My organization is a non-profit, community based Organisation that operates in Jinja District, in Eastern Uganda, found in East Africa. It targets Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) and, women and youths.
We are deeply involved in awareness raising on different human rights concerns, namely;rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), health rights, child rights and the right to access to information. Our mission is to effectively and efficiently utilize available resources to empower vulnerable individuals and households, thereby improving on their quality of life. The organisation focuses on holistic empowerment of the target community thus, in addition to the human rights, our other strategic areas of focus include; health education and promotion, numeracy and literacy, agricultural improvement and vocal skills and talent development.
This report is an output of the project titled “Making it work: Access to justice for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh” which was implemented by Handicap International. This report has been compiled to showcase good practices collected by DPOs and to promote practical recommendations, based on local evidence, on how to ensure access to justice and legal services for people with disabilities in Bangladesh. The key references on access to justice for people with disabilities are Articles 12 and 13 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and Section 16 of the Bangladesh Disability Rights and Protection Act (2013).
Disability is an important development issue, with an increasing body of evidence showing that persons with disabilities experience worse socioeconomic outcomes and poverty than persons without disabilities. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than a billion people are estimated to live with some form of disability, or about 15% of the world’s population (based on 2010 global population estimates).
In Kenya, 4.6% people have some form of disability with no significant difference between rural and urban prevalence or between male and female. The most prevalent forms of disability are visual (30%); physical (30%); hearing (12%) and mental (11%). The survey also revealed that most disabilities in Kenya are caused by diseases (19%); congenital disorders (14%); and accidents (12%)
This study was commissioned by Women Challenged to Challenge with the following objectives:
The focus of this research is to examine existing Ghanaian sources of law relating to access to information. While article 21(1)(f) of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana guarantees every person “the right to information subject to qualifications and such laws as are necessary in a democratic society,” there is no enabling legislation relating to the subject of access to information yet. At the time of writing this report, a Right to Information (RTI) Bill is under consideration by Parliament. In the absence of such an enactment, however, there are sources of law that support, facilitate or grant access to certain government documents, and information on public officials and political figures, etc. These are found in the Constitution itself, Acts of Parliament, subsidiary legislation, etc. It is hoped that a collation of this information can serve a useful purpose for civil society activists in their efforts to access critical information which may be used to hold government accountable and to make claims and demands on the government as well as relevant non-state actors.
While they can be used in the interim, pending the passage of a RTI law, they can also be used as a standard to measure the access rights that the new law would guarantee Ghanaians. Identifying these provisions is also useful for the purpose of harmonising all access provisions into a uniform access regime when the proposed RTI Bill becomes law.
Brook Initiative
Motto: For humanity and the environment
Address: 2nd Floor, Manna Plaza, 12 Atiku Abubakar Road, Jimeta – Yola, Adamawa State
Website: brookinitiative.org
Who We Are
Brook Initiative (B.I.) is a non-profit organization addressing the link between climate change, conflict, and social justice. Operating in Adamawa State, Nigeria, we empower communities, protect displaced persons, and promote environmental sustainability.
Mission & Vision
Mission: To tackle climate change and human conflict by supporting displaced persons, fostering environmental conservation, and promoting sustainable livelihoods.
Vision: A world where communities thrive in harmony with nature, free from climate and conflict-related devastation.
Core Values (CRISCIJ)
Key Programs
Impact Goals (2025)
Brook Initiative is committed to fostering peace, resilience, and justice through community-driven solutions.
Vision
That the rights of all people affected by statelessness in the Asia-Pacific region are realised.
Core Values
NFA is committed to supporting the leadership and agency of persons with lived experience of statelessness by ensuring their meaningful participation in the planning, design, implementation and monitoring of our activities.
NFA strives to equalize power imbalances between different actors working on statelessness. NFA aspires to increase the proximity to the power of persons with lived experience and significant learned experience through their fair and meaningful participation in the statelessness ecosystem.
Work Area
NFA has four defined work areas:-
– Partnership Building:
NFA has been working with our partner organizations in Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia to support their strategic planning process and to provide any ad-hoc support requested.
– Knowledge Building
NFA is currently finalizing three different studies on statelessness as a part of the Research initiative
1) Impact of COVID – 19 on stateless people in the Asia Pacific region (forthcoming)
2) Legal validity of the NRC process and its effects on statelessness (forthcoming)
3) Right to nationality and the risk of statelessness faced by the Urdu-speaking community in Bangladesh (forthcoming)
NFA launched the Statelessness Encyclopedia Asia Pacific (SEAP) as a part of the mapping initiavtive
– Coalition Building
NFA retains the role of the secretariat of Statelessness and Dignified Citizenship Coalition (SDCC). NFA also organized both the CSO consultation leading up to the establishment of SDCC.
– Advocacy
NFA collaborates with various organizations to prepare for UPR submissions and submissions to special rapporteurs.
