International Bridges To Justice

IN RECOGNITION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, INTERNATINAL BRIDGES TO JUSTICE (IBJ) IS DEDICATED TO PROTECTING THE BASIC LEGAL RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. SPECIFICALLY, IBJ WORKS TO GUARANTEE ALL CITIZENS THE RIGHT TO COMPETENT LEGAL REPRESENTATION THE RIGHT TO BE PROTECTED FROM CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT, AND THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL.

MYANMAR - DESPITE THE SECURITY THREATS THAT LAWYERS FACE DUE TO THE MILITARY COUP, IBJ MYANMAR HAS CONTINUED TO RESPOND TO THE JUSTICE NEEDS OF THE COUNTRY. THE IBJ JUSTICE CENTERS HAVE EARNED A STRONG REPUTATION AS FORMIDABLE LEGAL SERVICE PROVIDERS, GIVING DIRECT LEGAL REPRESENTATION TO POOR AND VULNERABLE DEFENDANTS. IN 2021, IBJ'S JUSTICE CENTERS REPRESENTED 1,437 ACCUSED. A PORTION OF THESE CASES WERE DIRECTLY REFERRED TO IBJ FROM JUDGES, POLICE OFFICERS, COURT CLERKS OR PRISON OFFICIALS, DEMONSTRATING THE MUTUAL TRUST BETWEEN JUSTICE STAKEHOLDERS AND IBJ.TO EXPAND THE REACH OF IBJ'S LEGAL ADVICE, IBJ MYANMAR LAUNCHED LEGAL HELPLINES AT EACH OF THE FIVE JUSTICE CENTERS IN 2021. OVER 240 LEGAL CONSULTATIONS HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED IN THE LAST QUARTER OF 2021 ALONE. THE JUSTICE CENTERS ALSO ORGANIZED 'KNOW YOUR RIGHTS' CAMPAIGNS, REACHING MORE THAN 4,000 INDIVIDUALS. THE PROGRAM HAS CONTINUED TO BUILD THE CAPACITY OF THE LAWYERS IN THE COUNTRY, TRAINING MORE THAN 700 LAWYERS IN 2021. TO ADDRESS THE SECURITY THREATS LAWYER FACE AND DISCUSS STRATEGIES IN POLITICAL CASES, IBJ HELD A CLASSIFIED ROUNDTABLE WITH OVER 30 LAWYERS.

CHINA - BY EMBRACING THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PANDEMIC, IBJ'S CHINA PROGRAM HAS CONTINUED TO EDUCATE CHINESE DEFENSE LAWYERS WITH THE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE TO PURSUE A RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH AND ADVANCE THE COUNTRY'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.AS IBJ CHINA EXPANDED ITS ONLINE TRAINING MATERIALS, LAWYERS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY WERE ABLE TO IMPROVE THEIR LEGAL SKILLS THROUGH THE PROGRAM'S ELEARNING WEBSITE, IN 2021, IBJ GREW OUR LIBRARY OF ELEARNING MODULES TO OVER 100 MODULES COVERING TOPICS RANGING FROM BASIS ADVOCACY SKILLS TO MORE COMPLEX TOPICS SUCH AS UNDERSTANDING FORENSIC EVIDENCE TO NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN TRIAL PROCEDURES. WE ALSO UPDATED OUR DEFENDER TOOLKIT AND JUVENILE JUSTICE TOOKLIT, PROVIDING LAWYERS WITH CHECKLISTS AND TEMPLATES TO USE IN THEIR ADVOCACY WORK. THESE RESOURCES WERE ACCESSED OVER 38,000 TIMES. IN ADITION, WE REACHED OVER 75,000 INDIVIDUALS THROUGH OUR "INSPIRING THROUGH SUCCESS" STORYTELLING PROJECT, THE GOAL OF WHICH IS TO INSPIRE LEGAL PROFESSIONALS AS WELL AS RAISE AWARENESS AMONG THE WIDER POPULATION ABOUT THE NEED FOR BETTER PROCEDURAL PROTECTIONS FOR DEFENDANTS. OUR PROJECT CREATED A WEBSITE THROUGH WHICH WE SHARED IN ILLUSTRATED FORMAT 20 SUCCESS STORIES GATHERED FROM CHINESE CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS.

INDONONESIA - IBJ LAUNCHED OUR INDONESIA PROGRAM 'ADVANCING JUSTICE FOR WOMEN IN INDONESIA INITIATIVE' IN 2020 TO ADDRESS THE DIFFICULTIES WOMEN ENCOUNTER IN THE COUNTRY. WOMEN LAWYERS FACE THREATS, INTIMIDATION AND ARREST BECAUSE OF THEIR WORK AND DETAINED WOMEN ARE SUBJECTED TO VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT. SINCE THE START OF THE PROGRAM, IBJ HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A STRONG JUSTICE ACTOR IN THE COUNTRY, WORKING TOGETHER WITH FIVE LOCAL INDONESIAN ORGANIZATIONS TO CREATE A FAIR SOCIETY FOR WOMEN. IN 2021, 811 WOMEN HAVE BEEN GIVEN FREE LEGAL REPRESENTATION AND ALSMOST 30,000 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN REACHED THROUGH LEGAL RIGHTS AWARENESSS CAMPAIGNS. IBJ INDONESIA HAS ALSO HELD 10 JUSTICE ROUNDTABLES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ENGAGING JUSTICE STAKEHOLDERS IN DISCUSSIONS AROUND LEGISLATIVE CHANGES NEEDED TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR WOMEN. IBJ HAS FURTHER SOLIDIFIED ITS PRESENCE IN THE COUNTRY BY DEVELOPING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH DETENTION FACILITIES, FACILITATING THE LAWYER'S ACCESS TO CLIENTS.

OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES - IBJ HAS A PROGRAM CALLED JUSTICE MAKERS THAT CONDUCTS ONLINE COMPETITIONS TO SUPPORT GRASSROOTS LEGAL RIGHTS PROJECTS WORLDWIDE. IN SEVEN COMPETITIONS FROM 2008 THROUGH 2021, IBJ HAS SELECED 94 JUSTICEMAKERS FELLOWS FROM OVER 52 COUNTRIES. IBJ HAS TWO INTER-RELATED ONLINE LEGAL EDUCATION SERVICES THAT ARE ACCESSED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. THESE SERVICES HAVE ENABLED THE DISTRIBUTION OF LEGAL KNOWLEDGE AND RESOURCES TO OVERCOME PHYSICAL BARRIERS. FINALLY, IBJ HAS STARTED A NEW INITIATIVE CALLED THE YOUTH JUSTICE CHAMPIONS. THESE JUSTICE CHAMPIONS SEEK TO IMPROVE THEIR LEGAL SYSTEM IN DIFFERENT WAYS, INCLUDING RIGHTS AWARENESS AND CONDUCTING ROUNDTABLES WITH AUTHORITIES. WE HAVE 28 CHAMPIONS AWARDED FROM 10 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. WE ARE ALSO CONDUCTING A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE ORGANIZATION TOWARDS A COMMUNITY PLATFORM CALLED JUSTICEHUB.