any of these versions, please email JusticeMakers Project Coordinator Liam Hanlon at liam@justicemakers.net.

Once again, thanks to all our partners for their support and dedication in bringing this opportunity to communities throughout Asia. More updates will be coming soon!

Members of the Community Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee taking notes during a training. Photos are by John Semakula, edited by Jennifer Westmorland.

A group of 10 individuals were selected and trained to become a criminal justice committee. The committee has been monitoring and scrutinising criminal justice practices in Kikwanda in order to bridge the gap between those working in the justice system and members of the community. To some extent, there has been damage and loss of faith in the criminal justice system of Uganda. Before Robert’s JusticeMakers project, those suffering from human rights violations did not have anywhere they could report their injustices to.

Volunteer lawyer Vincent Katuba (left) with members of the criminal justice monitoring committee. The committees consisted of a diverse membership - both men and women, and a range of age groups.

Now, however, the people of Kikwanda can request the help of the committees who report to Robert’s organisation the problems people need help with. In turn, Robert’s organisation provides advice and recommendations as to how the problems may be resolved. The work carried out by Robert has helped women such as Kizza, who is 70 years old and lives with her son in Kikwanda village. She depends solely on growing food in the small plot of land she owns in the village. Last year, Kizza sold off a piece of land to her neighbour for a small amount of money; the neighbour paid Kizza half of the money in cash and promised to pay the remaining balance a month later. However, 9 months later, the outstanding balance had not been paid. Kizza was informed by a member of Robert’s criminal justice committee that she would be helped if she went to the head offices. At the head offices Kizza met with Robert, who introduced her to one of the organisation’s volunteer lawyers. He was able to give Kizza a free legal consultation and resolve the dispute; Kizza was paid the outstanding balance owed within two weeks of Robert’s help.

Kizza aged 70 (right), who was helped thanks to Robert’s project.

Following the completion of the project Robert distributed evaluation forms to the people of Kikwanda. This was to determine the impact and effectiveness of his project for the community. Robert was met with an incredibly positive response – when asked if the project was beneficial and if they would like the project to continue 100% answered yes to both questions.

Scanned copies of the evaluation forms Robert handed out to the people of Kikwanda. The comments were translated by the committee members, and some were even filled-out on behalf of those can not write. The first one reads “We want lawyers to be available everyday to help us with law.” And the second says “I want the lawyers to keep around because they have helped in many ways.”

The evaluation forms demonstrated the high demand for projects such as Robert’s. A large number of people wrote requests for more lawyers to be available, more often, in the comments box of the evaluation form.

Patrick Semakula (left) and Vincent Katuba (right) are volunteers lawyers who assisted Robert with his JusticeMakers project.

Patrick Semakula, a volunteer lawyer who helped Robert, indicated the benefits of the project when he explained that the majority of people living in rural areas, such as Kikwanda, have never had direct contact with a lawyer before.

“According to the residents of the village, no lawyer or magistrate has ever visited the place (Kikwanda) on legal matters;” said Patrick Semakula, “so they (members of the community) were shocked when we introduced ourselves as lawyers.”

The people of Kikwanda have now been educated on their rights and know who to turn to when there is an injustice; thanks to the committees, the correct procedures of the justice system are being followed.

Evans at home with his children.

Evans explained the challenges of operating in a district, such as Vihiga, that is so resolutely patriarchal. He found it difficult to convince male members of the community that his project was not disproportionately empowering women at the expense of men. Evans’ determination and efforts to convince more ‘hardliner’ males was finally rewarded as the men in Vihiga district now fully support his project. The women in Evans’ community have praised his work and the fact that they finally have someone who voices the problems they face in Kenya’s criminal justice system. On a more light-hearted note, Evans pointed out that many women laugh at the fact that it’s a male voice addressing their concerns!

Evans at a function, with one of the many women he is helping in his community.

In a major breakthrough, Evans secured a working relationship with the Provincial Administration of Vihiga district, which is the authority controlling local governance in Kenya. This gives Evans access to key actors such as chiefs, village elders, judicial officers and the administration police. Consequently, it has enabled Evans to educate members of the judicial system on their responsibilities and obligations to women through seminars. This breakthrough has also meant that Evans can establish forums in which the judicial officers, members of the public administration and the public can interact and conduct peer review of each other.

