Our Work Editor: Chinelo Onwualu | Graphics: Dudu Squad / Emé Designs | Report Design: Emé Designs foreword

Over the past few years, we have highlighted some of work covers eight of our ten focus countries. Over the great work our partners are engaged in throughout the past five years, we have worked to help restore the region through our annual flagship publication trust between citizens and governments by ensuring ‘Our Stories’. While amplifying partner’s voices will that CSOs and government institutions work to always be central to OSIWA’s mandate, this year, adopt Freedom of Information (FOI) laws and raise we are heading towards a slightly new direction citizens’ awareness of existing laws that lead to and presenting a publication called ‘Our Work’. This transparency and accountability in our region. publication will complement our previous publications We believe that Legal Empowerment is a tool to with an in-depth analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, enable marginalized and poor people to be agents challenges and opportunities we face with regards of their own development and to stimulate reforms. to programming in three main thematic areas. Though our work on legal empowerment has solely In 2017, as part of the Foundation’s internal focused on , we succeeded in identifying learning process, we undertook the 5-year review of a diverse range of partners working to address three thematic areas of work: Elections, Transparency the different facets of this thematic area of work, & Accountability and Legal Empowerment in which includes expanding access to justice services, West Africa. ‘Our Work’ seeks to share some of advocating for legal reform, improving paralegals and the key findings of this exercise with you. other legal empowerment actor’s skills and capabilities Since we began working on Elections, we have and enhancing coordination and communication. witnessed a wave of both optimism and skepticism While ‘Our Work’ will offer deeper insights into from citizens regarding elections and democratic OSIWA’s role in promoting open societies in West Africa, processes in West Africa. While challenges still lie we also hope that it will contribute to the ongoing public ahead, some notable gains include improvements in discourse on the state of the region with regards to electoral integrity and conduct, proactive electoral issues of governance, accountability and human rights. observations by civil society, increased citizen participation in the electoral process, institutionalized voter education initiatives, and significant post-election engagement between elected officials and citizens. Transparency and Accountability lie at the heart Ayisha Osori of OSIWA’s programmatic strategy. Not only does OSIWA Board Chair it cut across different thematic areas, this strand of elections context

We believe that elections in West Africa contribute to better leadership and democratic governance. However, after decades of broken promises and few economic improvements, many voters in the region were sceptical of elections and the democratic process. In recent times, a fresh wave of optimism and citizen activism approach & has been pushing for more responsive and assumptions responsible governance In the past, we focused on improving the management across the region. and quality of electoral and voting processes. We encouraged citizens’ active participation in elections Today, we are working towards a West Africa where through civic education, engaging with peace- regular, credible elections are the norm, where building issues and messages of anti-violence. We citizens are actively engaged in the electoral process, also placed a significant amount of resources into and where elected officials listen and respond to improving the quality of elections through the their people even after they have gained office. introduction of the Election Situation Room (ESR). In our current strategy, we are complementing these efforts by promoting issue-based campaigns and emphasising the ongoing relationship between voters and their governments even after the elections are over. We understand that meaningful elections and good governance are only possible when citizens can cast informed votes and continue to engage their elected officials throughout their time in office. areas of focus (2012 — 2017)

