Results from Rwanda: The Legal Aid Forum
More than 26.000 marginalized and vulnerable people have received legal aid through a DIHR-supported project in Rwanda. Moreover, a national policy for legal aid in Rwanda is gaining headway in a country where the need for access to justice is still massive.
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By Martin Lassen-Vernal
For the past seven years the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) has provided support and assistance in the creation of the ‘Legal Aid Forum’ network in Rwanda.
The purpose of the Forum is to ensure that legal aid is provided to the thousands of marginalized and vulnerable Rwandans in need of legal services, partly in the wake of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, but also because of new social issues and challenges that since have arisen in the African country – in particular in relation to land rights, inheritance rights and family law issues.
- The impact of the Legal Aid Forum network is tangible here and now, explains Mr. Karol Limondin, who is DIHR’s representative for East Africa. Limondin has been heavily involved in the development of the Legal Aid Forum project in Rwanda. He continues:
- During the last seven years a total of 19 legal aid projects and two so-called ‘Legal Aid Weeks’ have been implemented by the Forum’s member organizations. This has benefited 26.205 vulnerable people who were provided with legal aid services at community level and in the criminal justice system.
On a more technical note – but equally important, Limondin adds – capacity building tools have been developed, including a Paralegal Practice Manual, tools for documentation, and a monitoring, evaluation and reporting system for legal aid providers in Rwanda.
- While the capacity building tools at a glance may seem less substantial than the work we do on-the-ground, it is absolutely key that the correct tools are accessible to the Rwandan legal aid providers. Just as in our part of the world, legal aid providers in Rwanda have a need to monitor and evaluate the impact of their work, says Limondin.
Indeed, the Legal Aid Forum itself has a broader and more long-term impact, ensures Limondin. For instance, the Forum has made it possible to engage the Ministry of Justice and other Rwandan authorities in the development of a national policy and implementation framework for legal aid in Rwanda. And the Forum itself has recently agreed on a new five-year strategy covering 2011-2015.
- These are all very important steps in ensuring that access to justice in Rwanda is moving in the right direction. Not just now, as we speak, but also in the months and years to come, explains Limondin.
Positive feedback
In 2010 the South African based Indiba-Africa Group conducted an external evaluation for the 2008-2010 period. The Group measured and assessed the effectiveness, impact, relevance, sustainability and efficiency of the Legal Aid Forum project. Overall, the evaluation team concluded that:
“(…) investment in the Legal Aid Forum has been a wise and proactive one and one which has precipitated significant rewards for Legal Aid Forum members and indigent and vulnerable communities in Rwanda.
The team therefore recommended that donors “fund the Legal Aid Forum for a further cycle”, with DIHR “maintaining technical input as long as it is both viable and necessary”.
More: Evaluation and background
You can read more about the Legal Aid Forum, including the results of the external evaluation of the DIHR-supported project (pdf).
You can also read more about DIHR’s work in Rwanda in general here .
For the past seven years the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) has provided support and assistance in the creation of the ‘Legal Aid Forum’ network in Rwanda.
The purpose of the Forum is to ensure that legal aid is provided to the thousands of marginalized and vulnerable Rwandans in need of legal services, partly in the wake of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, but also because of new social issues and challenges that since have arisen in the African country – in particular in relation to land rights, inheritance rights and family law issues.
- The impact of the Legal Aid Forum network is tangible here and now, explains Mr. Karol Limondin, who is DIHR’s representative for East Africa. Limondin has been heavily involved in the development of the Legal Aid Forum project in Rwanda. He continues:
- During the last seven years a total of 19 legal aid projects and two so-called ‘Legal Aid Weeks’ have been implemented by the Forum’s member organizations. This has benefited 26.205 vulnerable people who were provided with legal aid services at community level and in the criminal justice system.
On a more technical note – but equally important, Limondin adds – capacity building tools have been developed, including a Paralegal Practice Manual, tools for documentation, and a monitoring, evaluation and reporting system for legal aid providers in Rwanda.
- While the capacity building tools at a glance may seem less substantial than the work we do on-the-ground, it is absolutely key that the correct tools are accessible to the Rwandan legal aid providers. Just as in our part of the world, legal aid providers in Rwanda have a need to monitor and evaluate the impact of their work, says Limondin.
Indeed, the Legal Aid Forum itself has a broader and more long-term impact, ensures Limondin. For instance, the Forum has made it possible to engage the Ministry of Justice and other Rwandan authorities in the development of a national policy and implementation framework for legal aid in Rwanda. And the Forum itself has recently agreed on a new five-year strategy covering 2011-2015.
- These are all very important steps in ensuring that access to justice in Rwanda is moving in the right direction. Not just now, as we speak, but also in the months and years to come, explains Limondin.
Positive feedback
In 2010 the South African based Indiba-Africa Group conducted an external evaluation for the 2008-2010 period. The Group measured and assessed the effectiveness, impact, relevance, sustainability and efficiency of the Legal Aid Forum project. Overall, the evaluation team concluded that:
“(…) investment in the Legal Aid Forum has been a wise and proactive one and one which has precipitated significant rewards for Legal Aid Forum members and indigent and vulnerable communities in Rwanda.
The team therefore recommended that donors “fund the Legal Aid Forum for a further cycle”, with DIHR “maintaining technical input as long as it is both viable and necessary”.
More: Evaluation and background
You can read more about the Legal Aid Forum, including the results of the external evaluation of the DIHR-supported project (pdf).
You can also read more about DIHR’s work in Rwanda in general here .