Evans at Vihiga prison.

During a meeting Evans explained the grave situation in the prison system of Vihiga district. At a 600 capacity prison there are currently 3000 prisoners locked away awaiting trials. Additionally, those who stand accused of petty crimes are sharing their cells with capital offenders. Owing to the overcrowding in prisons, many of the prisoners died. The healthcare facilities have been unable to deal with the high numbers of prisoners needing treatment for diseases such as TB and cholera. Some of the prisoners’ reactions to their dire circumstances has been violent, threatening the lives of prison wardens and fellow prisoners. Evans has been documenting and reporting on this problem, and then writing letters of petition to the prison superintendent. His efforts have led to the approval of a prison being constructed in Vihiga which will help reduce the overcrowding of the district’s prisons.

Evans plans to broadcast a two hour radio show once a week which will help raise awareness for his JusticeMakers project. He also hopes it will increase the number of people he can reach and offer help to. More details about the radio show to follow soon!

Above: Senior councillor of Cibitoke province governor, post officer of Mpimba prison, and IBJ Fellow Astère Muyango. Photo: courtesy of Jean-Baptiste Bouzard.

As of the 15th November 2009, a total of 461 juveniles are incarcerated in the 11 detention centres across the country. Among them, more than two thirds are still waiting for their trial. Further, juvenile criminality tends to increase.

This roundtable was thus an opportunity to discuss about this disquieting situation, firstly by identifying its deep causes. However, the main goal of the meeting was to bring members of the justice system together to find out appropriate solutions to the lack of proper juvenile criminal justice system in Burundi. To reach this objective, participants were divided in different groups according to their occupation. This enabled each member of each group to feel concerned about the issue and urged to commit himself, at his own level and within his capacity. Consequently, dialogs concluded with concrete suggestions aiming at ameliorating procedures involving children, finding alternative sanctions to imprisonment, and lastly improving children’s lives while imprisoned.

Above: Astère Summarizing work groups’ suggestions. Photo: courtesy of Claire Habimana.

Beside, copies of the new Penal Code and the Legal Defense Manual were distributed to participants. This manual was prepared by the attorney Mehdi Benbouzid with a view to build the capacity of Burundian lawyers to provide quality and committed counsel to clients. The discussions were an opportunity to point out that Burundi had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which therefore ought to be enforced in the country. IBJ’s lawyer Herman Ndayishimiye brought some copies of the main articles of the Convention to remind the actors of the justice system of the Government’s obligations in terms of the administration of juvenile justice.

The outcome of this roundtable is truly encouraging. IBJ expected concrete commitments of participants, and the goal was reached. In a friendly atmosphere, each participant was urged to feel part of the Cibitoke justice system and ready to make his best to improve it.

Above: all participants gathered to make evolve minors’ judicial system. Photo: courtesy of Dieudonné Ndayishimiye.

Above: volunteers conducting the campaign. Photo: Caroline Arnaud

Kabezi administrator’s cooperation was also valuable as this activity could not have been conducted this campaign without his keen authorization. He further proved to be enthusiastic regarding IBJ’s mission and activities, asking for a copy of the new Penal Code, which he still hadn’t acquired since April 2009 when the new Penal Code got enacted.

Above: IBJ fellow Astère Muyango handing out the Penal Code to the Administrator of Kabezi. Photo: Caroline Arnaud

Here again, the aim was to explain basic legal rights to rural populations, including the right to access a lawyer should they be arrested. Too many people still think that if they cannot afford an attorney, they are condemned to self-representation. However, the population of Kabezi displayed a real interest in being educated, asking questions and assiduously listening to the answers. At the end, more than 150 people were individually interviewed, and nearly 1400 were sensitized. Even armed forces turned out to show a great interest in the rights of the accused: soldiers spontaneously joined the crowd, and some of them even asked to be trained on their legal rights.

Above: Astère Muyango interviewing a soldier. Photo: Caroline Arnaud

The change in this campaign was the environment where it took place. Kabezi has the characteristic to be really widespread, because the commune includes several hills. In this extent, the campaign was conducted on a 16-kilometre long territory, with groups of interviewers disseminated in little hamlets in the hills, and moving from places to places. This mobility enabled to access and educate more people, and to increase IBJ’s visibility on a larger land than if we had stayed on the same place.