Improving Electoral Integrity and Conduct Our work to improve elections integrity came primarily in three forms: helping Election Management Bodies (EMBs) carry out their mandates to the highest global standards, establishing Election Situation Rooms (ESRs), and encouraging peaceful For instance, in 2014, we financed two projects with and quality electoral processes in specific countries. the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) For example, we supported 25 senior staff members in Côte d’Ivoire. The projects brought together 22 of the Commission Electorale Nationale Independente coalitions with about 800 member organizations from (CENI) in in receiving Building Resources in across the country to establish an election monitoring Democracy, Governance, and Elections (BRIDGE) platform called PEACE-CI. This, along with the creation certifications to conduct high-level trainings ahead of an ESR on the day of the 2015 presidential elections, of the 2014-2015 electoral cycle. For the first time in allowed for proactive electoral observations that led to Guinea’s history, there was a database of election more than 100 incidents and challenges being resolved. experts, and they have since been contracted to In 2015 in Guinea, we helped the Association des conduct trainings across the country and the region. Bloggeurs de Guinée (ABLOGUI) to provide a technical platform to collect and analyze data for the ESR run Our support for the creation of ESRs, by the CSO coalition, Regard Citoyen. ABLOGUI’s which are election observation systems aim was to set up a reliable web platform covering that allow civil society organisations Conakry and the 33 prefectures, so they trained more (CSOs) to use the latest technologies to than 450 e-observers and deployed them across the track electoral processes and respond in country. The e-observers collected data in such a real time, allowed us to contribute to the systematic way that their figures closely matched organization of credible and peaceful the ones announced by the electoral commission, presidential elections in several countries. giving much-needed legitimacy to the final results. Improving Voters’ Understanding of Election This is a good example of how the local credibility of Processes a religious organisation played a major role in peace- We have supported projects that encouraged citizens building, voter education, and interreligious coexistence to register to vote as well as educated people on the in a fractured environment. polling, counting, and result collation procedures in their countries. We found that to achieve our best results we Improving had to adapt our strategies to the language, location, and Participation in level of education of the people we were working with. Electoral Processes For instance, in Northern , The Catholic We also support initiatives Diocese of Sokoto used their Justice, Development, and that ensure voters make Peace Centre (JDPC) to convene town hall meetings informed decisions while across the state in the run-up to the 2015 elections. participating in the electoral Despite an environment of suspicion between Christians process. These include and Muslims, they were able to creatively articulate projects that made the the concerns of both groups, and get candidates political positions of parties and to commit to reforms when they were sworn in. their candidates accessible to The meetings opened up dialogue between residents, voters, platforms that allowed religious groups, and the government, resulting in a candidates to challenge one drastic reduction in campaign-related violence and another on key issues and an opportunity for women to voice their opinions. political promises, and programs that created environments As a result, many who had intended to for issue-based conversations flee due to fear of religious and ethnic between candidates and citizens. violence stayed to participate in the For example, with our support, The IMANI Centre elections. for Policy and Education in has been using a framework called the “IMANIFESTO” to assess the manifestos of key political parties in the country for the past seven years. In 2015, the centre’s survey included a comparative analysis of all the manifestos of the major political parties and an examination of the implementation of the over 540 promises made by the ruling National Democratic Congress in 2012. They shared the document with the public and candidates then had to defend their positions and performance. In another instance, the Institute of Economic For instance, in Nigeria, we helped the Affairs (IEA), Ghana, received funding from us to Centre for Democracy and Development promote a Presidential Debate among the leading (CDD) put together the Nigeria Political candidates in the city of Tamale in 2016. In the Parties Discussion Series (NPPDS) in 2015. months leading up to the Debates, campaign and The forum was a way for citizens to share media discussions focused more on personalities their opinions and directly question politicians and petty bickering. However, the Debates shifted about their policies. Each session of the series the dialogue and helped move discussions to was open to the public and was recorded and issues such as corruption and transparency. shared across several social media platforms. As a follow-up, the series analysed the manifestos Because a cross-section of the electorate of the two major political parties and developed was given the opportunity to directly the “Buharimeter”, an online and mobile technology pose questions to the candidates, who tool to track the commitment and implementation took turns to present well-thought of the incoming president’s campaign promises. out responses, Ghanaian citizens were able, for the first time, to get In this way, the NDDS was able to organized information on the policies substantially increase public knowledge of each candidate. and engagement with the government as well as move the country toward more Overall, the debates helped consolidate issue-based discussions during the 2015 democracy in Ghana. presidential elections. The Presimeter Our major vehicle for driving post-election Media Engagement in Elections communications between regional governments We worked on improving the quality of and their peoples was the “Presimeter”. These were election coverage from media houses tools such as the “Mackymeter” in and the across West Africa. “Buharimeter” in Nigeria that documented and monitored For example, we helped the Conseil campaign promises National pour la Communication (CNC) by elected officials. in Guinea renovate its media centre � It also organised providing multimedia equipment and fact checkers training technicians � to allow it to and trackers into record political leaders’ election campaign a network that speeches. Previously, these recordings were could easily share done at the State-owned Radio & Television information among Guinéenne (RTG) which opposition parties themselves. previously suspected of censorship. challenges

