During the program, ABA ROLI built sustainable regional partnerships and networks of professional associations and CSOs through virtual and in-person meetings to promote rule of law reforms. The underlying goal of this program was to strengthen defense advocacy by bringing lawyers and civil society together across the region and across sectors to share best practices, tools, and knowledge and to work on common issues that they identified as undermining the rule of law. Working together on common challenges served to empower individuals and mediated political and ethnic differences that have historically divided the region. From the start of the implementation, the BRRLN program complemented ABA ROLI’s bilateral programs in the region. As consortium lead, ABA ROLI provided technical assistance through the implementation of training sessions and mentorship programs with partners over the course of the program and worked closely with a variety of relevant local stakeholders including public interest lawyers, human rights defenders and activists, civil society actors, media actors, the judiciary, law schools and students, and members of parliament to advance the program objectives. ABA ROLI consortium partners filed 23 strategic and public interest litigation cases at the national level and 15 cases at the regional level to mitigate infringement upon citizens’ right to FOE. This followed special litigation workshops conducted by ABA ROLI that trained 255 lawyers, judicial officers, civil society actors and journalists. Strategic litigation cases filed by consortium partners were particularly impactful in Tanzania, including a decision that increased protections for media content providers against fines imposed by the communications regulator. The consortium also launched public information campaigns and published studies on cases and trends relating to FOE, in addition to dozens of articles, policy briefs, rights violation reports, and research papers to document and raise awareness of salient issues. Advocacy initiatives conducted by partners were strategically leveraged to complement litigation efforts—further supporting policy changes that the program advocated for, including amendment of media laws in Tanzania and Uganda. Notable outcomes over the course of the project include the Ugandan government agreeing to establish a communications tribunal and reversing a decision to require all persons with online social media platforms to register with the Uganda Communications Commission. In addition, advocacy at the regional and international level helped draw international attention to FOE issues in both Uganda and Tanzania.