SHIELD OF HOPE FOUNDATION (SHIELD FOUNDATION) is a not-for-profit organization registered under Non-Governmental statue 1929 SN/048/2019. It was founded in 2019 and since has been committed to championing advocacy and development. We dedicated to working with and for the underprivileged which include youth, young women, persons living with disabilities (PLWDs), Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV), Orphans and Vulnerable Children among others across the communities of Teso Region. In all our years of existence we have been implementing sustainable community driven initiatives with a bid to overcome poverty and injustice among the underprivileged.
Its existence emanates from the predominant suffering and negligence youth and women in right of ownership of land and in-heritance of property and young adult’s high rates of unemployment and negative perception of the community towards their potential, capacity and capability.
In all our programming we use the Asset Based Community Development Approach in order to identify the needs of our beneficiaries and turn their threats into opportunities. Such an approach focuses on the capability of people and their assets to meet their needs; create wealth and opportunities for sustainable job creation. With our vision of Inclusive Societies Worth Living for all, our program interventions are as follows Institutional Capacity Development
Skills Enhancement and IGAs.
Enterprise development and Income security
Sustainable Agriculture and Livelihood Development.
Women Rights and Youth Civic participation.
Health, Behavioral & Mind Set Change.
Established in 2005, SALC is comprised of human rights lawyers who engage in strategic litigation in Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We support local lawyers and community-based organisations in these countries to engage in advocacy, litigation and training. We focus on criminal justice, civil and political rights, socio-economic rights, international criminal justice, business and human rights, and equality rights. Within the latter area, we support cases and organisations dealing with persons with disabilities, sex workers, LGBTQI persons, migrants, children, and women.
Action on Disability Rights and Development is nonpolitical, Non-Governmental, non-profit making rights based development Organization of persons with disabilities, functional in Nepal since its establishment in 2008. The public advocacy and media mobilisation convened by this organisation has pushed for the CRPD ratification and transforming disabilities into development agendas. The objectives of ADRAD are the Promotion of accessible books for persons with visual and print disabilities in Nepal that is in line with the article 9 of UNCRPD.
The application and promotion of accessible Information and Communication Technology is prime focus of ADRAD that provide an opportunity to persons with disabilities to enjoy the International and National legislation concerning Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities. By the use of latest technology, the rights holders utilise opportunity and participate in mainstreaming educational program and overall development process. Read More
The purpose of this paralegal training manual is to provide basic instructions and skills for would–be community-based paralegals in Northern Nigeria to offer legal first aid to victims of human rights violations. We took into consideration that accessing justice goes beyond access to the courts and law enforcement, and concluded that community-based paralegals would be beneficial for individuals seeking answers for various legal issues that the police or courts could answer. The guide seeks to train holistic paralegals to assist indigent persons navigate everyday issues, assist when they are confronted by potential rights abuses from law enforcement agents and seek redress where their rights have been abused.
This manual does not cover every matter imaginable, but provides paralegals with the resources needed to open access to justice for indigent persons who might otherwise have not had access. It provides guidance for assisting clients through potential conflicts in their economic and social relationships that may result in rights violations; will help paralegal navigate through arrest and detention at the police station; and how to work with national and international human rights institutions. Our previous manuals on paralegal skills training provide specialized information on women’s rights and accessing the judiciary system, therefore this manual does not attempt to repeat the information contained in them.
Below is the Table of Contents for the Community-based Paralegal Training Manual:
Preface 4
PREAMBLE: WHAT ARE HUMAN RIGHTS? 6
CHAPTER ONE: UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF A PARALEGAL 12
Introduction 12
Who is a paralegal? 12
What do paralegals do? 12
Qualities of a good Paralegal 13
Essential skills for paralegal work 14
Interviewing skills 14
Counselling and mediation skills 15
Client referral 16
Letter writing 16
Record-keeping, reporting and documentation 16
CHAPTER TWO: SEEKING JUSTICE 18
Mediation in summary 20
Skills essential for mediation 21
The cycle of mediation 22
Phases of mediation 23
Navigating Criminal Cases 25
Dealing with Specific Issues 26
Types of sexual offences and redress available under the law 26
Rape and other sexual offences 27
Handling cases involving children 28
Torture, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment 29
Extra-judicial killings 31
Dealing with extra-judicial killings: 32
CHAPTER THREE: ASSISTING ACCUSED PERSONS, ARRESTED PERSONS AND DETAINEES 34
Summons 34
Arrests/Detention 34
Nigeria’s constitutional provisions on arrest and detention 37
What the police must do upon an arrest 40
A paralegal’s guide to the police station 41
Bail 42
Arrest and detention: unlawful conditions 43
What to do when your client has been arrested and detained: 44
Remedies available to victims of unlawful arrest and detention 46
CHAPTER FOUR: WORKING WITH OTHERS 48
Relevant Human Rights Institutions/Organizations and Laws 48
The National Human Rights Commission 48
The Legal Aid Council of Nigeria 49
International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) 49
Nigerian Bar Association, Human Rights Committee/ Pro bono Committee 49
Network on Police Reform in Nigeria 50