My name is Dominique, and I am based in Davao City, the Philippines. An example of an injustice is the treatment of Indigenous Peoples in Barangay Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya. The community is displaced because of OceanaGold, a Canadian-Australian mining company. Despite the expiration of OceanaGold’s 25-year mining permit renewal in 2021 and numerous campaigns, the company was granted another 25 year mining permit.
Hey Dominique, the exploitation and displacement from extraction companies and corporates are a big threat to local communities, their well-being, and their history. It is unfortunate that many communities don’t have the power and resources to challenge them fully.
I am Rachel Magege, a lawyer based in Tanzania. I’m a proud member of NAMATI and the Legal Empowerment Network. An injustice that has gained national (and even regional) attention is the harassment and intended acts of displacing the Masai community in Ngorongoro. Said to be a move by the Government of Tanzania to make way for a private investor, the forceful removal of indigenous Masai from their homeland has caught the nation by surprise, with clips and news sources sprouting all over the country.
I am excited to take this course and learn practical ways of advancing legal empowerment to members of society in need.
Thank you for taking the course and for sharing this example, Rachel. I’ve read about the Masai community case – it’s reached audiences even in this part of the world. See you in the next lesson!
Hello my name is Given Khanye Sibanda from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. One of the injustices l have witness in my line of work is the deprivation of of identity documents of children of migrant workers who arrived in Zimbabwe from Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique in the late 1970 in search of work in then Rhodesia. These descendants have been either required to denounce their parents citizenship in those countries in order to gain the Zimbabwean. The challenge some have never been to those countries or know of any relatives. This is a challenge that has faced many generations who are without birth certificates, national identity cards, passports therefor rendering them stateless despite being born in Zimbabwe. The general law is being used to discriminate despite them despite the protection in the supreme law of the land – Constitution.
Thank you for taking the course and sharing this case, Given. There are examples related to access to basic identity documents in the weeks to come. We hope you find these lessons useful in your work!
Hello everyone I am Thokozile Lungu from Malawi, a human rights activist and public health professional. The injustices in my community is that which is infringed on young people of the reproductive age, they are not given the opportunity to lead, and when they want to start up either small scale businesses or even big businesses, either they want to venture into commercial agriculture, start up economic youth networks, they are oppressed to the level that they cannot be economically independent, yet there is the continual saying that it is the time for the youth, the market prices are very high that these young people cannot even start up their own economic empowering activities
Hello my name is Bright Mtowa from Malawi I work as a paralegal officer at paralegal advisory service institute.one of the injustices I have witnessed in my line of duty is when the rich people are in conflict with the law the state don’t usually object their bail application because they know that there might be a token of apriciation at the end of the process,the poor people ended up being remanded in prison because they can also not afford the services of the legal counsel.
Hey Bright, and to add on, sometimes the police officers don’t recognise paralegal officers or don’t take them seriously. This is a narrative and attitude that needs to change.
My name is Ismaila Salawu, I am a social advocace and a public policy researcher in Nigeria. I want to empower people to fight against economic and social injustice in Nigeria.
My name is Lucy. I am currently in South Africa. I have been working with migrants over five years now. The most problem that migrants are facing is documentation. Hence they can’t get proper job or they get the least paid job. Their children can not get registered in school because they don’t have birth certificates, access to health support becomes a night mare since tgey are migrants. This makes life unbearable for them. Most domestic workers are being harassed and abused by their bosses and sometimes even suck from work without any payment given no matter how long they have been working there all because they do not have a voice to voice out. I hope and believe that one day things shall change so that we may all get justice.
Thank you for taking this course, Lucy. We have a topic on legal empowerment case studies, and one of it is access to basic documentation. The case studies will come in a few weeks – hope you’ll find it useful for your work!
Hello everyone. My name is Leah Guyot, and I am a French national residing in the United States. I work for the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies in the Justice for All team. We work to achieve progress towards SDG 16.3 and focus on people-centered justice. I would like to expand my knowledge of legal empowerment and its benefits, as it is very relevant to my own work. I hope to learn more from all of you.
Hi ! My name is Pritika and I am working in Hong Kong for a non-profit organization. I work with refugees and asylum seekers for their various welfare needs. One of the issue i have seen often in dealing with the female refugee clients from various parts of the world is the domestic violence, sexual violence by their husband/ partner and they don’t often want to raise a voice and treat this issue. Rather they choose to suffer in such situation longer and adapt to all the injustice done to them. They don’t want to file a case against their husband/ partner and want to suffer with injustice throughout their life.
Hello, my name is Bradley Fortuin from Botswana. I work as the LGBTIQ+, Sex Work and Disabilities program officer with SALC. An injustice that I have witnessed and that still occurs is the refusal of African governments to register and acknowledge LGBTIQ+ organisations. Many times, organisations have to seek intervention from the courts for their fundamental rights to freedoms of association and assembly. The criminalisation of SOGIEESC groups deprives LGBTIQ+ people of protection from violence, and harassment, access to safe and friendly healthcare services and involvement in civic and national agendas.
Thank you for taking this course, Bradley. Indeed, freedom of peaceful assembly and association is still blatantly violated in many countries. It’s a prerequisite for the work we all do here.
Hello everyone, my name is Apatsa Mangwana Mhango and I work as a Projects and Paralegal Coordinator at the Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance (CHREAA). I am a member of the Legal Empowerment Network and work closely with Namati under a legal empowerment project here in Malawi. One of the injustices I have witnessed is the arbitrary arrests that take place in Malawi especially towards vulnerable groups i.e., sex workers, informal traders, children connected to the streets as well as the LGBTIQ+ community. This is the case because law enforces deem these people as outcasts and they do not accord them their rights as provided for in local and international human rights instruments.
