Situated in the South Pacific, the Samoan Islands are an archipelago, and its capital and largest city is Apia. Over the years, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative’s (ABA ROLI) programming in Samoa has focused on access to justice and human rights, with a particular focus on women’s rights. Our most recent regional programs in the Indo-Pacific, strengthen the resilience of coastal communities, protect the legal rights of Indigenous groups, support journalists reporting on human rights, and promote people-centered justice.
In 2012, ABA ROLI partnered with the University of the South Pacific (USP) to host an exchange program for 24 young legal professionals— as a part of ABA ROLI’s Pacific Islands Regional Program. Employing a legal empowerment approach, the program sought to enhance the skills of young Pacific Island lawyers to advocate for and provide legal services to women. Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the program worked with young lawyers from seven Pacific Island nations—Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Timor Leste, and Tonga. The two six-weeklong exchange programs took place in San Francisco, California and Washington, D.C, and the participants learned steps they can take in their home countries to develop stronger legal protections, provide better legal advice, and spearhead innovative responses to violence against women.