By Jennifer Smith | Executive Director
The ILF is excited to announce the launch of a new legal aid program in Myanmar, supported by the German Foreign Office and launched with the help of our GlobalGiving donors that will provide critically needed legal aid services to poor children, women and men accused of criminal offenses. The opening of a legal aid program in Myanmar has already proven to be an important new chapter in the years-long relationship between the ILF and the Government of Myanmar. When our work in Myanmar began in 2014, we provided advice and support to the government as they drafted and adopted the country’s first legal aid law. Now, we are able to work towards our goal of ensuring every person has equal access to justice in a country where most lack the means to hire lawyers to protect their rights.
There is a critical need for criminal legal aid services in Myanmar to challenge illegal and arbitrary actions of authorities that violate the rights of the poor, such as illegal detention, torture, and the lack of access to government evidence. Since our last report, ILF-Myanmar has set up an office in Yangon, and is in the process of hiring lawyers who fill this crucial gap. This year, we will open legal aid offices in Yangon and Mandalay, and in 2018, two more offices will be opened in underrepresented states and regions of the country. In Yangon, we’ve recently met with the Pazundaung Township Magistrate to express concern over human rights violations against indigent defendants. These meetings with local courts are essential to effective advocacy on behalf of indigent Burmese who are often falsely accused and improperly tried. The ILF looks forward to providing intensive mentoring and training to Myanmar lawyers over the next few months, and starting to appear in court to ensure that all indigent accused are provided their human right to a fair trial. This work would not be possible without the generous support of our GlobalGiving donors. Your support has provided us the opportunity to access the gap between law and actual practice in Myanmar, and has laid the groundwork for this important program.
Together, we will ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable receive access to justice
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