Asia Wy from the Philippines. I work with Environmental Legal Assistance Center as a legal fellow. 25 years of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, and there is still very little jurisprudence on said law. Ambiguities persist as to its implementation, and a weak implementing government institution. In addition, there are still communities who do not know about this law and how it affects/benefits them. Industries on the other hand, can pay lawyers and individuals familiar with this law and use it to gain an upper hand in pursuing business interests over the rights of indigenous communities to their ancestral land and governing it, and their right to a healthy, clean and sustainable environment.
Hai everyone, nice to see and know you. I am A. Bagus Santoso from Indonesia, a human rights defender for indigenous people. In the course, I would like to share how injustice occur in Talang Mamak indigenous people who live in Riau Province, Indonesia. Talang Mamak loss the customary land because of palm oil plantation’s and coal mining’s licenses given to more than 10 companies. The dispute has been occurred since 2000.
Halo Aditia! Thank you for sharing the Talang Mamak case. There’s been a lot of stories about palm oil plantation in Indonesia – hope you find the lessons here useful for that particular type of work. Letting you know that Lesson 1 is now available for you to access! 🙂
My name is Camila Gomide (she/her), I am 23 and I am the Programs and Outreach Officer at Red Dot Foundation Global in which I am responsible for tracking, and managing international accounts for the foundation. I am also the lead person for Global Workshops and programs for youth leaders.
Welcome, Camila! Thank you for taking this course. Lesson 1 is now available for you to access. Feel free to drop an email in case you have any questions – would be glad to help!
Hello, I am Ambassador Sylvestre Sidie Mohamed Kallon I work as Human Rights Expert for the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone a National Human Rights Institution that has the statutory mandate to protect and promote human rights in Sierra Leone
My experience about the law especially in my country is that citizens are not knowledgeable about it. Awareness and protection of the law are less visible and less effective in rural settings thus giving rise to injustices including discriminatory practices
While working for the Commission a ot of complaints of injustices are recorded such is property rights where lands are taken away from families arbitrarily by multi national companies in conniving with community and government authorities.
I have joined this course to equip myself with skills and new knowledge in legal empowerment
Hello everyone, My name is Kelechukwu Okezie. I work as the Executive Director of Neighbourhood Environment Watch Foundation. A non profit organisation in Nigeria. I see my self as an environmental and social justice activist. One experience about the law is the intimidation and forceful land grab of a mining Host community in Ameri Ikwo in Ebonyi state. When the youths protested against the mining company called First Patriots, they were arrested, tortured and sacked from their homes. The company boasts that the weight of their purse is heavier than the voice of the community members. No one has come to the assistance of the community till date.
Thank you for sharing this Kelechukwu. There are case studies related to land grabs in the lessons to come. We hope you find this useful for your work.
Greetings, my name is Tiffany I am a human rights advocate/policy officer, and I am hear to learn. in my country the government claims boldly to up hold and adhere to global human rights standards. Yet doesn’t have a mechanism to enforce or hear claims domestically.
Hello everyone, I am Dave Kanjiwa from Malawi, a Paralegal officer at the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) working closely with sex workers and other vulnerable people seeking justice. The injustices I have witnessed in my community are mass arrests of sex workers based on the nature of their work, extended pretrial detention of vulnerable people, and the conviction of vulnerable people mostly due to lack of legal representation.
Hello everyone this is Sadia Afrin Kona. I am from Bangladesh. I am working as a Labor Rights Fellow at BLAST under a Project called Empowering workers for Justice (EWJ). There are anomalies and inconsistency regarding the marriage and divorce related legal provisions in Bangladesh that debars Bangladesh from bringing equality. It concludes with the view that the said issues remained less addressed following the legislators lack of will on religious sensitivity. Hence Bangladesh has failed to incorporate equality enshrined in the international instruments as well as in the Constitution of Bangladesh.
Thank you for taking this course and for sharing this, Sadia! Lesson 1 is now available for you to access. Let us know if you have any questions/clarifications – we’ll be happy to help!
Hola a todas y todos. Mi nombre es Sofía Barrera, de Chile. Soy abogada y trabajo en una ONG medio ambiental, donde nos dedicamos a la defensa jurídica, y al empoderamiento legal de diversas comunidades y territorios a lo largo del país que se ven enfrentadas a conflictos socioambientales. Como experiencia en Chile hay bastantes y diversas injusticias socioambientales, principalmente estas se deben a una falta de planificación territorial, que ponga en el centro a la protección de la naturaleza y la protección de la salud de las personas, ello ha derivado, a modo de ejemplo, entre varios conflictos en aquellas zonas denominadas como “zonas de sacrificio”, que son zonas o comunidades que han soportado durante años de manera injusta, cargas o daños ambientales, y que ha provocado una afectación a los ecosistemas y a la salud de las personas.
Hola, Sofia! Thank you for taking this course! Letting you know that this course is also available in Español. Please let us know if you have trouble accessing the site, we’ll be happy to guide you. Thank you!
Hello, My name is Deogratious Oburye from Uganda and I am working with Assure Uganda(AU) a youth but girl led organization. There are alot of injustices i have witnessed in my community where girls are not give right to share on(parents) family property that for them they have theirs at their husbands family. And also injustices against youth who participate in elections even though they win they are not announced as winners even when they go to court of law for justice, the judiciary rules in favour of the eleders.
My name is Brittany, I am employee wellness officer as i see to needs(social, legal, financial, health) of staff members and as well act as registered counselor for emotional and psychological needs.
The injustice I see is when people go through a legal matter and cannot affords private legal assistance but also earn to much to qualify for legal aid.
Hi Brittany, thank you for taking this course! Glad to have a wellness office join us. Letting you know that Lesson 1 is available for you to access. I hope you find the lessons useful!
