 Avocats Sans Frontières: the Story so Far
In 1992, a group of Solicitors and Barristers from a variety of countries launched the idea of Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF). A core of Belgian Lawyers formed the first group, and a few months later ASF was born in Brussels.
ASF in the beginning: urgent assistance and defence
The mission of the our first teams was to help and defend those whose right to a defence was being denied in the country where they were accused, usually because their trial was sensitive.
To begin with ASF was financed by its members and a number of Belgian Barrister’s Chambers. Between 1992 and 1996, these funds paid for several urgent defence missions. Under the Solidarity and Defence programme (now re-named Lawyers for Lawyers), our lawyers without borders were sent overseas for a week or two at a time to take part in sensitive and often high profile trials. 
1994: massacre and genocide in Rwanda
In 1994, the genocide and massacres in Rwanda demanded ASF action. Despite still being ill equipped for such long term projects, the organisation decided to act. Between 1995 and 1998 training courses were organised in Arusha, Tanzania, to train lawyers for appearance before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Rwanda.
Justice for all in Rwanda: LWB goes international
After the genocide, the Rwandan authorities and the International Community began to rebuild the judicial system in order to try the tens of thousands of people accused of participating in the genocide and massacres. Resistance against impunity was crucial. LWB believes that trials over genocide can only help heal a country’s wounds if they are carried out in a just and equitable way. For a multitude of reasons, defence of neither the accused nor the victims was guaranteed in Rwanda. The country suffered from a severe shortage of lawyers; many had been killed, others gone into exile, and those who remained could not or would not get involved in such painful litigation.
Justice for all in Rwanda was created in 1996 to help deal with this situation. ASF's first overseas office opened in Rwanda. Dozens of lawyers without borders took turns defending the accused and representing the victims in Rwandan courts. 
In carrying out such a large scale project, the group evolved into an international organisation. Above and beyond its initial ambitions of immediate defence and assistance LWB now set itself a new goal; to maintain absolute independence at all times and to strive for a more just, equitable and unified society where law and justice are available to the most vulnerable groups and individuals.
It was in pursuit of this objective that ASF opened new offices in Burundi (1999), Kosovo (6 months in 2000), the Democratic Republic of Congo (2000) and East Timor (2000).
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About ASF
