Sudan: UN-backed initiative launched to provide legal assistance to most vulnerable

A new United Nations-backed Legal Aid Network in Sudan – the first of its kind – brings together paralegals and lawyers seeking to provide pro-bono services to the most at risk and defenceless in the population, the organizers said today.

The partners behind the Network – the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Legal Aid Department of the Sudanese Ministry of Justice, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the People’s Legal Aid Centre (PLACE) – issued a press release saying the initiative will contribute to justice while bolstering reconciliation process between refugees returning to their homeland, communities and the Government.

“Establishing the Legal Aid Network in Sudan is essential in the broader context of training trainers on human rights and offering legal aid services, especially to the poor and vulnerable groups,” said Jerzy Skuratowicz, UNDP’s Sudan Country Director.

The Network comprises 14 Justice and Confidence Centres, independent community-based organizations each with at least 25 Sudanese paralegals who work in tandem with lawyers to provide pro-bono legal aid. The Centres also serve to raise awareness of rule of law and human rights issues.

The Network was officially started after a week-long workshop that trained more than 100 paralegals, also referred to as legal mediators, from various regions of Sudan. The session aimed to strengthen collaboration with the Government, and instructed participants of aspects of the Sudanese Interim National Constitution; the Bill of Rights; the country’s legal system; criminal, Muslim sharia and common law; human rights; and legal aid techniques.