ABA Rule of Law Initiative Program Book 2014

Introduction

With each new year that the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) works around the world, both our resolve and our hopes are emboldened. Our partners—whether established government institutions seeking to bolster key operations or fl edging civil society organizations (CSOs) looking to best affect positive change—are why we remain dogged in our pursuit of institutions and societies that deliver justice, foster economic opportunity and ensure respect for human dignity. Our experiences underscore that the rule of law is both broad and deep, and it is only through engagement with diverse partners that daily and long-term enhancements to the rule of law can be realized. 

Our programs in Africa exemplify this approach. In Mali, we work with several ministries to advance transitional justice, while also helping CSOs combat hereditary slavery. We collaborate with Guinean reformers seeking to mitigate the negative effects of extractive operations, while also working with the government to draft legislation guaranteeing community rights. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, we bring together legal, medical, psychosocial and vocational partners to fight impunity for sexual and genderbased violence and to support survivors. Our programs offer a range of technical assistance that empowers remote communities, prison systems, defense counsels, law students, youth and others to help to end that country’s rape crisis. 

In Europe and Eurasia, where we now work in 17 countries, we support Tajikistani lawyers and CSOs as they empower citizens to demand respect for their rights. In Georgia and Ukraine, we train our partners on the new criminal procedure codes that expand lawyers’ roles, and we help to develop sustainable continuing legal education (CLE) systems. In Russia, we partner with law schools, bar associations, municipal governments and advocacy groups to strengthen the legal profession, to combat corruption and to support the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. 

Through comprehensive, collaborative efforts with governments, police training institutes, bar associations and law schools, our work in Latin America and the Caribbean helps nations transition to new adversarial criminal justice systems and enhance judicial functions. Our work in Asia and the Pacific draws upon similar partnerships to advance women’s rights and domestic violence protections, to promote citizen participation in environmental decisionmaking, and to facilitate commerce and the administration of justice through court automation. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), we are working to support legal professionals and citizens alike as they pursue historic transformations in their countries, including by promoting the inclusion of women in constitutional processes, by documenting human rights abuses and by enhancing legal education. These endeavors are just a snapshot of our current work in more than 50 countries.

In our increasingly globalized world, we often engage across a geographic region. Such efforts include developing CLE models and systems in the MENA, where we collaborate with judges, lawyers and training institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Similarly, we work with judiciaries and training institutions in Africa’s Great Lakes region to enhance and leverage the impact of national judicial training activities. In the Balkans, we help to provide legal services to Roma communities and to develop the capacity of the defense bar to better represent clients and ensure access to justice. To combat transnational organized crime, our Central American program trains police and legal professionals on the use of forensics and other methods to strengthen investigations and prosecutions. We also work with regional institutions, government officials and activists throughout Asia and the Pacific as we seek to mitigate the corrosive impact of corruption and to bolster respect for human rights. 

As we embark upon our twenty-fourth year of operations, ABA ROLI remains confident that, together with our partners worldwide, we will continue to successfully advance the rule of law, which is fundamental to all aspects of human development. We invite you to join us on this journey.