Voter Education The main challenge we faced when working to commissions were variables that affected the improve voter’s understanding of electoral processes electoral process but were not within our control. was limited resources. Many governments and In addition, the ECOWAS Network of Electoral political parties were unable to substantially invest Commissions (ECONEC), the main channel through in the issue and our support alone was often which our support to EMBs was provided, has faced not able to cover the full field of issues. Another some challenges in properly delivering on expectations. fundamental challenge was how to pass information to citizens in ways that commanded their interest Election Situation Rooms (ESRs) and attention in the era of the 24-hour news cycle. The ESRs’ main challenges were: the recruitment Other challenges included: and training of qualified election observers; • The inaccessibility of some areas due to getting the technical platforms up and running; political instability and security issues, as well improving the quality of the reports produced; and as a lack of accurate information on polling, developing information management systems to counting, and collation procedures. ensure the proper collation and analysis of data. • The lack of data, such as the numbers of invalid ballots, and the levels of participation of women Issue-based Elections youth and people with disabilities, to help frame Despite our successes in raising citizen awareness our voter education messages and ensure we and creating dialogue during the electoral campaigns, were meeting the needs of diverse groups. once the elections were over it was extremely • Ensuring that the government agencies responsible difficult to hold winners to the promises they for voter education took their duties seriously so made. Issue-based discussions often devolved into that our support could have more of an impact. personal and spurious attacks. Also, our focus on • The inability to properly monitor our investments, individual politicians rather than on their political which meant we were not always able to attribute parties allowed candidates to more easily withdraw the success of programs to our intervention. from debates, making such forums less impactful.

Election Management Bodies (EMBs) Media Engagement in Elections The institutional bureaucracies within many EMBs Challenges faced included selecting which national often limited what interventions we were able to media houses to collaborate with, limited engagement design and implement with them. More so, the with community radios, and an ad-hoc engagement availability of funds and the credibility of election with the West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR). lessons learned & ways forward

In the course of the lessons learned in this strategy for its implementation, but move away from cycle, we have concluded that we need to take the being directly involved in creating them. following actions to advance our elections engagement: • Develop a short guide, with a glossary, on • Support initiatives that help voters to see the grant-making around electoral cycles in West links between elections and the challenges Africa that describes activities which can in their daily lives. This will make elections be funded. The process of developing it will more meaningful and reduce voter apathy. force us to reflect on how to deepen our post- • Emphasize work that promotes the election work with innovative approaches. participation of youths, women, and persons Going forward, the selection of issues with disabilities in election processes. will come more from those at the bottom • Adopt a long-term approach to elections by starting to ensure that what is being discussed programming at least two years ahead, and ensuring is what is actually most important to the that we see elections as a process not an event. electoral population. • Emphasize our post-election work and ensure there are clear links between what we do In addition, we will continue to support ECONEC ahead of, during, and after elections. � despite its challenges � as it has been effective • Improve our support for the development of in helping EMBs across the sub region. guidelines, training modules, and phone applications We developed ESR toolkits to help organisations for more effective promise tracking and fact-checking start their own ESRs at a reduced cost and we will initiatives such as the various regional “Presimeters”. continue to support this measure. Finally, we will use • Continue to promote the ESR model across a multi-layered approach that combines TV, radio, the region by providing technical support and IT platforms to mobilize and educate voters. transparency & accountability context

The right of citizens to access government records and public information is an essential requirement for developing and maintaining an open and democratic society.