Hello everyone, my name is Manishimwe Juvenal. I work as an Ag. Grants Officer of the Legal Aid Forum. a non-profit organisation in Rwanda. One of my experiences in law is assisting people in expropriation cases to get compensation when they have been expropriated by the government with general interest. I help to file the claim in time so that they can get unjustified compensation.
Hello i am Amanda Phiri, a Lawyer practising in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. I do a lot of training to rural communities on the law and training of Traditional leader. One of the injustices I have noted during my training is how patriarchy is still being practiced and disadvantaging woman. Woman in rural areas have no right to land unless they are accessing it through their male counterparts, be it their fathers, brothers or husband. My work is to discuss women’s land rights with the gate keepers to ensure there is equality in land distribution.
I am Dzveta Godfrey from Zimbabwe. I work with Tariro Foundation of Zimbabwe Trust which is an Organisation for Persons with Disabilities (OPD). My experience have reflected to me the lack of awareness of rights by persons with disabilities as enshrined in various legal frameworks that include the UNCRPD, the National Disability Policy, the Disabled Persons Act, the Constitution of Zimbabwe and other related legal frameworks they are bound to benefit from. Pursuit for legal Justice and equality of access to Justice to persons with disabilities is also an existing challenge. Cost of acquiring legal representation is also a mammoth task for our constituency of persons with disabilities.
Hello to everyone. I’m Keza Lys, and I work at the legal aid forum. The injustice in my community is directed towards people living with disabilities. The majority of people in the communities do not regard disabled people as human beings deserving of the same rights as everyone else. There are innumerable unreported sexual assault cases on people with disabilities, both mental and physical, and the number of incidents recorded remains relatively low. Reporting crimes against people with disabilities is not a priority for members of the community or their family members. This, in my opinion, is a terribly unjust fact.
Hello everyone,
My name is Bwambale Wisley from Uganda and I work with Centre for Citizens Conserving Environment and Management (CECIC) a non profitable Organization as a Just Energy Transition Officer. Uganda being a Developing country the majority of the citizens are below poverty line making them vulnerable to land grabing dwellers, processing a land tittle in Uganda costs over $556 which a poor person hardly get and what makes matters worse it is the requirement for the compensation process if it so happen that Government is to do its activity on your land and now due to East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project in Albertine Region many citizens have been displaced even without being compensated. Joining this forum I expect to gain knowledge on how to combine power of law with the power of people to ensure that all these forms of injustices are addressed in my Country.
Hello. Am Wellingtone Kulula from Zambia. I am a vocational trainer for paralegals. My area of interest in tackling injustice has been political violence, where politicians abuse their power and privilege to mislead poor, unemployed youths into committing despicable acts of violence.
Hello. I am Hubert, from Malawi. I coordinate research, monitoring, and evaluation for Paralegal Advisory Service Institute (PASI). In Malawi, access to justice is a challenge due to the high levels of poverty, inequality, and illiteracy. With such a situation, many of those in conflict with the law have very little knowledge of the legal processes and human rights that would enhance their ability to effectively access justice. Legal empowerment is therefore of great importance to enhance access to justice in Malawi.
Mi nombre es Andrea Tobar, soy salvadoreña, tengo 25 años, soy ademas licenciada en ciencias juridicas y soy coordinadora de proyectos en el Centro de Capacitacion y Promocion de la Democracia (CECADE), la cual es una organizacion no gubernamental.
En mi pais desde hace algunos meses estamos viviendo en un regimen de excepcion implementado por el gobierno en el cual se han detectado diversas irregularidades en todo el proceso de judicializacion de esos casos, la defensa tecnica de las personas detenidas y procesadas en este caso por delitos de agrupaciones ilicitas y en algunas ocasiones, muertes dentro de los centros penitenciarios o durante el desarrollo de procesos de detencion sobre las cuales no hay justificacion.
Hello Andrea. Thank you for taking this course. Letting you know that this course is also available in Español. You can click this link to access the course. Please let us know if you have any trouble accessing/navigating the site. Thank you!
Hello, I’m Noella from Rwanda, The injustice of my community is directed of high level of poverty, Inequality, many people doesn’t have enough knowledge about laws and human right.
Hello Team.
I am Cecilia Rutembesa, I work as a research officer at the Legal Aid Forum in Rwanda. I seek to empower people especially the poor and vulnerable, to fight against economic and social injustice in Rwanda.
Hi everyone! I’m Jaycen Aligway and I’m working as a Communications Officer for the Alternative Law Groups, a coalition of legal empowerment organizations in the Philippines. An injustice that’s very close to my heart is the struggle of people with diverse SOGIE in our country, where there is no law to protect us from discrimination and harassment.
Hi Jaycen! Great to connect with you here 🙂 Heads up lang na Lesson 2 is available – you can click this link to access the course. Hope you find the lessons useful!
Hello Everyone,
My name is Martin Morris O from Uganda, i work for a Community Based Organization defending the rights of local people to their lands. In Uganda, the Constitution recognizes land in four different ways but pays less attention to Customary land rights. Those in high ranking positions easily grab land from illiterate community occupying customary land and are threatened.
No amount of legal interventions can save such victims as the courts are equally corrupted or ordered by the Executive. n our case, the problem stem from both Nomadic pastoralists who seasonally cross to graze and government officers fencing or surveying off large chunks of community land.
I hope to learn more on how others have defended such community lands elsewhere in the World.
Hello everyone! I’m Redempta MAFUBO; I work as a Legal officer at Legal Aid Forum. I usually work with vulnerable people; I seek to empower them to know their rights. I am happy to be here and to learnt a lot
Hello Durga, thank you for taking this course! Letting you know that Lessons 2 up to 4 are available for you to access 🙂 Hope you find the lessons useful!
I’m Piumi Madushani, an Attorney-at-Law in Sri Lanka. As the Legal Officer of Community Sector of Transparency International Sri Lanka, I provide legal assistance for victims and witnesses of corruption.
