Since the establishment of the IBJ Rwanda Program in 2010, IBJ has been building partnerships with the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the Kigali Bar Association (KBA). To create a climate for reform within the justice system, IBJ continues to work with the Ministry of Justice on plans for a comprehensive national legal aid policy and operational framework, working to ensure criminal legal aid is not overlooked. As Rwanda rapidly modernizes, IBJ will continue to play critical role in Rwanda’s justice system. But not without your help.

Quick Facts

• Defender Resource Center (DRC) operating in Kigali
• 265 cases already handled
• Over 30,000 individuals made aware of their legal rights
• Over 200 justice officials have attended IBJ trainings and roundtables
• Two radio rights awareness campaigns conducted, reaching over 200,000 individuals

John Bosco Bugingo, IBJ Rwanda’s Country Officer, has traveled around the country talking to the public and law enforcement officials, engaging them in constructive discussions about their role and responsibilities within the justice system.
IBJ is more prepared than ever to reach out to lawyers and the public who need their services and to connect them in empowering relationships. By hosting meetings of the Criminal Defense Task Force and the Legal Defense Skills Training Workshop, IBJ is preparing the next generation of legal talents and future justice sector leaders. Your donations, made here, will go directly to training young criminal defense lawyers and the educating ordinary citizens on their legal rights.

Future challenges

With the development agenda straining to meet a myriad of needs, few resources are directed towards developing the rule of law. Poorly trained and poorly paid police forces resort to torture as the cheapest form of investigation – the surest and swiftest way of securing a suspect’s confession. These practices undermine any confidence in the rule of law and poison the country’s goal of national reconciliation. IBJ hopes to consolidate the Kigali Defender Resource Center and establish a new DRC to address the country’s growing needs while continuing capacity building and training.

Help make this a reality by joining the #SEChallenge!

For more on IBJ Rwanda:

http://www.ibj.org/where-we-work/rwanda/

http://www.ibj.org/meet-ibj/our-team/team-rwanda/

http://www.ibj.org/category/programs/rwanda/

growth as a defense lawyer”

Chinese Lawyer Ge Chunrong

Although IBJ’s Defender Resource Center in Northwest China has only been operating for three years, there have already been notable improvements in the quality of representation and the confidence of criminal defense attorneys who have attended IBJ trainings. One attorney shared her gratitude toward IBJ in a six-page letter, which bore the heading: “IBJ, my mentor and friend in my growth as a defense lawyer; thank you for all your help.”

In the letter, Ge Chunrong detailed her history as an attorney. She began practicing law in 2001 and in 2005 began volunteering with the Shaanxi Women’s Federation to serve those in need. The problem, she explained, was that at the time she began, there was a lack of skills trainings. Lawyers like her were ill-equipped to properly defend their clients. This changed three years ago when Ge met IBJ. She has since attended 10 IBJ trainings and workshops. In her words, “The defense skills and ideology IBJ passed to me revitalized me and broadened my way of thinking,” helping her to achieve positive results in many of her cases.

Ge’s letter listed in detail the skills that IBJ has imparted to her, including respect for clients, client interviewing techniques, and how to investigate client backgrounds in order to apply for bail. She further praised IBJ for bringing together all judicial stakeholders to bring about change: “IBJ sets up bridges for all sections of judicial departments and builds platforms for the Public Security Bureau, prosecutors, judges, and lawyers to sit together to communicate and promote the mutual understanding and support of each other. Communication is the best way to solve problems.”

Finally, Ge described how she recently defended a death penalty case successfully, using the skills she learned from IBJ. A young man was charged with intentional murder of his father. Ge took the case from the District Court all the way to the Supreme People’s Court, tirelessly gathering evidence and fighting for her client. Several times, the client lost hope and wanted to end his life, but Ge gave him courage. In the end, she was able to prove that the death had been an accident, thus sparing her client execution. She said, “IBJ’s trainings not only gave me the skills to use, but also gave me the spirit of persistence to fight for the interests of my clients.”

Ge Chunrong is one of many legal professionals trained by International Bridges to Justice in China. Your continued support, especially at this time, is what allows us to continue trainings, provide legal aid, and host rights awareness events. Please consider making a donation to support future criminal defense lawyers, and all who they service, through this link. Thank you for your generosity.

