Program Overview

For more than ten years, International Bridges to Justice has been expanding its tools to support defenders of justice and human rights throughout the world. We conduct an array of global programming designed to reach the largest number of human rights and criminal justice defenders possible. We have developed a wide range of training manuals, country assessment and scorecard tools, and other resources, all accessible by lawyers everywhere through IBJ's on line elearning program. Our Criminal Defense Wiki, based on the same software as Wikipedia, brings case law, codes, treaties, and other resources to lawyers in developing countries throughout the world. We also support our global, on-line JusticeMakers network, through which we select defender activists from throughout the world, and provide them with seed grants as well as a support network empowering them to undertake projects such as rights awareness campaigns, multi-stakeholder dialogues, and defense bar trainings. To date, IBJ's JusticeMakers have included individuals from 31 countries including Colombia, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Afghanistan.

In addition to this global programming, at present we maintain permanent programs in six countries. Through these country-by-country programs, we have been able to train police and prosecutors, empower defense lawyers, and genuinely change the manner in which criminal justice systems operate.