Paper/Proposal Title

Advancing Access to Justice in sub- Saharan Africa and Latin America: Innovative Strategies and Methods.

Presenter/Author Information

Adaobi EgbokaFollow

Location

Virtual

Start Date

11-3-2023 8:30 AM

End Date

11-3-2023 9:45 AM

Keywords

Africa, Access to Justice, Pro Bono, Development, Pro Bono Models

Abstract

Access to justice in sub-Saharan Africa is a priority for many stakeholders who aim to support communities that have been impacted by Africa's history of colonization. Ensuring access to justice for all individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic background or cultural heritage, is essential for upholding human rights, promoting social cohesion, and supporting sustainable development throughout the continent. NGOs and other justice actors have actively provided access to justice in many countries but have relied on donor funding for their services. However, donor funding is decreasing in many regions, and governments are increasingly closing civic spaces, making it challenging for NGOs to support unmet legal needs. However, more resources and infrastructure are needed to provide legal aid to those in need, leaving many individuals across the continent with significant barriers to justice. These barriers include financial constraints, limited legal awareness, and a need for more high-quality legal assistance. This panel will discuss models tested in three countries in Africa and Latin America, creating a collaborative effort between law firms and NGOs, public–private partnerships to support access to justice and good governance through pro bono clearinghouses. Panelists will share their experiences working in collaboration with law firms, academic institutions, and NGOs, as well as using a public-private partnership to create a hub to support access to justice. The panel will discuss the benefits and challenges of how collaborative structures between pro bono actors can strengthen access to justice. It will argue that the clearinghouse model is innovative for advancing access to justice in Africa as an approach and model. The experience sharing will facilitate in-depth discussions, knowledge exchange, and collaborative learning to contribute to increasing access to justice in Africa.

Author/Speaker Biographical Statement(s)

Adaobi Egboka is a human rights lawyer with more than fifteen years of experience working on access to justice, the rule of law, and good governance. She is the Africa Program Director of the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice. A New York-based non-profit that advances global justice by engaging lawyers across borders to support civil society and an ethically active legal profession. She was the Executive Programmes Director of Legal Defence and Assistance Project- Nigeria. Her work focused on innovative leadership and the practical application of international, regional, and human rights treaties and standards through capacity building, strategic litigation, and advocacy. She also worked on implementing laws on justice sector reform and prohibition of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and initiating and coordinating pro bono partnerships. She led the West African Focal Point of the Coalition for Effective African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, served as an expert member on the electoral violence mitigation project, and provided technical assistance to Police Reform for the Rule of Law Advisory Team in the office of the Vice President, Nigeria. She holds an LL.M. from the University of Washington School of Law, graduating with distinction and an award. She earned an LL.B. from the University of Lagos and a Barrister-at-law degree from the Nigerian Law School. She was a Barer fellow at the University of Washington and a PILnet fellow as a visiting scholar at Columbia University Law School.

Funmi Ayeni has been the Executive Director of the Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership since its inception in November 2012. Her passion for the enhancement of access to justice and the protection of human rights led her to specialize in Public Law and Policy. As a lawyer and public administrator in this field, she has organized several state-wide pro bono programs and worked on a variety of initiatives aimed at understanding and tackling the factors which impede access to justice and the enjoyment of human rights. She is the founder of the Lagos Pro Bono Week. Prior to this position, she was an associate at one of Nigeria's leading law firms, Banwo & Ighodalo. Funmi obtained her LL. B and LL.M. degrees at the University of Warwick and University of California, Berkeley, respectively. She has a certificate in Public Interest and Social Justice from the University of California, Berkeley and she is a member of the Nigerian Bar.

Teresa Yates is National Director of ProBono.org, South Africa. She has not only legal training, but a background in human rights and development on the continent. In her 22 years of experience, she has worked at NGOs, for government and as an independent researcher and evaluator. She has acquired not only a range of important management skills but has also been directly involved in strategic planning, law reform and policy development, fundraising and budgeting, monitoring and writing, and leading diverse teams. Teresa led substantial design work on Alternative Dispute Resolution in the South African Department of Land Affairs in 2000s, where she worked in the Tenure Directorate. She has also worked as the Deputy National Director of the Legal Resources Centre, gender justice coordinator with Oxfam in Tanzania, the South African government and Nkuzi Development Association, a South African land organization focusing specifically on farm workers, land rights and land reform.

Nicholas Etcheverry: Doctor in Law and Social Sciences from the Faculty of Law of the University of the Republic (UdelaR). He is a member of the Institute of Philosophy of Law of Uruguay, the Argentine Association of Philosophy of Law and the International Academy of Comparative Law. He was director and Co-founder of the Montevideo Pre-University Institute (PRE / U).

Currently, he is also a professor of Philosophy of Law, Ethics and Rhetoric at the University of Montevideo. He was dean of the UM Law School from May 2004 to February 2021 and started their pro bono efforts in the University.

Paula Samper: Paula Samper is a partner at the Colombian law firm Gómez-Pinzón Abogados, based in Bogotá, Colombia. During her 30-year career at Gómez-Pinzón, Ms. Samper has worked in the corporate practice group, the real estate group (which she currently heads), and she is also the head of the Pro Bono practice of the firm. Ms. Samper was part of the drafting committee of the Pro Bono Declaration of the Americas, an initiative of the Cyrus Vance Center for International Justice, which has now been signed by more than 450 law firms and legal groups across the Americas. After this project, Ms. Samper promoted in 2009 the creation of the Colombian Pro Bono clearinghouse (Fundación Pro Bono Colombia), of which she is an honorary member of the board. Ms. Samper is also a founding member of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee of Gómez-Pinzón and the Women in the Profession Committee of the Vance Center. Current not-for-profit positions include being the president of the board of Instituto Roosevelt Hospital, Vice-president of the board of Universidad de los Andes, and member of the board of WWF Colombia and Fundación El Veinte. She is a graduate of Universidad de los Andes and is currently doing a master´s degree in Corporate Social Responsibility at Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. (Bogotá, Colombia)