Hello everyone. My name is Leonie Mutoni, from Kigali, Rwanda. A common injustice in my country is expropriation in the public interest. Even though the legal framework is clear on paper, expropriating entities oftentimes do not follow procedures in place, to the detriment of landowners’ rights. Citizens are not aware of several provisions such as fair and timely compensation, right to counter valuation, etc and do not know how to assert their rights during expropriation procedures.
Hi Leonia, thank you for taking the course! I hope you’ll find the lessons useful. Just letting you know that the course course content will be available until the end of this month – let me know if you need any support over the next few days so you can finish the course! 🙂 We’ll have a final celebration via Zoom on 26 January (this Thursday). We’d be happy to have you join us in this link!
Hello Everyone, My Name is Achellam Emmanuel from Uganda. A lawyer by profession. I do research, advocacy and policy work in the field of Natural resources, Land and Environment. I have been in the field for 4 years and am happy to learn more about legal empowerment to further sharpen my advocacy knowledge and skills. Ultimately, I would love to use this knowledge to build the capacity of my local community.
Hi everyone, I’m Shera Pahm from Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. I work with Samdhana Institute as Project Coordinator and Capacity Development Officer. We support Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in areas of tenure rights assertion, agroecology, and defending the civic space. I’m quite new to the topic of legal empowerment and keen on learning from this course.
Maayong adlaw Shera! Salamat for taking the course! I hope you’ll find the lessons useful. Just letting you know that the course content will be available until the end of this month – let me know if you need any support over the next few days so you can finish the course! 🙂 We’ll have a final celebration via Zoom on 26 January (this Thursday). We’d be happy to have you join us, even if hindi pa natapos ang course. You can register for that meeting here. Hoping to see you!
My name is Naing Htike Aung from Myanmar (Burma). I am a scholar as well as a political party member. The reason I study the legal empowerment is that I would like to know how I can help the people especially the grassroots by using the knowledge gain from this course. Injustice is everywhere especially in the country which is under the control of military.
Hello! My name is Ria Ellendula, and I’m a student from the United States. I would love to know how to employ the law to help others in unjust situations learn about their rights. One injustice in my community is the harmful pre-trial practice of cash bail in our criminal justice system. Essentially, this system allows people to avoid waiting in holding cells if they’re able to pay bail. The primary issue with this is that it favors those who are fortunate and have the money over those who don’t have the money, creating a harmful system of power imbalance and socioeconomic discrimination.
Hello Ria! Thank you for taking the course and for sharing an injustice in your community. Just letting you know that the course content will be available until the end of this month – let me know if you need any support over the next few days so you can finish the course! 🙂 We’ll have a final celebration via Zoom on 26 January (this Thursday). We’d be happy to have you join us in this link, even if you’re halfway through the course. You can register for that meeting in this link. Hoping to see you!
Hello! My name is Stanley Junior Uba. I’m a Professor and College Spokesperson currently serving as Dean, Faculty of Metaphysics and College of Humanities and Social Sciences at UCCSAT University.
I provide leadership-development opportunities to people in various spheres of life in the global community.
My vision is to enable people build the capacity and capability ultimately required to enhance leadership effectiveness in their respective field of endeavour.
I live in Johannesburg, South Africa and my goal for taking this course is to broaden my view on socials issues and injustices witnessed in my society. Issues such as sexual violence and Gender Based Violence is on the increase while a good number of cases reported to the local authority don’t get to see the light of the day. The criminal justice system is gradually failing the people and nothing seem to change at the moment. The wide gap in the criminal justice system and other social ills motivated me to enroll for this programme.
Hello Stanley! Pleased to have you join our course! I hope you’ll find the lessons useful. Just letting you know that the course content will be available until the end of this month – let me know if you need any support over the next few days so you can finish the course! 🙂 We’ll have a final celebration via Zoom on 26 January, 9AM ET (this Thursday). We’d be happy to have you join us in this link, even if you’re halfway through the course. You can register for that meeting in this link. Hoping to see you!
Hello all, I’m pleased to see your active engagement in our first discussion forum! Thank you for opening up and introducing yourselves!
I wanted to let you know that the course content will be accessible until the end of January 2023 – until then, please feel free to post, share, and finish the lessons. The LE101 team is on standby in case you have any questions/clarifications before closing the course.
We’ll have a final celebration of the course on 26 January, 9AM ET via Zoom. We’d be happy to have you join us to meet each other and share what we’ve learned from the course. Even if you haven’t finished, you are more than welcome to join this meeting! You can register in this link. There have been 20+ registrants so far, and we hope to have more of you join us on Thursday. Thank you, and see you (virtually) soon!
My name is Allan Basajjasubi and I am a lawyer working for an Environmental Human Rights NGO by the name of Natural Justice. Alot of our work is on assisting communities to stop projects which directly impact their environmental and human rights to a healthy and clean environment. We also use various strategies to equip communities to better understand the law and how it can be used to promote, protect and affirm their ways of life
Hello everyone! Welcome to LE 101!
My name is Dominique, and I am based in Davao City, the Philippines. An example of an injustice is the treatment of Indigenous Peoples in Barangay Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya. The community is displaced because of OceanaGold, a Canadian-Australian mining company. Despite the expiration of OceanaGold’s 25-year mining permit renewal in 2021 and numerous campaigns, the company was granted another 25 year mining permit.
Hey Dominique, the exploitation and displacement from extraction companies and corporates are a big threat to local communities, their well-being, and their history. It is unfortunate that many communities don’t have the power and resources to challenge them fully.
Couldn’t agree more, Bradley.
Hi Kabayan! hehehe
Hi Asia! Kamusta? Daghang salamat for taking this course!
