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 pervasive corruption, inaccessibility of services for the poor sections of the population, low quality and sustainability of the legal aid and information services, costliness and slow speeds of dispute resolution, among others. These challenges have negatively affected citizens’ confidence in the formal system leading people to resort to other means to seek recourse and may also increase the likelihood of violence and further corruption. There is a therefore a need for effective interventions to enhance the reach, quality and sustainability of access to justice in Uganda.
Statement by the Director-General, Jan Beagle at the Joint Conference of the East African Chief Justices’ Forum and the East African Judicial Education Committee
Honourable Chief Justices,
Members of the East African Judiciaries,
Distinguished Guests,
EVENT | 10-12 May | Kigali, Rwanda
This sub-project seeks to contribute to sustainable access to justice by working with communities in three districts of Buyende, Kiboga and Kyaknwanzi in Uganda, and to strengthen the capacity of rural vulnerable communities and justice actors to seek and claim adequate living rights using the 2019 Human Rights (Enforcement) Act (HREA).
This sub-project aims at enhancing access to justice among adolescent girls and young women by strengthening response mechanisms, linkages and collaborations between formal and informal justice systems in the targeted districts of Tororo, Butaleja, and Busia in Uganda. The sub-project will specifically work toward enhancing and addressing gaps in awareness, reporting, case management, legal aid, and linkage to related services required by sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) survivors among adolescents’ girls and young women in the target districts.
Paralegal networks play a critical role in establishing a link between the informal and formal justice systems in the East and Horn of Africa.
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a significant threat to the right to food for populations, and especially for marginalized groups. In many countries, COVID-19 is intertwining with pre-existing factors affecting food security and nutrition, by limiting the access to affordable and nutritious food, including lack of economic opportunities, extreme weather conditions, ongoing conflicts and more.
REGIONAL WEBINAR
Access to Justice in the Context of COVID-19 in East Africa: Experiences from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda
IDLO is rolling out a program that aims to secure accessible, quality and sustainable justice services for citizens - particularly those living in rural, poor and other disadvantaged communities. The Community Justice Programme (CJP) supports both state and non-state legal aid, legal empowerment and other justice delivery interventions.