Link: The BHRC Africa Legal Resources Project

Over the years the Committee has continued to develop and manage legal capacity building projects independently and with partners throughout Africa. Our primary aim continues to be strengthening and supporting the legal professions and judiciary to enable the development of a regional response drawing from sources of comparative and international law and practice from the wider Commonwealth.

In 2005, our joint project with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) on "Legal Tools for Commonwealth Africa: Application of the Death Penalty in Commonwealth Africa" culminated in the production of a Human Rights Manual and Sourcebook for Africa and CD-Rom. The Manual and CD-Rom have thus far been distributed in Botswana, Ghana, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Should you require further information on the Human Rights Manual please contact bhrc@compuserve.com.

Read about Sir Bob Geldof's 2004 St. Paul's Lecture "Why Africa?"

Botswana

Legal aid and access to justice

With the support of the British Council and the financial support of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), in the year 2000 BHRC carried out a Legal Resources project in Botswana, Malawi and Uganda. BHRC believes that providing access to comparative jurisprudence, including human rights; enhancing training opportunities for law students, the legal profession and the judiciary and utilising new technology to provide economic and efficient solutions to resource problems, will contribute to the strengthening of legal and jurisprudential frameworks which ultimately represent a cornerstone for the protection of basic rights and freedoms in any society.

Read the Report

Cameroon

Library Resources Project

In June 2004, BHRC developed a joint project with the British Council and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) which involved the establishment of three law libraries comprising over 10,000 books and 75 computers, training in research methods and international human right and humanitarian law.

BHRC set up the libraries and delivered training on the use of digital texts and the internet for research to over 50 lawyers and students. The various resources installed on the computers include: Crime Desktop, All England Law Reports, Civil Court Practice and Human Rights Digest. After the training in Yaoundé we set up the other main library at the offices of the British Council in Bamenda, where we delivered the same training to 30 lawyers. One of the most useful aspects of this part of the project is the extraordinary number of books and computers that we have been able to deliver to Cameroon.

In addition to libraries in Yaoundé, Bamenda and Douala, we were also able to set up smaller resource centres with books and computers in the Ministry of Justice, the National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms, ENAM (the school for magistrates) and the National Police Training School, as well as to offer texts and computers to individual lawyers and NGOs for their offices.

International Human Rights Training

We delivered training in international human rights and humanitarian law in Yaoundé in March, in partnership with LRWC who provided francophone experts to discuss issues surrounding the rule of law in a bilingual country. Representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Police School, National Security, National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms, Penitentiary Administration, the Bar Association and various NGOs attended the training.

Training materials: Documents | Powerpoint Presentations

Advocacy Training

A three day Advocacy Development Course was run in June 2005 in Bamenda, in the heart of the two Anglophone provinces. The purpose of the course was to support advocacy development within the Cameroon Bar by providing a structured introduction to key elements of advocacy and to methods of improvement that have proved successful in other jurisdictions.

Equatorial Guinea

In August 2004, a BHRC representative observed the trial of the alleged mercenaries as part of an Amnesty International delegation. The trial took place in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea and concerned the cases of eleven foreign nationals, five South Africans and six Armenians accused of being "mercenaries", and nine Equatorial Guineans tried in absentia. They were sentenced to lengthy prison terms ranging from 14 to 65 years after being convicted of attempting to overthrow the government of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in March 2004. Two other Equatorial Guineans received sentences of 16 months.

Read Amnesty International's Report

Kenya

The Committee carried out one of its first visits to Kenya in 1993 in the aftermath of the 1992 elections. At the time attacks on opposition politicians and on journalists, use of excessive force by police in the control of demonstrations, and the enforcement of repressive legislation were serious concerns. Against the backdrop of these events BHRC conducted a visit focusing on: independence of the judiciary; independence of the Bar and detention without trial.

Read the Report

In 2005, BHRC led a judicial Colloquium with BIICL in Lake Naivasha in April as part of the Legal Tools for Commonwealth Africa Project. Eighteen judges attended the training, including the Chief Justice of Lesotho. The judicial colloquium led to sharing experiences and perspectives and developing possible avenues for incorporating international law into domestic courts.

Malawi

In September 1992, at the invitation of the Malawi Law Society, the Committee visited Malawi. The delegation which comprised practising lawyers nominated by the Scottish Faculty of Advocates, the Law Society of England and Wales and the General Council of the Bar visited Malawi at a time when Malawi was under international pressure to improve its human rights record and made recommendations to that effect.

In August 2002, an advocacy skills training course was held for members of the Malawian legal profession by the British Council in association with the Bar Council of England and Wales and the Barristers’ Overseas Advocacy Committee.

The BHRC has also workd to implement the Library Resources for Lawyers project in Malawi.

Public Interest Casework Support Project (PICS)

The BHRC is working in partnership with Malawi Law Society, Malawi Human Rights Commission, Legal Aid Department, Paralegal Advisory Service, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, Center for Human Rights Education and Development, Centre for the Development of the People, Secular Humanism and lawyers in independent practice on areas of human rights law and public interest cases. In January 2011, a BHRC representative met with local project partners to identify areas of priority and discuss the BHRC Public Interest Casework Support Project (PICS) which provides pro bono casework support for local lawyers. Through the PICS, UK-based barristers provide advice, assists with submissions and undertake research on cases under consideration or being litigated by our project coordinators in Malawi.