When properly utilized, this right has the potential to promote good governance, meaningful public participation by an informed citizenry, and to provide necessary safeguard against abuses, mismanagement and corruption by both public and private sectors actors. This right is also beneficial to governments themselves, as openness and transparency in their decision making processes can contribute in developing citizens’ trust in government’s actions and by so doing facilitate voluntary compliance with public policies. In spite of legal frameworks and constitutional aspirations of transparent governance in most West African countries and the growing acknowledgement of the right to access information as a facilitative tool in achieving this objective, practice has shown that governments seem unable or lack the political will to pass such laws that provide for maximum disclosure and give full legislative force to the right to information. Although there has been a lot of progress made in the region on access to information, more needs to be done to ensure that all countries in the region give their citizens the legal right to access information of public interest. Moreover, it remains important to ensure that citizens understand the importance of this right and how they can utilize it to change their lived experiences. approach & assumptions

We believe citizens have the right to access government records and public information. Not only is this essential for developing and maintaining a democratic society, it is also a ‘leverage right’ capable of delivering other rights such as access to health, education, and water. More importantly, this right can safeguard against abuses, mismanagement, and corruption because it helps create a more informed citizenry. For governments, being open and transparent can develop their citizens’ trust in them.

People who trust their governments will generally comply with their policies. areas of focus (2012 — 2017)

Over the past five years, we have supported Ghana efforts geared at ensuring the passage, The right to access information is already guaranteed adoption, and implementation of Freedom in the Constitution of Ghana. Our support allowed of Information (FOI) laws in the region. the Coalition on the Right to Information, a group of In 2013, the African Commission on Human and civil society organisations and human rights activists, People’s Rights (ACHPR), working together with the to raise public awareness on the importance of an Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), adopted a model FOI law and build public demand for its passage. The law on Access to Information (ATI) in Africa. It laid out issue of access to information was also a major part the best practices for FOI laws and created a progressive of the manifestos of many of the prominent political benchmark against which existing laws could be parties during the Ghanaian elections in 2016. measured. It also outlined the steps for the adoption Parliament failed to adopt the FOI bill during of such laws in places that did not yet have them. its October 2016 session but it has progressed significantly through the legislative pipeline. The incoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has promised to prioritize the passage of the bill into law in 2018.

Benin Many local CSOs lacked awareness on the importance of the right to information and this slowed down our advocacy efforts. However, the country has now submitted an FOI bill to its parliament. In addition, access for all citizens to public information is becoming part of the This, combined with our national debate and positive developments are expected. relentless advocacy in the years Nigeria prior, was successful in helping We worked to help judges in Nigeria improve their a number of countries in the adjudication procedures whenever they were faced with FOI disputes. Since then, we have observed region adopt FOI legislation at that more robust and progressive decisions around various levels. FOI cases are being handed down in the country. More recently, we have partnered with major In Liberia, our interventions have resulted in a creative, civil society organisations to support the drafting user-friendly, and visually appealing government and finalisation of an access to information bill under information portal for the Liberian public. Citizens the leadership of the Ministry of Good Governance in rural areas are now able to access information on and Child Protection. The draft bill has passed the how to pay taxes or register a vehicle, information government’s cabinet and is at the parliament for which could not be easily found either in public reading. We have also been working on how to offices or on government websites before. use the right to information, which is guaranteed in the country’s constitution, to tackle socio- economic issues such as access to property, and In Niger, we have been working with the Conseil small farmers’ participation in reform processes. Supérieur de la Communication since 2014 to advocate for the official gazette to publish the Sierra Leone implementing decree on the access to information Today, Sierra Leone is one of eight countries in the and public documents law, which was passed in region (the others being Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, 2011. This move would popularize the law and be Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo) to have an important avenue for raising awareness among adopted expansive right to information laws, and it the country’s citizens on the right to information. has been relatively successful in implementing them. In 2016, we collaborated with the Open Society Cote d’Ivoire Justice Initiative’s (OSJI) legal unit in Nigeria to provide Following the passage of an ATI law in 2012, we capacity-building training for the commissioners and supported the Actions pour la Protection des Droits professional staff of the country’s Right to Access de l’Homme (APDH) to help create the Coalition on Information Commission (RAIC). The workshop Access to Information. The coalition has been working enabled RAIC members to have a better understanding with the Commission d’Accès à l’Information d’Intérêt of Senegal’s 2013 Right to Access Information Act, Public et aux Documents Publics (CAIDP) to popularize and enhanced their ability to implement it. the law and train government, civil society, and media personnel on how to effectively engage with it. Significant progress is being made Senegal in other West In 2012, we funded the Forum Civil to promote a civic African movement around why it was important to have countries where an FOI law in the country. In collaboration with the a FOI bill has yet network of Parliamentarians Against Corruption, they to be drafted prepared and shared a draft law for the parliament and passed. and held trainings for local journalists and members of other coalitions on corruption and ATI principles. challenges Lack of Implementation A history of autocratic and unaccountable governments, as well as a perception of corruption and public budget mismanagement, has posed particular challenges to passing FOI laws in many West African countries. So while the region has some of the most progressive access to information laws on the continent, Take the case of the OccupyGhana movement: they are not always effectively implemented. Their legal complaint about the government’s Many governments and implementing agencies refusal to disclose relevant documents concerning in our region lack both the technical capacity and contracts for the branding of public transport the public information structures to properly fulfil buses led to a judgment delivered in 2016 by the this right. Many countries also have entrenched High Court affirming that Ghanaians had a right to cultures of secrecy in their public services making it unimpeded access to information of public interest. impossible to get even the most basic information. Litigation such as this could have helped us Finally, most ordinary citizens across the see what access to information apparatus existed region are not aware about how much such laws in countries without a specific FOI law so that we could potentially transform their daily lives. could get an idea of how we could implement one.

