Human Rights
Exclusive interview with Avocats Sans Frontieres
20th August - Many lawyers who want to do their bit for charity are taking an interest in 'ASF' who work slavishly to help the most vulnerable around the world, with independent and impartial access to justice, We are grateful for this extensive and thought provoking interview...
What is your main mission statement?
Avocat Sans Frontières (ASF) is an international NGO. Its mission is to independently contribute to the creation of fair and equitable societies in which the law serves society’s most vulnerable groups. Its principle aim is to contribute to the establishment of institutions and mechanisms allowing for independent and impartial access to justice, capable of assuring legal security and able to guarantee the protection and effectiveness of fundamental rights (civil and political, economic and social).
How do you choose campaigns?
The idea of Avocats Sans Frontières was launched in 1992 by a group of Belgian lawyers who wanted to help defend those whose rights were not being respected because their cases were considered too ‘sensitive’. Intervention consisted of heading overseas for several weeks at a time to support or intervene in sensitive or emblematic trials.
In 1994, the massacres of the Rwandan genocide shook the world and ASF decided to take action. Between 1995 and 1998, training courses were organised in Arusha, Tanzania, to train lawyers for appearances before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. After the genocide, ASF's first overseas office was opened in Rwanda. Dozens of lawyers took turns defending the accused and representing the victims in Rwandan courts. In the course of carrying out such a large scale project, ASF evolved into an international organisation and opened new offices in various fragile or developing States in the Great Lakes region: Burundi (1999), the Democratic Republic of Congo (2002), and Uganda (2007).
Our activities in this region fall into three categories:
* Provision of legal aid services
* Capacity building
* Advocacy
Through ASF’s International Legal Network (ILN), launched in 2010, we are also active in other parts of the world. The ILN today brings together dozens of lawyers from all over the world who are committed to making the law the driving force of sustainable change on behalf of the most vulnerable by supporting ASF’s international programmes and its missions in the field.
The ILN welcomes young or more experienced lawyers with one or several fields of legal expertise, thematic or contextual, who are available to act in the field or from their local bar association. Since the creation of the network in January 2010, ASF has launched different appeals to its members:
* March 2010: legal observation of the trial Rachel Corrie v. State of Israel
* April and June 2010, Bujumbura and Kampala: practical training seminars for local lawyers (prevention of the practice of torture)
* Since May 2010: technical and critical support to ASF’s programme against child-trafficking in Uganda
* June-July 2010: legal observation of the trial of lawyer Ms P. Imrana Jalal (Fiji)
Médecins Sans Frontières likes to witness the cruelty it sees - are you similar in that regard?
If the question is: “do we work in the field?” the answer is “yes”.
ASF has gained real experience as a direct result of its presence and its work in the field in various fragile or developing States and from the implementation of numerous legal aid programmes by the ASF missions located in these States. The added value of such experience is evident when compared to other actors in similar areas of activity.
ASF designs and implements mechanisms of legal aid for vulnerable people in fragile contexts, in a pioneering and innovative fashion. ASF takes on cases that appear too sensitive to touch (the genocide in Rwanda, international crimes in the DRC) and initiates projects that seem excessively daring at first glance (mobile courts in the DRC). ASF carries out its activities in partnership with local entities – NGOs and civil society groups, lawyers, bar associations, local institutions and authorities, and international NGOs and other institutions – to ensure local buy-in of our activities.
As of 31 December 2009, ASF employed 178 individuals of a dozen nationalities, including 140 people recruited locally by ASF missions in the field, 12 expatriate staff in the missions, and 16 at headquarters.
What are the future aims?
In 2010, we will be opening a new office in Nepal, where we have decided to develop a programme with the specific objective to position Nepalese lawyers and local bar associations as key players in strengthening the justice sector and increasing access to justice for those at risk. The programme will focus on three themes: minors in conflict with the law; torture; and the ratification process of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
We will also start a worldwide programme for the promotion of the Rome Statute System and to enhance the effectiveness of the International Criminal Court, as well as a project to fight against child trafficking in Uganda.
And we also plan to further develop our International Legal Network so that we can broaden the scope of our intervention in the field of justice.
What can a normal UK lawyer do to help?
Thanks to the ILN, lawyers from all over the world can operate side by side with the permanent ASF teams and national partner lawyer teams, on a voluntary or pro bono basis, most often in defence teams, and be asked to
* provide a legal response in the form of a consultation to a given situation
* intervene judicially for a vulnerable person or a cause
* reinforce the capacities of colleagues who are not as well-equipped
* support the analysis and defence of the ASF and its missions
* defend lawyers, engaged in human rights, who are in danger for reasons connected to their business
Contact: iln@asf.be
How many members do you have?
The ILN consists of nearly 120 members and about 110 supporting members.
What would you say was your greatest success?
When justice is served, it is always a cause for celebration! 99% of the cases treated by ASF concern commonplace cases like land issues, etc. The emblematic cases i.e child soldiers, child witches, etc. are in fact quite rare. But what we are looking for at ASF is to have a positive impact on the everyday life of those living in fragile and post-conflict States. So, with that in mind the resolution of these “commonplace” cases is for us our true victory.
Contact
Avocats Sans Frontières
Rue de Namur 72
1000 Brussels - Belgium www.asf.be info@asf.be
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