If you are a practitioner in Malawi and want to refer a case to the BHRC for assistance, please complete the case request form and email it to bhrc@compuserve.com.If you have questions about PICS, read our FAQs or email us.

We are grateful to the Scurrah Wainwright Trust for their generous support of the PICS (Malawi).

Human rights monitoring

Nigeria

In 1995, BHRC together with the Law Society of England and Wales and the support of Article 19 and the International Centre Against Censorship carried out the trial observation of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other members of the Ogoni community in Nigeria. The report provided an independent analysis of the proceedings, including the composition and conduct of the tribunal, the nature of the charges and evidence against the accused, and the legal basis of the case in light of Nigeria's Constitutional and international obligations.

Following a delegation and a series of trainings in August 2010, the BHRC continues to work in partnership with Stepping Stones Nigeria and other organisations on issues relating to vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the Niger Delta, including so-called child ‘witches’ and ‘wizards’. In particular, the BHRC facilitates training and casework support for lawyers in Nigeria on the practical requirements of the Child Rights Law of Akwa Ibom 2008 evidentiary standards and means of gathering such information.

In partnership with Stepping Stones Nigeria, a legal intern will be placed in Cross River state for one year from September 2011. The intern will support existing projects to more effectively document, monitor and follow-up cases of abuse and to use this data to ensure that perpetrators are successfully prosecuted. The intern will also assist existing project partners to provide financial and other assistance to the victims of abuse and their families. In addition, the intern will conduct advocacy and awareness-raising work with police and judiciary and with other government and civil society agencies as appropriate concerning the provisions of the Child Rights Act (CRA) and how such bodies can successfully implement this to achieve prosecutions of offenders, specifically regarding “child witch” stigmatisation and related crimes.

Between June 2011 and May 2012, the BHRC is working in partnership with UNICEF Nigeria to build the capacity of the Child Protection Network on child rights monitoring and documentation.

Sierra Leone

The Bar Human Rights Committee jointly with Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada in an effort to re-build Sierra Leone's legal research infrastructure provided high quality text books, practitioners' materials, law reports and electronic resources to two law libraries in Freetown, Sierra Leone: the High Court library and the Special Court library.

The High Court is the site of civil and ordinary criminal trials in Sierra Leone. The Special Court was created under a United Nations Security Council mandate, at the request of and by agreement with, the government of Sierra Leone to try cases involving crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law. The law library of the Special Court-like its buildings, registry, and other infrastructure will devolve to Sierra Leone's Ministry of Justice at the end of the Court's mandate. Members of the legal profession and advocates/researchers from non-governmental organizations currently have, and will continue to have, access to the collections.

BHRC has continued its support to Sierra Leone's Special Court by posting a member of the Executive Committee for six months working as the defence advisor for the court and other members of BHRC have been involved as representing defendants.

Read more in the Report.

Sudan

In 2002, a round table was held on legal aid was held bringing together legal aid providers from different disciplines.

In 2003, BHRC successfully carried out the library resources and commercial law training initiatives. The project provided computer resources and books to judges, lawyers, the university and the police in Khartoum.

Report on Sudan (library resources project)

In 2005, BHRC together with with the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) sought the collaboration of Sudanese lawyers to initiate dialogue and develop legal capacity building projects focusing on rule of law and human rights issues.

In 2005, BHRC conducted a legal training workshop in partnership with SOAT, the Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and Environmental Development (KCHRED), the Redress Trust and independent experts. The workshop covered substantive law, procedure, advocacy skills and the practicalities and procedures of submitting cases to the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights. It also included analyses of the African Union and Special Procedures associated with the African Commission and the African Union. The training resulted in 4 cases being submitted to the African Commission during the November-December session, 2 of which were granted immediate admissibility.

Over 85 people attended the workshop, including representatives from local civil society groups, academics, legal experts, lawyers and journalists. Representatives from the Advisory Council for Human Rights, Ministry of the Interior, the British Embassy in Khartoum and the European Commission also attended. The workshop promoted discussion and understanding of the remedies available to Sudanese lawyers working on human rights issues through domestic, regional and international avenues.