No matter how powerful an Lack of Demand FOI law is, if it is not used The problem is that these by the people it is useless. gains are fragile and can Lack of Testing easily be rolled back. Our focus was primarily on the passage of these Like with any other legislation, there is the constant laws; however, even in countries where there are no chance that they could be repealed, abandoned, or comprehensive FOI laws, sections of other laws or the discarded. Therefore, it is important that we think constitution still provide citizens the right to access about how governments can build cultures of openness information. In most cases, these provisions are not and proactive disclosure where access to information used to demand transparency because of a lack of public is not only protected by law but part of a regular awareness and a failure to think creatively around their democratic process. We must also encourage citizens use. Emphasis should also have been laid on testing to avoid apathy and passivity by filling information existing legislative provisions through litigation. requests and holding their governments to account. lessons learned & ways forward

Looking back, we should have ensured that we had • Supporting oversight mechanisms, such as FOI more people from various backgrounds working on commissions, to make sure that FOI gains are the passage of these laws to ensure their experiences not rolled back. reflected the lives of ordinary citizens in the focus • Where there are no countries. In this way, perhaps the adoption of FOI oversight mechanisms, laws would not have been seen as an end in itself but support CSOs to as a means to help citizens demand better healthcare, monitor the legislative education, and accountability in local governance. process for the Our new strategy now takes this into account same purpose. and couples it with support to public information • Taking a more bodies in order to help them operate better. long-term approach Moving into 2018-2020, we are considering: to grant-making • Supporting public agencies such as by including key Information Commissions to ensure that it government agencies is easier to access the local population. in our support. • We will ensure that the membership of the coalitions • Testing FOI we work with is more diverse, comprising, for laws through litigation in countries where example, health and education stakeholders that they have been passed in order to push for use FOI issues as an entry point in their work. better implementation and compliance. • Developing programming that balances access to • Testing the snippets of FOI provisions information laws and national security concerns. This in existing legislation in countries where could help in breaking cultures of secrecy and bring such laws have not yet been passed. about a change in the mindset of public servants. • Identifying the top issues for ordinary citizens • Engaging with the judiciary to improve their in the countries where FOI laws could be knowledge on FOI issues and ensure more effective deployed in order to link information issues implementation of such laws. It would also keep with the lived experience of people on the governments from attempting to roll back FOI gains. ground and show their transformative power. • Ensuring that efforts to access information also take into account the unique needs of people with disabilities and other marginalised constituencies. • Working with researchers and academics already tracking these issues to get recommendations that have not yet been considered.

legal empowerment context

For Sierra Leone, with its profoundly impoverished population, paucity of lawyers, and mix of formal and customary systems, applying the conventional legal model – which is designed for court practice – made little sense. Reforms therefore worked to sidestep the bottlenecks that plagued more top-down initiatives.