IBJ maintains three offices in China, the National Defender Resource Center (NDRC) in Beijing, the Southeast Defender Resource Center (SEDRC) in Wuhan, Hubei Province, and the Northwest Defender Resource Center (NWDRC) in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province. Currently operating with a total of eight staff covering the three offices, IBJ China’s programming reaches every province and autonomous region with its live and online trainings, rights awareness campaigns, community building activities, and pilot projects in local districts all aimed to improve the rights of the accused and build a fair and functioning criminal justice system.

From the period of January 2014 through September 2014:

• training 421 legal professionals, securing early access to counsel for 186 accused
• 444 individuals through roundtables and other community building events
• distributing rights awareness materials to 72 migrant workers and their children
• publishing 9 online learning modules on advanced topics in criminal defense

Highlights of our programming during this timeframe include activities held under three major multi-year projects, namely: the China Defender Resource Center Project, the China Defending Marginalized Populations Project, and the Next Generation Chinese Rights Defenders Project.  Your donations made this possible. Please click here to donate and be part of their transformative work.

IBJ has been working alongside government institutions and members of the criminal justice community to generate sustainable reforms. IBJ supports an emerging class of legal aid attorneys and is contributing towards the development of a rights-based approach in China’s criminal justice system.

China still only has a total of 200,000 lawyers for a population of more than 1.3 billion. Furthermore, the practice of criminal defense law is often regarded as a high-risk profession. As a result, an exceptionally large number of criminal defendants remain unrepresented at trial.

IBJ is continuing to work in three directions to create a functioning legal aid system:

• Launching the Defender Empowerment Series to produce a sustainable, self-generating network of skilled lawyers and legal skills trainers, using the train-the-trainer approach
• Expand its efforts to promote a pro bono legal culture in Chinese law firms
• Roll out three additional pilot juvenile justice projects to emphasize early access to counsel in juvenile cases

This is why we are calling for your donations to IBJ China this week. Over the last year, IBJ in China has helped make access to counsel a reality for hundreds of vulnerable defendants. Our China program helps the most marginalized in society, making sure victims of domestic violence receive a fair trial, improving access to justice and raising the dignity of suspects with disabilities, and providing rights awareness for migrant workers, minority populations, and children of the incarcerated. We thank you for your continued support.

For more on IBJ China:

http://www.ibj.org/where-we-work/china/

http://www.ibj.org/meet-ibj/our-team/team-china/

http://www.ibj.org/category/programs/china/

IBJ’s first lawyer training in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s 2nd largest city, in May 2011

International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) first established its Zimbabwe Country Office with the Harare-based DRC, which has quickly become a crucial legal hub for the entire nation and has consequently led to increased cooperation with local civil society. The program was established in 2008, the same year a government power-sharing agreement was signed to facilitate the adoption of new legislation, particularly in the field of human rights. This has created an unprecedented opportunity for effective human rights enforcement.

Since the beginning of this project, IBJ Zimbabwe has already come a long way. The police and prison officials have grown more accepting of lawyers’ interventions for the accused. Most notably, IBJ’s influence on Zimbabwe’s practices and legislation as evident by the institution of a free bail system, where low-level offenders are freed from pre-trial detention on condition of appearing for trial.  Your donations made this possible. Please click here to donate again and be part of their transformative work.

Quick Facts:

• 2013 Prison Population: 16,902 (129 per 100,000)
• IBJ-mobilized lawyers took on 108 pretrial detainee cases between December 2009 and October 2010
• In 2010, there was a 42% increase in IBJ-trained lawyers meeting the minimum competency standards for representation of accused persons
• Further, a 81% increase in preventing the use of coerced statements in criminal proceedings was seen
• In 2011 and 2012, IBJ lawyers represented more than 150 indigent accused who otherwise would have had no access to counsel

IBJ’s relentless fight for legal rights has been recognised in a positive light as Innocent Maja, Country Fellow, was featured as a facilitator of a January 2011 panel discussion on the abolition of the death penalty in Zimbabwe. In the same year, IBJ legal fellows appeared and were interviewed on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s SFM “Wheels of Justice” radio program, which is estimated to reach a half-million listeners. However, the IBJ program works not only on the national level, but takes measures to reach out to smaller communities in remote, rural provinces.

At the September 2014 roundtable meeting, the IBJ Zimbabwe fellows were able to address the main causes of the rise of corruption in the system such as poor remuneration for legal practitioners and other key justice stakeholders, general decline in morals and ethics, a culture of greed and self-enrichment, poverty, and abuse of power by state officials.