I am Rachel Magege, a lawyer based in Tanzania. I’m a proud member of NAMATI and the Legal Empowerment Network. An injustice that has gained national (and even regional) attention is the harassment and intended acts of displacing the Masai community in Ngorongoro. Said to be a move by the Government of Tanzania to make way for a private investor, the forceful removal of indigenous Masai from their homeland has caught the nation by surprise, with clips and news sources sprouting all over the country.
I am excited to take this course and learn practical ways of advancing legal empowerment to members of society in need.
Thank you for taking the course and for sharing this example, Rachel. I’ve read about the Masai community case – it’s reached audiences even in this part of the world. See you in the next lesson!
Hello my name is Given Khanye Sibanda from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. One of the injustices l have witness in my line of work is the deprivation of of identity documents of children of migrant workers who arrived in Zimbabwe from Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique in the late 1970 in search of work in then Rhodesia. These descendants have been either required to denounce their parents citizenship in those countries in order to gain the Zimbabwean. The challenge some have never been to those countries or know of any relatives. This is a challenge that has faced many generations who are without birth certificates, national identity cards, passports therefor rendering them stateless despite being born in Zimbabwe. The general law is being used to discriminate despite them despite the protection in the supreme law of the land – Constitution.
Thank you for taking the course and sharing this case, Given. There are examples related to access to basic identity documents in the weeks to come. We hope you find these lessons useful in your work!
Hey nice to meet you !, very insightful information that you have shared.
Hello everyone I am Thokozile Lungu from Malawi, a human rights activist and public health professional. The injustices in my community is that which is infringed on young people of the reproductive age, they are not given the opportunity to lead, and when they want to start up either small scale businesses or even big businesses, either they want to venture into commercial agriculture, start up economic youth networks, they are oppressed to the level that they cannot be economically independent, yet there is the continual saying that it is the time for the youth, the market prices are very high that these young people cannot even start up their own economic empowering activities
Thank you for taking this course and for sharing this case, Thokozile. I’m sure others who work on youth’s economic empowerment will follow this case.
Hello my name is Bright Mtowa from Malawi I work as a paralegal officer at paralegal advisory service institute.one of the injustices I have witnessed in my line of duty is when the rich people are in conflict with the law the state don’t usually object their bail application because they know that there might be a token of apriciation at the end of the process,the poor people ended up being remanded in prison because they can also not afford the services of the legal counsel.
Thank you for taking this course, Bright. Corruption is rampant for sure – there are case studies that point to power imbalances in the weeks to come.
Hey Bright, and to add on, sometimes the police officers don’t recognise paralegal officers or don’t take them seriously. This is a narrative and attitude that needs to change.
My name is Ismaila Salawu, I am a social advocace and a public policy researcher in Nigeria. I want to empower people to fight against economic and social injustice in Nigeria.
Hi , wow thats amazing whats your take on the current justice system un Nigeria and what would you like to change ?
My name is Lucy. I am currently in South Africa. I have been working with migrants over five years now. The most problem that migrants are facing is documentation. Hence they can’t get proper job or they get the least paid job. Their children can not get registered in school because they don’t have birth certificates, access to health support becomes a night mare since tgey are migrants. This makes life unbearable for them. Most domestic workers are being harassed and abused by their bosses and sometimes even suck from work without any payment given no matter how long they have been working there all because they do not have a voice to voice out. I hope and believe that one day things shall change so that we may all get justice.
Thank you for taking this course, Lucy. We have a topic on legal empowerment case studies, and one of it is access to basic documentation. The case studies will come in a few weeks – hope you’ll find it useful for your work!
Hello everyone. My name is Leah Guyot, and I am a French national residing in the United States. I work for the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies in the Justice for All team. We work to achieve progress towards SDG 16.3 and focus on people-centered justice. I would like to expand my knowledge of legal empowerment and its benefits, as it is very relevant to my own work. I hope to learn more from all of you.
Welcome, Leah. We hope you find the lessons useful for JFA campaign!
Hi ! My name is Pritika and I am working in Hong Kong for a non-profit organization. I work with refugees and asylum seekers for their various welfare needs. One of the issue i have seen often in dealing with the female refugee clients from various parts of the world is the domestic violence, sexual violence by their husband/ partner and they don’t often want to raise a voice and treat this issue. Rather they choose to suffer in such situation longer and adapt to all the injustice done to them. They don’t want to file a case against their husband/ partner and want to suffer with injustice throughout their life.
Thank you for sharing, Pritika. There’s a case study on protecting women’s rights in the weeks to come. Hope you’ll find it useful for your work!
Hello, my name is Bradley Fortuin from Botswana. I work as the LGBTIQ+, Sex Work and Disabilities program officer with SALC. An injustice that I have witnessed and that still occurs is the refusal of African governments to register and acknowledge LGBTIQ+ organisations. Many times, organisations have to seek intervention from the courts for their fundamental rights to freedoms of association and assembly. The criminalisation of SOGIEESC groups deprives LGBTIQ+ people of protection from violence, and harassment, access to safe and friendly healthcare services and involvement in civic and national agendas.
Thank you for taking this course, Bradley. Indeed, freedom of peaceful assembly and association is still blatantly violated in many countries. It’s a prerequisite for the work we all do here.
Hello everyone, my name is Apatsa Mangwana Mhango and I work as a Projects and Paralegal Coordinator at the Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance (CHREAA). I am a member of the Legal Empowerment Network and work closely with Namati under a legal empowerment project here in Malawi. One of the injustices I have witnessed is the arbitrary arrests that take place in Malawi especially towards vulnerable groups i.e., sex workers, informal traders, children connected to the streets as well as the LGBTIQ+ community. This is the case because law enforces deem these people as outcasts and they do not accord them their rights as provided for in local and international human rights instruments.