The result was that the country evolved one of the most innovative justice systems in Africa. The paralegals also tackled conflicts between the people and government officials, such as cases of corruption, abuse of authority, and failures of service delivery. They were supported and supervised by lawyers who would use litigation and high-level advocacy to resolve the more intractable cases. This method, known as the Timap model, has since been replicated by other local organizations who are now working with us to provide legal and paralegal services across the country. In 2012, the government passed the Legal Aid Act, a potent tool in advancing access to justice in the country. In 2003, a non-profit called Timap for Justice began training a number of community-based paralegals to The Act established the Legal Aid Board (LAB) address a wide range of problems through mediation, and formally defined the role of community- advocacy, education, and organizing. Straddling Sierra based paralegals, recognizing them as “providers Leone’s dual legal system, these paralegals worked of justice services”. The law also provided across the country helping to resolve breaches of for a public-private partnership approach rights such as domestic violence and land disputes. to providing legal aid in the country. approach & assumptions

Legal empowerment is at the core of what we stand for. When economically disadvantaged people and marginalised are able to use the law to advance their rights and their interests, they have more influence on their institutional and social policies which allows them to realise their other rights. Therefore, addressing the issue of legal empowerment for the economically disadvantaged and marginalised is both smart politics and good economics. Because it intersects with many other areas of focus including gender, disability, youth, poverty, and access to basic public services, using the law to challenge inequality and discrimination reflects both our values and those that are fundamental to all open societies. However, unlike other strands of our work, we are only funding legal empowerment projects in Sierra Leone. A lack of access to justice is believed to be one of the main factors that fuelled the country’s brutal civil war.

Although the fundamental injustice of poverty cannot be remedied by legal reforms alone, access to legal aid services and information is crucial to a fair and effective justice system, and to society as a whole. areas of focus (2016 — 2017)

Expanding Access to Justice Services provide legal representation and aid to indigent Through our support, there is persons in court. Our support has helped it refocus its approach more along the Timap model. Since a network of community-based then, they’ve opened offices in all districts across paralegals who provide justice the country, deploying a total of 35 paralegals. services across the country. Another partner we supported was the These paralegals have gained legitimacy in their Access to Justice Law Centre (AJLC). Through communities where they resolve hundreds of disputes community-based paralegals, the centre is through legal education, mediation, organizing, advocacy, providing legal services, operating mobile legal and conducting community meetings and dialogues. clinics, conducting community dialogue sessions For instance, we are supporting the Lady Ellen with justice officials, and even coordinating Women’s Aid Foundation to promote women sensitization campaigns on community radio. and girls’ access to legal education and justice in Waterloo, one of the most deprived and neglected Advocating for Legal Reforms communities in the country. They have trained and One positive outcome we have observed following our deployed six community-based paralegals to help settle intervention has been local authorities contributing to disputes and provide legal information and training. making sure justice services are effectively delivered. So far, some 1,086 people – mostly women – have For example, in Niawa, Lower Bambara, and Small visited the paralegals’ offices, 173 cases have been Bo, the paramount chiefs are reviewing their by-laws admitted, and 106 have been resolved and closed. to include punishment for people who commit acts of We are also working with the Legal Aid Board of sexual and gender-based violence within their chiefdoms. Sierra Leone (LAB) to coordinate and monitor the In other chiefdoms, women are taking provision of civil and criminal legal aid services across steps to register their customary the country. This partnership marriages with the local councils to is particularly important ensure the protection of their right to because they are the inherit their husbands’ properties in government agency the event of a divorce or separation. we expect will pick up our baton at the This is a direct result of the work done by end of this initiative. the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) who The LAB started hold weekly community dialogue sessions to in 2015 and its original educate community members on their rights. mandate was to Improving Practitioners’ Skills and opportunities for the LAB to present Capabilities its work to international forums. We are working to build systems that will improve All these efforts are the quality of paralegals in the country. Currently, contributing to the these legal practitioners come with varying levels sustainable delivery of of knowledge, skills, and training, which has led quality community-based to inconsistencies in the services they provide. justice services. With our help, the LAB will complete the development of a legal aid guide that will lay down principles for training and certifying paralegals. In Enhancing Coordination and addition to accrediting legal aid service providers, it Communication will establish the criteria for who qualifies for legal Our key implementing partner, Namati, is an institution aid. Because peer-to-peer training is vital to legal dedicated to building a global movement of dynamic, empowerment, we have worked to create mentoring creative grassroots advocates who give people the and coaching partnerships between the Legal Aid Board power to understand, use, and shape the law. of South Africa and the LAB. We have also provided Our collaboration with them has helped us implement an online database system for data collection and provide technical support to partner organizations. The system has already been deployed, but once fully operational it will generate reports which can be easily translated by government institutions to inform policy and influence programming. We also work closely with the Justice Sector Coordination Office (JSCO), which was set up by the government of Sierra Leone in 2007 to coordinate the implementation of the Government of Sierra Leone’s strategic priorities for reform in the justice sector. We are working with JSCO to ensure that those who work on community justice issues are constantly engaged and collaborating with each other to amplify their impact. challenges Customs and Traditions Harmonization of Training Patriarchal customs and traditions which discriminate Partners unanimously agree that there is a need for against women and girls still pose a challenge to the standard training modules and courses for paralegals. implementation of projects in many rural communities. None of the training modules developed over the Women continue to be deprived of the right to inherit years have been harmonized or integrated into the property, despite the existence of laws that prohibit the curriculums of universities and tertiary institutions, nor practice, and the early marriage of girls is still prevalent. have any institutions been accredited to deliver trainings.

