Human Rights

Saudi women are taking charge in promoting religious, political, social, economic and educational change in their economically, religiously and strategically influential country.  As they become more educated and informed of regional and global developments and trends, many Saudi women are becoming increasingly disenchanted with their social conditions and impatient with their government’s policies against them.

It is difficult to drum up widespread, grassroots political support for the rule of law.  In the eyes of many people, the rule of law does not put food on the table.  Worse still, the law can be a source of oppression.  Governments and law-enforcement officials can and do commit crimes.  The role of law in our Apartheid history is an awful example. Understandably, not all South Africans hold the law in high regard.

The international development community has long been dedicated to strengthening the “rule of law.” And with good reason. It is generally accepted that unless people are equal before the law and entitled to its benefits, sustainable economic growth, a vibrant and transparent political process, and effective human rights protections, just don’t happen. In fact, they are threatened.

In some developing countries, informal or traditional justice systems resolve up to 80 percent of disputes, over everything from cattle to contracts, dowries to divorce. Disproportionately, these mechanisms affect women and children.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been successful on many levels. They could be understood by all. They could be implemented universally. They have become the development horizon for 140 governments in the South and the coherent cooperation agenda for another 50 governments of the North.

SoFEA stands for Social and Financial Empowerment of Adolescents. The word means ‘Wisdom’ in Persian. The project symbolizes its namesake by enhancing knowledge level of vulnerable adolescent girls in rural Bangladesh on issues that are crucial for them to understand, not just as adolescents, but as individuals partaking in a complex society.

Ensuring the rule of law means people have access to justice. In a recent report, HiiL and its network of rule of law experts and innovators reviewed the state of the art. Legal needs research has shown that civil justice and administrative justice are delivered by a great many providers of services: public courts and private legal services; formal procedures and informal ones; traditional processes and innovative approaches. Together, these services provide access to justice, but providers of such services face some major challenges.

The rights of migrant workers have become one of the defining human rights issues in Southeast Asia, as the number of workers on the move has risen dramatically in recent decades.

I would like to explore a new rule of law with you. A funny one. One that could confront you in the future (but you won’t know that until that future is there).

Recognizing that legal aid “is an essential element of a fair, humane and efficient criminal justice system that is based on the rule of law,” the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice adopted the first international instrument on legal aid on April 27, 2012. The Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems (“Principles and Guidelines”) aim to ensure that states adopt measures and establish systems that provide persons accused of crimes with prompt and effective legal aid services.

Polaris Project Japan has been working to help victims of sex trafficking in Japan for the past eight years. The people served are primarily women and children, both foreign and Japanese nationals. While there are laws on the books regulating labor conditions, preventing child abuse, and prohibiting prostitution (although its definition is extremely narrow), Japan does not yet have laws to tackle this new type of slavery. Oftentimes, the victims are arrested for breaking prostitution laws or overstaying work visas.

On June 18 of 2012 the Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal (TCP) in Bolivia issued a ruling[i] which many had hoped would resolve an ongoing situation of violent social conflict which has questioned the State’s position on the rights of indigenous peoples for close to a decade.  The issue under debate is the construction of a road through the indigenous territory known as the Isiboro Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park –TIPNIS, inhabited since before the Spanish colonization by the Chimán, Yuracaré and Mojeño-Trinitario indigeno

PILnet has been working to build public interest law in China for almost ten years. It’s been a fascinating period of our history, one that has taught us much about the virtues of patience and unhurried determination. As we’ve learned, things can move slowly in China, and public interest work in China can move very slowly indeed.

Event Title: 2011 Global Report on Refugee Trends  Location: National Press Club Date: 20 June 2012 Organization: UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Speakers: Khaled Hosseini, Author, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador 

Relying on strong and longstanding partnerships with local organizations, The World Justice Project convened a taskforce of Tunisian leaders from business, government and civil society in Tunis on May 28, 2012, to assess rule of law opportunities and challenges facing Tunisia during the ongoing reform process.

Bernama- Malaysian National News Agency