Asia Wy from the Philippines. I work with Environmental Legal Assistance Center as a legal fellow. 25 years of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, and there is still very little jurisprudence on said law. Ambiguities persist as to its implementation, and a weak implementing government institution. In addition, there are still communities who do not know about this law and how it affects/benefits them. Industries on the other hand, can pay lawyers and individuals familiar with this law and use it to gain an upper hand in pursuing business interests over the rights of indigenous communities to their ancestral land and governing it, and their right to a healthy, clean and sustainable environment.
Hai everyone, nice to see and know you. I am A. Bagus Santoso from Indonesia, a human rights defender for indigenous people. In the course, I would like to share how injustice occur in Talang Mamak indigenous people who live in Riau Province, Indonesia. Talang Mamak loss the customary land because of palm oil plantation’s and coal mining’s licenses given to more than 10 companies. The dispute has been occurred since 2000.
Halo Aditia! Thank you for sharing the Talang Mamak case. There’s been a lot of stories about palm oil plantation in Indonesia – hope you find the lessons here useful for that particular type of work. Letting you know that Lesson 1 is now available for you to access! 🙂
Hello!
My name is Camila Gomide (she/her), I am 23 and I am the Programs and Outreach Officer at Red Dot Foundation Global in which I am responsible for tracking, and managing international accounts for the foundation. I am also the lead person for Global Workshops and programs for youth leaders.
Welcome, Camila! Thank you for taking this course. Lesson 1 is now available for you to access. Feel free to drop an email in case you have any questions – would be glad to help!
Hello, I am Ambassador Sylvestre Sidie Mohamed Kallon I work as Human Rights Expert for the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone a National Human Rights Institution that has the statutory mandate to protect and promote human rights in Sierra Leone
My experience about the law especially in my country is that citizens are not knowledgeable about it. Awareness and protection of the law are less visible and less effective in rural settings thus giving rise to injustices including discriminatory practices
While working for the Commission a ot of complaints of injustices are recorded such is property rights where lands are taken away from families arbitrarily by multi national companies in conniving with community and government authorities.
I have joined this course to equip myself with skills and new knowledge in legal empowerment
Thank you for taking this course, Sylvestre! We’re glad to have an NHRI representative. Looking forward to your contributions!
Hello everyone, My name is Kelechukwu Okezie. I work as the Executive Director of Neighbourhood Environment Watch Foundation. A non profit organisation in Nigeria. I see my self as an environmental and social justice activist. One experience about the law is the intimidation and forceful land grab of a mining Host community in Ameri Ikwo in Ebonyi state. When the youths protested against the mining company called First Patriots, they were arrested, tortured and sacked from their homes. The company boasts that the weight of their purse is heavier than the voice of the community members. No one has come to the assistance of the community till date.
Thank you for sharing this Kelechukwu. There are case studies related to land grabs in the lessons to come. We hope you find this useful for your work.
Greetings, my name is Tiffany I am a human rights advocate/policy officer, and I am hear to learn. in my country the government claims boldly to up hold and adhere to global human rights standards. Yet doesn’t have a mechanism to enforce or hear claims domestically.
Hello everyone, I am Dave Kanjiwa from Malawi, a Paralegal officer at the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) working closely with sex workers and other vulnerable people seeking justice. The injustices I have witnessed in my community are mass arrests of sex workers based on the nature of their work, extended pretrial detention of vulnerable people, and the conviction of vulnerable people mostly due to lack of legal representation.
Hello everyone this is Sadia Afrin Kona. I am from Bangladesh. I am working as a Labor Rights Fellow at BLAST under a Project called Empowering workers for Justice (EWJ). There are anomalies and inconsistency regarding the marriage and divorce related legal provisions in Bangladesh that debars Bangladesh from bringing equality. It concludes with the view that the said issues remained less addressed following the legislators lack of will on religious sensitivity. Hence Bangladesh has failed to incorporate equality enshrined in the international instruments as well as in the Constitution of Bangladesh.
Thank you for taking this course and for sharing this, Sadia! Lesson 1 is now available for you to access. Let us know if you have any questions/clarifications – we’ll be happy to help!
Hi Sadia. Its nice to have you on board. Looking forward to enriching engagements in the course
Hello my name is Musoni Mary. I work as a legal empowerment officer at the Legal Aid Forum, very happy to be part of this platform
Hola a todas y todos. Mi nombre es Sofía Barrera, de Chile. Soy abogada y trabajo en una ONG medio ambiental, donde nos dedicamos a la defensa jurídica, y al empoderamiento legal de diversas comunidades y territorios a lo largo del país que se ven enfrentadas a conflictos socioambientales. Como experiencia en Chile hay bastantes y diversas injusticias socioambientales, principalmente estas se deben a una falta de planificación territorial, que ponga en el centro a la protección de la naturaleza y la protección de la salud de las personas, ello ha derivado, a modo de ejemplo, entre varios conflictos en aquellas zonas denominadas como “zonas de sacrificio”, que son zonas o comunidades que han soportado durante años de manera injusta, cargas o daños ambientales, y que ha provocado una afectación a los ecosistemas y a la salud de las personas.
Hola, Sofia! Thank you for taking this course! Letting you know that this course is also available in Español. Please let us know if you have trouble accessing the site, we’ll be happy to guide you. Thank you!
Hello, My name is Deogratious Oburye from Uganda and I am working with Assure Uganda(AU) a youth but girl led organization. There are alot of injustices i have witnessed in my community where girls are not give right to share on(parents) family property that for them they have theirs at their husbands family. And also injustices against youth who participate in elections even though they win they are not announced as winners even when they go to court of law for justice, the judiciary rules in favour of the eleders.
HI there
My name is Brittany, I am employee wellness officer as i see to needs(social, legal, financial, health) of staff members and as well act as registered counselor for emotional and psychological needs.
The injustice I see is when people go through a legal matter and cannot affords private legal assistance but also earn to much to qualify for legal aid.
