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Event: Strengthening the Global Movement for Grassroots Justice

More than half of the world’s population lacks meaningful access to justice. Grassroots justice defenders are helping to close this global justice gap by helping communities around the world know, use, and shape the law. They are building community power to drive systemic change, and advancing the goal of more peaceful, just and inclusive societies (SDG 16). Yet, community paralegals face a lack of investment in financing and protection.

On March 22, community-based paralegals and representatives from civil society and development organizations are gathering at the University of Nairobi School of Law to hear directly from community paralegals, His Excellency the Canadian High Commissioner, the UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Namati, and Canada’s International Development Research Centre about the importance of strengthening grassroots justice in Kenya and abroad.

The event covers:

• The role of community paralegals in closing the global access to justice gap and meeting the targets for peaceful, just, and inclusive societies under the Sustainable Development Goals.
• An engaged conversation with community paralegals about the frontiers and challenges for legal empowerment.
• An evidence-based case for greater financial investments in legal empowerment approaches.
• The learning agenda for legal empowerment, convened by Namati and the Legal Empowerment Network, is a collective effort to identify what works to uphold human rights in the face of structural inequality and exclusion and rapidly eroding public accountability. Participants from the learning agenda will show how they are using systematic research and learning to build community power, increase the participation of women and marginalized groups in decision-making, and advance changes to laws and institutions. The evidence and learning they are generating is helping to deepen democratic and inclusive governance across a range of political contexts, addressing root causes of inequality and exclusion, and promoting vibrant civic spaces.

Watch the event Live on March 22 at 4 – 6:30pm EAT at www.facebook.com/KituoSheria/live_videos