International Development Law Organization

Sub-Saharan Africa

Formerly known as Dahomey, Benin successfully transitioned from dictatorship to democracy in 1991 with the free election of the president, and the country continues to enjoy a strong and stable democracy.

Burundi is a densely populated, land locked country in Central Africa, and one of the world's poorest nations due to decades of civil unrest, and political and economic instability.

Since August 2010, Kenya has been implementing a new Constitution with an expanded Bill of Rights and ambitious government decentralization (devolution) processes.

In Liberia, IDLO works in partnership with the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to support the government in its efforts to combat trafficking in persons.

In 2012, a secessionist rebellion cut off northern Mali and imposed a harsh form of Shari’a law in the territories it controlled. Following the defeat of the insurgency, Mali has been striving to reassert statehood.

The former Portuguese colony emerged in 1992 from a civil war that left more than one million dead. Mozambique is now one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, largely thanks to strong foreign investor interest.

Since the genocide of 1994, where approximately one million people perished, Rwanda has made tremendous progress in many areas of social welfare.

The Sahel region is caught in a vicious cycle: insecurity is on the rise, the capacity of countries to provide basic services, maintain order and deliver justice is diminishing, development is hampered, tensions within communities are mounting and there is growing distrust of the State.

In 2012 a Somali government took office with international backing, after two decades of anarchy and warfare. Supported by African Union peacekeeping troops, the government is seeking to extend its jurisdiction over areas of the country still controlled by Islamist militias.

Twenty years of stable democratic government after the end of apartheid have not succeeded in eliminating poverty, violent crime, and glaring disparities in income and educational opportunities in South Africa.

Statehood came to South Sudan in mid-2011, accompanied by international goodwill. But the conflict which erupted in late 2013 inflamed latent political and ethnic tensions. This resulted in gross human rights violations and piled further pressure onto the fledgling justice delivery system.

With a array of natural sights, Tanzania is a tourist magnet. Revenues from the travel industry, as well as gold mining, have spurred high overall economic growth rates. However, Tanzania remains one of the world’s poorest countries in terms of per capita income.

After undergoing a series of transitions in recent years, The Gambia has emerged to find itself on a path towards democracy and political stability.

Uganda has made much progress in reducing poverty and promoting stability in past years, particularly through improvements on several justice-related indicators. Despite these gains, the justice sector still faces significant challenges relating to funding and capacity, public perceptions of

Zambia is Africa’s biggest copper producer. The privatization of the mining sector in the 1990s has attracted substantial foreign investment, particularly from China. The country enjoys higher levels of stability than most of its neighbours and is a popular tourist destination.