On the margins of the Global Conference on SDG 16, IDLO and UNAIDs convened a side event on the intersection of health and the law, and why reform to criminal law is crucial to improving health, equality and peace.
“There are silver threads which the international community has woven into a tapestry known as the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” remarked IDLO’s Director-General Irene Khan at the opening of IDLO’s 2018 Partnership Forum. “At the heart of this tapestry is access to justice and the rule of law.”
Entering the courthouse as a defense lawyer in Afghanistan is a process. While the prosecutors walk in alongside fellow officers of the court, defense lawyers are made to stand in line with members of the public. For female lawyers, without a permit to drive up to the check points closer to the building, reaching the courthouse can involve a 45-minute unprotected walk.
In 2011, Indonesia adopted a law on legal aid which includes a national budget for legal aid providers to deliver access to justice and legal aid services to the poor. However, there is a lack of legal aid lawyers and organizations throughout the country, and lawyers do not necessarily have the sufficient skills for delivering legal aid services with a human rights, gender equality and social justice perspective. Many organizations also deal with a limited administrative capacity and struggle to meet the requirements in conducting legal aid reimbursement.
IDLO acknowledges with profound sorrow the untimely loss of Asma Jahangir, esteemed Pakistani lawyer and human rights activist who passed away in her native Lahore on February 11, 2018.
In recent years, civil society has played an increasingly important role in strengthening public legal awareness and advocating for access to justice in Myanmar. However, civil society is constrained by a limited understanding of the role of the legal system. Capacity development to enhance the knowledge and skills of civil society actors, as well as state accountability, remains a key priority.
The Netherlands and Indonesia have a longstanding relationship in the fields of rule of law and security cooperation. The two countries' legal systems share a common heritage in substantive law and legal structure, and remain important partners today.