Hi Brittany, thank you for taking this course! Glad to have a wellness office join us. Letting you know that Lesson 1 is available for you to access. I hope you find the lessons useful!
Hello everyone, my name is Manishimwe Juvenal. I work as an Ag. Grants Officer of the Legal Aid Forum. a non-profit organisation in Rwanda. One of my experiences in law is assisting people in expropriation cases to get compensation when they have been expropriated by the government with general interest. I help to file the claim in time so that they can get unjustified compensation.
Thank you for taking this course, Juvenal! Letting you know that Lesson 1 is available for you to access. Looking forward to hearing from you soon!
Hello i am Amanda Phiri, a Lawyer practising in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. I do a lot of training to rural communities on the law and training of Traditional leader. One of the injustices I have noted during my training is how patriarchy is still being practiced and disadvantaging woman. Woman in rural areas have no right to land unless they are accessing it through their male counterparts, be it their fathers, brothers or husband. My work is to discuss women’s land rights with the gate keepers to ensure there is equality in land distribution.
Melusi Simelane here. I work with the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, SALC. I am the civic rights programme manager.
I am Dzveta Godfrey from Zimbabwe. I work with Tariro Foundation of Zimbabwe Trust which is an Organisation for Persons with Disabilities (OPD). My experience have reflected to me the lack of awareness of rights by persons with disabilities as enshrined in various legal frameworks that include the UNCRPD, the National Disability Policy, the Disabled Persons Act, the Constitution of Zimbabwe and other related legal frameworks they are bound to benefit from. Pursuit for legal Justice and equality of access to Justice to persons with disabilities is also an existing challenge. Cost of acquiring legal representation is also a mammoth task for our constituency of persons with disabilities.
Hello to everyone. I’m Keza Lys, and I work at the legal aid forum. The injustice in my community is directed towards people living with disabilities. The majority of people in the communities do not regard disabled people as human beings deserving of the same rights as everyone else. There are innumerable unreported sexual assault cases on people with disabilities, both mental and physical, and the number of incidents recorded remains relatively low. Reporting crimes against people with disabilities is not a priority for members of the community or their family members. This, in my opinion, is a terribly unjust fact.
Hello everyone,
My name is Bwambale Wisley from Uganda and I work with Centre for Citizens Conserving Environment and Management (CECIC) a non profitable Organization as a Just Energy Transition Officer. Uganda being a Developing country the majority of the citizens are below poverty line making them vulnerable to land grabing dwellers, processing a land tittle in Uganda costs over $556 which a poor person hardly get and what makes matters worse it is the requirement for the compensation process if it so happen that Government is to do its activity on your land and now due to East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project in Albertine Region many citizens have been displaced even without being compensated. Joining this forum I expect to gain knowledge on how to combine power of law with the power of people to ensure that all these forms of injustices are addressed in my Country.
Hi Bwambale. Its nice to have you on board. Looking forward to enriching engagements in the course
Hello. Am Wellingtone Kulula from Zambia. I am a vocational trainer for paralegals. My area of interest in tackling injustice has been political violence, where politicians abuse their power and privilege to mislead poor, unemployed youths into committing despicable acts of violence.
Hello. I am Hubert, from Malawi. I coordinate research, monitoring, and evaluation for Paralegal Advisory Service Institute (PASI). In Malawi, access to justice is a challenge due to the high levels of poverty, inequality, and illiteracy. With such a situation, many of those in conflict with the law have very little knowledge of the legal processes and human rights that would enhance their ability to effectively access justice. Legal empowerment is therefore of great importance to enhance access to justice in Malawi.
¡Hola a todxs!
Mi nombre es Andrea Tobar, soy salvadoreña, tengo 25 años, soy ademas licenciada en ciencias juridicas y soy coordinadora de proyectos en el Centro de Capacitacion y Promocion de la Democracia (CECADE), la cual es una organizacion no gubernamental.
En mi pais desde hace algunos meses estamos viviendo en un regimen de excepcion implementado por el gobierno en el cual se han detectado diversas irregularidades en todo el proceso de judicializacion de esos casos, la defensa tecnica de las personas detenidas y procesadas en este caso por delitos de agrupaciones ilicitas y en algunas ocasiones, muertes dentro de los centros penitenciarios o durante el desarrollo de procesos de detencion sobre las cuales no hay justificacion.
Hello Andrea. Thank you for taking this course. Letting you know that this course is also available in Español. You can click this link to access the course. Please let us know if you have any trouble accessing/navigating the site. Thank you!
Hello, I’m Noella from Rwanda, The injustice of my community is directed of high level of poverty, Inequality, many people doesn’t have enough knowledge about laws and human right.
Hello Team.
I am Cecilia Rutembesa, I work as a research officer at the Legal Aid Forum in Rwanda. I seek to empower people especially the poor and vulnerable, to fight against economic and social injustice in Rwanda.
Thank you for taking this course, Cecilia. A quick reminder that Lesson 1 is available for you to access. We hope you find the lessons useful!
Hi everyone! I’m Jaycen Aligway and I’m working as a Communications Officer for the Alternative Law Groups, a coalition of legal empowerment organizations in the Philippines. An injustice that’s very close to my heart is the struggle of people with diverse SOGIE in our country, where there is no law to protect us from discrimination and harassment.
Hi Jaycen! Great to connect with you here 🙂 Heads up lang na Lesson 2 is available – you can click this link to access the course. Hope you find the lessons useful!
Hello Everyone,
My name is Martin Morris O from Uganda, i work for a Community Based Organization defending the rights of local people to their lands. In Uganda, the Constitution recognizes land in four different ways but pays less attention to Customary land rights. Those in high ranking positions easily grab land from illiterate community occupying customary land and are threatened.
No amount of legal interventions can save such victims as the courts are equally corrupted or ordered by the Executive. n our case, the problem stem from both Nomadic pastoralists who seasonally cross to graze and government officers fencing or surveying off large chunks of community land.
