ISS Workshop, Cape Town BY INVITATION ONLY: Promoting the rule of law in Africa
Date: 2011-03-02 to 2011-03-08
Venue: , Zevenwacht Wine Estate,
, Cape Town
The Rule of Law Workshop, Promoting the Rule of Law
in Africa, raised a number of issues that can be explored productively
by donors, governments and practitioners in the future. Each of these
issues could not only stimulate and encourage modifications in relation
to the direction in which rule of law (RoL) development has been
conducted in Africa, but also improve the performance of donor support
programming. The issues and suggestions
include the following:
- Recognise that RoL development is primarily about power and
politics, and not a technical practice to be left to lawyers, police
officers, prison wardens, etc. It requires political acumen and
development knowledge.
- Mould support for RoL development to existing configurations of
power and politics, rather than in accordance with the desires of donors
or practitioners, which occurs all too often when it comes to
donor-supported RoL initiatives.
- Accept that in many instances significant elements of a recipient
government and the domestic elite are political inclined not to engage
in RoL development.
This then requires the adoption of a different type of RoL support programming.
- Expand programming beyond the narrow confines of the criminal
justice system into other areas of RoL that are of particular relevance
to gender equality, such as family law, administrative law, juvenile
justice and property/land rights.
- Initiate programming that goes beyond the institutional capacity
development model, which primarily includes the provision of technical
assistance, training, capital equipment and infrastructure to the
agencies of the state.
- Adopt greater service delivery and problem-solving approaches that assume experience with the RoL perspective.
The approaches adopted should have greater relevance
and applicability to communities and neighbourhoods, and may entail
support to projects such as mobile courts, paralegal organisations,
youth community groups and emerging trade unions.
- Acknowledge and programme support for those local providers of
justice and security that are legally authorised to deliver services,
but are not state ministries and agencies.
- Conduct detailed empirical analyses as often as possible and base RoL support programming upon such analyses.
- Recognise that sustainability can be promoted if community-driven
development projects are integrated into justice and security
programming.