In order to consolidate and sustain progress through this next phase, IBJ has defined three imperatives for its future work in Zimbabwe:

• Expand the Defender Resource Centers to meet the country’s legal representation needs
• Continue and expand capacity building training of legal professionals
• Expand the reach of legal rights awareness campaigns to empower indigent Zimbabweans to claim their rights

This is why we are calling for your donations to IBJ Zimbabwe this week. Your continued support for International Bridges to Justice and IBJ Zimbabwe is the only way we can guarantee all citizens the right to competent legal representation, the right to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to a fair trial throughout the country. We cannot thank you enough for your generosity.

For more on the Zimbabwe Program:

http://www.ibj.org/where-we-work/zimbabwe/

http://www.ibj.org/category/programs/zimbabwe/

http://www.ibj.org/meet-ibj/our-team/team-zimbabwe/

IBJ: What made you apply for IBJ’s JusticeMakers Competition?

AG: When I applied for IBJ’s JusticeMaker Competition, I was working with people living with HIV/AIDS and I was shocked by the way they were threatened in prisons. They were {not} considered as normal prisoners because of their incurable disease. I applied therefore to save some from prison as soon as possible.

IBJ: What were some of the initial challenges you faced in implementing your work?

AG: I faced the challenge of talking to judges that do not {give} consideration to the particular situation of prisoners with HIV/AIDS. There was a serious problem of undue delay of procedures and these people were hopeless! Some of them refused to take their medication and died in prison just because they considered their life already lost!

IBJ: What were you able to achieve with your grant of $5,000?

AG: I stood beside hopeless people and raised my voice for their cases. I encouraged some of them not to give up despite the hardships they were experiencing. With the $5000, the prison officials and prisoners and the community knew that these people have value and are worthy. In representing them before the court, I gave them the consideration they longed for since they knew they was HIV positive.

IBJ: What have you gained from joining the international community of JusticeMakers Fellows?

AG: I am always learning from other Fellows. I now belong to a community of service providers to which I am conscientious of the quality of their work.

As a recipient of IBJ’s JusticeMakers Competition, what advice would you give to those looking to apply?

AG: IBJ’s JusticeMakers Competition is an opportunity that is given to YOU to serve YOUR community. Don’t miss it! Try! You’ll never know if you do not try!

Beyond his work with IBJ, Audace has been recognized by other legal organizations, notably receiving a fellowship from the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law in Washington, D.C. this year. Read the full interview here.

You can follow Gatavu Audace on Facebook for updates on his work here. Watch an earlier interview conducted with Audace here.

Burundian Lawyers following one of IBJ’s eLearning Modules

International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) has been providing early access to council in Burundi since 2006, with the establishment of a Defender Resource Center (DRC) that now covers 9 of the 17 provinces.

Since the establishment of a DRC in the capital city of Bujumbura, IBJ has developed strong relationships with the Minister of Justice and other key justice stakeholders of the Burundi Bar Association. In April 2009, a revised version of the Burundi Penal Code was ratified, criminalizing the use of torture, when our DefenseWiki became available to justice officials through IBJ’s DRC in Bujumbura. Since then, over 400 justice sector professions have participated in DRC trainings and roundtable discussions.

 Quick Facts: 

• IBJ lawyers have handled 360 cases with a 30% acquittal rate
• 60% increase in access to lawyers for those in policy custody
• 8 imprisoned children have received legal aid within the last few months
• IBJ lawyers and advocates make weekly visits to educate prisoners about their basic legal rights
  • 14 rights awareness campaigns held: 13,000 “Know Your Rights” posters distributed, reaching over 31,000 individuals
  • 85% of individuals educated by rights awareness campaigns agree they are in a better position to ask for the respect of their rights in case of arrest

Lawyers, Judges, and Police Officials come together for Roundtable Discussions

In 2010, President Pierre Nkurunziza ordered the immediate release of hundreds of prisoners from the overcrowded prisons. The incorporation of an IBJ rights awareness slogan into Article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code signed in 2013,  shows to what extent Burundi’s government is interested in further developing our programming on the national level.

Despite IBJ’s substantial progress, the country is still estimated to have only around 300 lawyers to serve a population of approximately 9 million. The prison population has recently reached 11,000, with the majority of inmates unable to afford legal representation.

IBJ Burundi will continue to train judicial officials on all aspects of the legal process and provide legal aid for minorities, minors, and vulnerable people. It’s time to take the success of IBJ Burundi’s programming in Bujumbura and implement it countrywide!

Thank you in advance for helping to bring universal access to legal aid in Burundi. Join the #SEChallenge and donate today!