I hope to learn more on how others have defended such community lands elsewhere in the World.
Hello everyone! I’m Redempta MAFUBO; I work as a Legal officer at Legal Aid Forum. I usually work with vulnerable people; I seek to empower them to know their rights. I am happy to be here and to learnt a lot
Welcome, Redempta! Excited to engage with you. Letting you know that Lessons 2 and 3 are now available for you to access here.
Hi, my focus is on the systemic discrimination we face, which leads to injustices.
Hello Durga, thank you for taking this course! Letting you know that Lessons 2 up to 4 are available for you to access 🙂 Hope you find the lessons useful!
I’m Piumi Madushani, an Attorney-at-Law in Sri Lanka. As the Legal Officer of Community Sector of Transparency International Sri Lanka, I provide legal assistance for victims and witnesses of corruption.
Hello everyone. My name is Leonie Mutoni, from Kigali, Rwanda. A common injustice in my country is expropriation in the public interest. Even though the legal framework is clear on paper, expropriating entities oftentimes do not follow procedures in place, to the detriment of landowners’ rights. Citizens are not aware of several provisions such as fair and timely compensation, right to counter valuation, etc and do not know how to assert their rights during expropriation procedures.
Hi Leonia, thank you for taking the course! I hope you’ll find the lessons useful. Just letting you know that the course course content will be available until the end of this month – let me know if you need any support over the next few days so you can finish the course! 🙂 We’ll have a final celebration via Zoom on 26 January (this Thursday). We’d be happy to have you join us in this link!
Hello Everyone, My Name is Achellam Emmanuel from Uganda. A lawyer by profession. I do research, advocacy and policy work in the field of Natural resources, Land and Environment. I have been in the field for 4 years and am happy to learn more about legal empowerment to further sharpen my advocacy knowledge and skills. Ultimately, I would love to use this knowledge to build the capacity of my local community.
Hi everyone, I’m Shera Pahm from Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. I work with Samdhana Institute as Project Coordinator and Capacity Development Officer. We support Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in areas of tenure rights assertion, agroecology, and defending the civic space. I’m quite new to the topic of legal empowerment and keen on learning from this course.
Maayong adlaw Shera! Salamat for taking the course! I hope you’ll find the lessons useful. Just letting you know that the course content will be available until the end of this month – let me know if you need any support over the next few days so you can finish the course! 🙂 We’ll have a final celebration via Zoom on 26 January (this Thursday). We’d be happy to have you join us, even if hindi pa natapos ang course. You can register for that meeting here. Hoping to see you!
Hello Everyone!
My name is Naing Htike Aung from Myanmar (Burma). I am a scholar as well as a political party member. The reason I study the legal empowerment is that I would like to know how I can help the people especially the grassroots by using the knowledge gain from this course. Injustice is everywhere especially in the country which is under the control of military.
Hello! My name is Ria Ellendula, and I’m a student from the United States. I would love to know how to employ the law to help others in unjust situations learn about their rights. One injustice in my community is the harmful pre-trial practice of cash bail in our criminal justice system. Essentially, this system allows people to avoid waiting in holding cells if they’re able to pay bail. The primary issue with this is that it favors those who are fortunate and have the money over those who don’t have the money, creating a harmful system of power imbalance and socioeconomic discrimination.
Hello Ria! Thank you for taking the course and for sharing an injustice in your community. Just letting you know that the course content will be available until the end of this month – let me know if you need any support over the next few days so you can finish the course! 🙂 We’ll have a final celebration via Zoom on 26 January (this Thursday). We’d be happy to have you join us in this link, even if you’re halfway through the course. You can register for that meeting in this link. Hoping to see you!
Hello! My name is Stanley Junior Uba. I’m a Professor and College Spokesperson currently serving as Dean, Faculty of Metaphysics and College of Humanities and Social Sciences at UCCSAT University.
I provide leadership-development opportunities to people in various spheres of life in the global community.
My vision is to enable people build the capacity and capability ultimately required to enhance leadership effectiveness in their respective field of endeavour.
I live in Johannesburg, South Africa and my goal for taking this course is to broaden my view on socials issues and injustices witnessed in my society. Issues such as sexual violence and Gender Based Violence is on the increase while a good number of cases reported to the local authority don’t get to see the light of the day. The criminal justice system is gradually failing the people and nothing seem to change at the moment. The wide gap in the criminal justice system and other social ills motivated me to enroll for this programme.
Hello Stanley! Pleased to have you join our course! I hope you’ll find the lessons useful. Just letting you know that the course content will be available until the end of this month – let me know if you need any support over the next few days so you can finish the course! 🙂 We’ll have a final celebration via Zoom on 26 January, 9AM ET (this Thursday). We’d be happy to have you join us in this link, even if you’re halfway through the course. You can register for that meeting in this link. Hoping to see you!
Hello all, I’m pleased to see your active engagement in our first discussion forum! Thank you for opening up and introducing yourselves!
I wanted to let you know that the course content will be accessible until the end of January 2023 – until then, please feel free to post, share, and finish the lessons. The LE101 team is on standby in case you have any questions/clarifications before closing the course.
We’ll have a final celebration of the course on 26 January, 9AM ET via Zoom. We’d be happy to have you join us to meet each other and share what we’ve learned from the course. Even if you haven’t finished, you are more than welcome to join this meeting! You can register in this link. There have been 20+ registrants so far, and we hope to have more of you join us on Thursday. Thank you, and see you (virtually) soon!
My name is Allan Basajjasubi and I am a lawyer working for an Environmental Human Rights NGO by the name of Natural Justice. Alot of our work is on assisting communities to stop projects which directly impact their environmental and human rights to a healthy and clean environment. We also use various strategies to equip communities to better understand the law and how it can be used to promote, protect and affirm their ways of life