Participants made the following recommendations:

• For the Government of Sudan to ratify all international human rights instruments not yet ratified and to incorporate those standards into domestic legislation
• For the Government of Sudan to implement the Interim Constitution, and particularly Article 27, which calls for the incorporation into domestic law all international instruments that Sudan has ratified
• For the Government of Sudan to implement all decisions concerning Sudan that have been passed by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
• For civil society to form special committees to monitor and lobby for the implementation of those decisions and others issued by regional and international human rights bodies

Following the African Mechanisms training, BHRC held intensive meetings with lawyers in Khartoum and Nyala, South Darfur, to identify ways in which we can continue to provide support and practical assistance to the Sudanese legal profession. The main aims and objectives of the visit were to:

• Assist in developing a successful litigation strategy
• Explore the challenges the lawyers face in bringing cases against members of the National Security Forces, Military, Police and other authorities, particularly with respect to the numerous immunity laws, decrees and acts
• Analyse the conditions under which the lawyers operate, particularly within the Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps
• Discuss regional and international mechanisms accessible for Sudanese lawyers including the African Commission, the African Union and UN /AU Special Procedures
• Create a dialogue between legal experts, academics, and activists between the UK and Sudan in order to identify areas for projects, co-operation and exchanges including the provision of resources
• To consider with our partners and funders what scope might exist for education, training and resource provision in relation to human rights issues in Sudan

We have developed a number of initiatives as a result of the visit which will be explored in 2006, including legal exchange visits and challenges to the constitutionality of the immunity laws.

The BHRC is currently involved in an initiative to organise a meeting and workshop involving the new Sudanese Constitutional Court and prominent judges from Supreme or Constitutional Courts in other jurisdictions. The aim is to promote engagement between the new court and the wider legal community, hopefully for the mutual benefit of both.

Tanzania

As for all the library projects, BHRC believes that these projects contribute towards the availability of an effective legal profession and infrastructure. This is utimately a crucial development issue as well as a pre-condition for civil liberties and human rights. Hence in 1999 we delivered a large quantity of books and carried out a training in computer literacy geared towards an effective and efficient use of electronic legal resources and software.

Read more in the Report.

Tunisia

Between December 2000 and January 2001, BHRC jointly with Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, KHRP, FIDH, OMCT, Union Internationale des Avocats took part in the trial observations of Dr Moncef Marzouki charged with "Spreading false information liable to disturb public order and maintaining an unauthorised association; the Tunisian practising lawyer Maître Nejib Hosni charged with "non-compliance with a judicial decision" and four members of the League Tunisienne des Droits de l’Homme (‘LTDH’). The report describes the background, the progress and the results of these trials.

Read more in the Report.

In 2003 BHRC issued a Statement from Trial Observation of Om Zied in Tunisia (17/11/03 - 19/11/03).

Uganda

In the year 2000, BHRC carried out a Legal Resources project in Botswana, Malawi and Uganda. BHRC believes that providing access to comparative jurisprudence, including human rights; enhancing training opportunities for law students, the legal profession and the judiciary and utilising new technology to provide economic and efficient solutions to resource problems, will contribute to the strengthening of legal and jurisprudential frameworks which ultimately represent a cornerstone for the protection of basic rights and freedoms in any society.

Read more in the Report.

BHRC was contacted late in 2005 by the Ugandan Law Society with respect to the impact of recent events on the independence of the Judiciary and the rule of law. We are exploring ways in which we can provide technical assistance and advice by way of trial observations, monitoring and advising on Constitutional Petitions due to be filed in 2006.

Zambia

Building on our previous experience, in 2001 we delivered another successful Library Project. 14 computer workstations each fully equipped with a library of core texts were installed and two exhibitions were presented in Lusaka and the Copper Belt which were attended by a large number of lawyers, judges and human rights workers. A training session was also carried out on the use of digital legal texts and the use of the internet for legal research.

Zimbabwe

BHRC has continued to raise the issue of maintenance of the rule of law in Zimbabwe, often acting in conjunction with the Bar Council. The Committee took a prominent role in objecting to the confiscation of passports of activists by the Zimbabwean government.

In September 2006, BHRC organised a Trial Observation in Harare for the prosecution of Arnold Tsunga for alleged broadcasting offences. This trial observation was aborted at the eleventh hour after very late adjournment sought by the prosecution.

In November 2006, Alex Glassbrook, the BHRC Section Head, accompanied Stephen Hockman QC, the then Chairman of the General Council of the Bar of England and Wales and Andrew Moran, Barrister, Serle Court, on a visit to Zimbabwe. The group visited the Zimbabwean Law Society's conference in Nyanga, Eastern Zimbabwe. The Law Society operates in an atmosphere of intimidation and acute economic difficulty. It nevertheless continues to press its case to the government against repressive legislation. The group also held discussions with senior lawyers in Harare.

The Committee was delighted to be involved in such a visit in concert with the Bar Council. In particular, the close personal involvement of the Chairman of the Bar Council was important and much appreciated during a period of particular difficulty for Zimbabwean lawyers. The Section extends its thanks to Stephen Hockman QC and to Andrew Moran for their continued hard work and interest.

The Committee also extends its thanks to Dr Eric Metcalfe, for his services as Trial observer. Apart from further activities in Zimbabwe, the section is also exploring issues elsewhere in Southern Africa, notably judicial independence in Swaziland.

Through 2007, the committee helped to provide legal resources for Zimbabwean lawyers. The committee negotiated free online provision of the English and Welsh law reports and UK statutes and SI's to the University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human Rights (a Harare-based NGO) and the Zimbabwean Law Society. The Committee was also involved in negotiations for the online publication of the Zimbabwean Law Reports and in other funding and administrative issues.