Last Sunday, ASF took part in this year’s biggest sporting event in the Belgian capital: the 39th Brussels 20 km race. In mixed cloud and sunshine, nearly 40,000 people, including the 24 members of our team, started off from the esplanade in the Parc du Cinquantenaire. The event raised €4,212 for victims of domestic violence and communities struggling for access to land and for the protection of the natural environment in Indonesia.

For nearly three years, ASF and I Watch have been assisting the involvement and constructive participation of Tunisian citizens in local governance relating to natural resources. A survey of young people’s views was carried out in the mining regions of Tataouine and Medenine. Analysis of the results reveals their lack of trust in political institutions in the run-up to the municipal elections that took place on 6 May.

Gender based violence is a social and economic problem in Myanmar, for which the national criminal justice system requires new measures to respond effectively.  In collaboration with ActionAid International, ASF provides technical expertise and guidance to improve access to justice for persons who are at risk and/or have suffered GBV. Lionel Blackman, member of ASF’s International Legal Network, volunteered his pro bono services to the project. He shared his experience with us.

At the start of March, the first discussion workshop was held with ninety lawyers from the two bar associations of Burundi, selected to take part in the ASF “Menya Utunganirwe” project. The main objective was to raise awareness among the lawyers of the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Not covered as part of their training, ADR mechanisms are not well-known to lawyers. ASF nonetheless considers them an essential tool for resolving conflicts and believes that lawyers have a vital role to play in their promotion.

Established in 2013 to steer the transitional justice process in Tunisia, the Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD) has begun the final year of its mandate. The first trials relating to human rights violations committed during the dictatorship will begin soon in special courts. At this crucial time, ASF co-organised a national conference last week: “The role of civil society and of the state in achieving the objectives of transitional justice post-IVD.”

On 27 May 2018, ASF will be on the starting line of the Brussels 20 km. Want to combine sporting achievement and solidarity with people seeking justice in Indonesia? Join our team! We will spoil you before, during, and after the race.

Over the current election period, there have been many constraints on the rights and freedoms of human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists in the DR Congo; this has been a source of political and social tension. Threats, arbitrary arrests, and unwarranted legal action have increased dramatically, indicating growing restrictions on the public sphere. ASF believes that these actors play an indispensable role in any democratic process.

Today, ASF received an exceptional donation of €50,000 from the Belgian Development Cooperation. The Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation, Alexander De Croo, personally presented a cheque to ASF as part of the solidarity event “Music for Life”.

Last week at the Sixteenth Session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, ASF and REDRESS co-organised a parallel event on the legal representation of victims before the International Criminal Court, the International Crimes Division in Uganda, and the Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic.

After several months of preparation, the official launch of the “Menya Utunganirwe” (“Know and Assert Your Rights”) project took place last week in Bujumbura. ASF, the bar associations of Bujumbura and Gitega, and two civil society organisations, came together with a shared objective: bringing people closer to justice, by facilitating access to justice through local mechanisms which respond to their concerns and address their needs.

Civil Society Organizations’ Comments and Recommendations Submitted to The National Environment Management Authority