The campaign ended with an enjoyable feeling of success. Rural people are indisputably concerned about their rights and its implementation. More significantly, they asked for cards - in Kirundi language - where the legal procedures about pre-trial detention are outlined. Thus, 190 cards and 60 posters where disseminated all over the territory of Kabezi. The campaign is still going on today, as posters and cards are circulating from neighbourhoods to neighbourhoods across the area.

Above: rural population getting educated concerning their legal rights. Photo: Caroline Arnaud

This group of 56 partners is as diverse as it is large, covering over 30 countries and advocating for an array of issues. Collaborating with IBJ, they have used both online and offline promotional tools to bring this opportunity into their local legal communities and facilitate participation.

These organizations have stood up among others to say “no” to torture and illegal and arbitrary detainment in developing and transitional countries. An act of generosity, an act of solidarity and an act of strength.

The following JusticeMakers Partners have done an especially diligent job at generating enthusiasm for the competition and getting their communities involved.

Prisoners Assistance Nepal

Prisoners Assistance (PA) Nepal, a non-profit organization dedicated to penal reform in Nepal, hosted a JusticeMakers event on January 22nd in Kathmandu, Nepal. Collaborating with other JusticeMakers Partners in Nepal-Advocacy Forum, Committee for Social Justice and Women Foundation of Nepal-PA Nepal coordinated roundtable discussions and information sessions to present this Fellowship to legal and human rights activists in the region.

Qadir Foundation

The Qadir Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting human rights in Pakistan, has helped get our press release translated into the hands of many influential newspapers in Karachi and other parts of Pakistan. In addition, the Qadir Foundation has translated the press release into Urdu, helping to get it published in many Urdu media outlets.

Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Masyarakat (LBH Masyarakat)

LBH Masyarakat is a community legal aid institute providing legal services and counsel to those in need in Indonesia. They have taken it upon themselves to promote JusticeMakers to their vast contact list of legal aid NGOs and media personnel in Indonesia, and to translate documents in Bahasa Indonesian.

If I were to detail the extent of support given by each partner, this blog would exceed the limit of acceptable length. That is what has been so special about the 2010 Competition - every partner has voluntarily gone the extra step to ensure this opportunity is available to anyone that could benefit from it.

Please check out our JusticeMakers Partners Page to learn more about the commitment of our generous partners to systemic social change.

Thanks again to everyone who continues to fight injustice wherever it may be. Justice can’t wait.

Above: Rural populations gather around the IBJ team to get aware of the provisions of the newly revised penal code in case of arrest. Photo: courtesy of Jean-Baptiste Bouzard. 

 This campaign was a resounding success, thanks to the noteworthy support of our partner APRODH, which had recruited several local volunteers who generously helped IBJ staff. Local authorities expressed their support to this legal education initiative, and also contributed to the awareness-raising effort. In this extent, posters outlining people’ rights at time of arrest were displayed in several public places, such as the prosecutor’s office, the courthouse and other Cibitoke public offices.

Above : IBJ Fellow Astère Muyango explaining Human rights to a Burundian man, under the gaze of curious children. Photo: courtesy of Jean-Baptiste Bouzard.

Thanks to this precious help, the day ended with a lot of hope. Rural populations, often more vulnerable to abuses than populations in Bujumbura, were engaged about their legal rights at that time of arrest. IBJ team split in stands across the town to reach out to a maximum number of people. Banners which read “Liberty is the rule, arrest and detention is the exception” in Kirundi where displayed at strategic locations. Short questionnaires were handed out to people, which enabled to measure the level of the population’s knowledge regarding its basic legal rights. Then, people attracting people, many citizens spontaneously joined the group surrounding IBJ team, curious to to found out what the campaign was all about and to learn new things. Overall, 120 people were interviewed, and the number of people sensitized about their rights is estimated to be up to 577. Besides, little cards and posters, written in Kirundi, were distributed. The campaign clearly answered a curiosity that had remained unmet until now: rural populations left IBJ team with copies of the poster that they promised to distribute within their neighborhoods and communities.

Above: The hope of a new generation which has the skill to assert its rights. Photo: courtesy of Jean-Baptiste Bouzard.