This autumn, ASF presents a portrait of justice in Chad, through interviews with four people who are active in defending human rights in the country. This week, Doumra Manassé shares his vision of the role of lawyers and their place in society in Chad. “People see us as civil servants or as traders. We are neither.”

On Monday 24 September, the International Crimes Division (ICD) shall open the main trial in the case of Thomas Kwoyelo. This case is the first ever to be tried before a domestic court in the conflict that opposed the Lord Resistance Army and the Government of Uganda. ASF Country Director for Uganda raises concerns about the opportunity given for victims to participate and the lack of State support to the ICD.

Last June, ASF released the Community-Based Mediation Training Module, along with three like-minded organisations. This marked the end of a drafting process from which many lessons have been learned and the beginning of a long-term commitment to work towards closing a major gap in terms of access to justice in Uganda: the disconnection between the everyday forms of justice used by citizens and the justice provided by institutions.

More than seven years after the fall of the dictatorship, the young Tunisian democracy is still under construction. Much of the work is ongoing or has yet to begin, including the essential reform of the justice system. In light of this situation, ASF and BEITI organised a national conference on access to justice, on 20 and 21 June, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The acquittal on appeal of Jean-Pierre Bemba by the International Criminal Court leaves several thousand victims in the Central African Republic without no proper response to the extreme violence committed against them during the armed conflict.

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.”

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