Meeting the Demand Sustainability of Interventions Communities have been requesting the services of The main challenge we are faced with is sustaining paralegals as many chiefdoms are yet to be included in our interventions after our funding cycle ends. Sierra our efforts. Although this reinforces the importance of Leone is a low income country and considering that the support that paralegals provide to their communities, the government has other priorities, ensuring its it also highlights the limited funding available for the commitment to supporting legal aid service remains a scale-up of these legal services across the country. challenge. This is why we are working directly with the LAB and the JSCO who have guaranteed government funding and are most likely to continue some of our interventions beyond the shared framework timeframe. Because of the ongoing need for on-the-ground lessons learned & ways forward legal assistance across the country, local partners have felt that direct service provision should have been more of a priority. We are also learning that nationwide community-based justice services are very expensive to run. Only a joint effort between the government, the LAB, CSOs, communities, development partners, and the private sector By 2020, the foundation hopes to make sure that: will ensure their long-term sustainability. • Community-based justice services are When working in communities we learned that readily accessible and provided to all it is important to conduct targeted trainings for the economically disadvantaged and key stakeholders such as head queens and religious marginalized groups in the country. leaders to bring them on board from the onset. This • Individuals and communities are helps to ease conflict and build rapport, making empowered and engaged in any decision- work much easier. Finally, paralegals recruited from making process that affects them. within their target communities find it easier to • Legal aid service providers are working adapt to the terrain and are less likely to quit. together to provide community-based justice services, through government funding, in at least 50 of the 190 chiefdoms, as well as all 14 political districts, and the Western Area. • Paralegals’ tools, including manuals, are harmonized and that accreditation criteria are developed for legal aid service providers. • Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as Citizens Advisory Bureaus and community mediators are being developed and implemented across the country. • Services provided are of good quality and are meeting the justice needs of communities and individuals. • Other donors, the private sector, and the communities themselves are contributing to providing and sustaining legal aid services. SENEGAL Stèle Mermoz, Rue El Hadj Ibrahima Niasse MZ 83 X MZ 100, B.P. 008 Dakar-Fann, Senegal Phone: +221 33 869 10 24 Fax: +221 33 824 09 42 Email: [email protected]

SIERRA LEONE 31 Murray Town Road Murray Town - Freetown Freetown, Sierra Leone Phone : +232 22 234 257 Email : [email protected]

NIGERIA 32/Plot 1266, Amazon Street Off Alvan Ikoku Way Ministers Hill, Maitama-Abuja, Nigeria Phone : +234 0809 657 6016 / 0813 257 0797 Email: [email protected]

LIBERIA Corner of 15th Street and Coleman Avenue, Sinkor Monrovia, Liberia Phone: +231 880 680108 Email: [email protected]

GUINEA Immeuble AA, Cité Donka, Bloc des professeurs Commune de Dixinn, Conakry, Guinee Phone : +224 628616178 Email: [email protected]