The Carter Center Access to Justice 2 and LEON The Carter Center Access to Justice 2 and LEON The Embassy has received a request from the Carter Center for renewed support for the Access to Justice program. The Embassy agreed with the Carter Center that the draft proposal for the embassy for the new phase would include a component to support the execution of free, transparent and peaceful elections. Elections are a burning challenge for Liberia this year and Carter Center has previous experience of election support in Liberia. Consequently, the Carter Center has proposed to include and expand its electoral work in 2017, focusing on citizen and electoral education, national electoral observation and the prevention of electoral violence within the framework of this initiative.

The overall objective of the support is to strengthen Liberia's peace by enhancing citizens' access to justice, strengthening the legal certainty at the county level and promoting free, transparent and safe elections. Carter Center has addressed this in four goals and associated activities: 1) Improve information dissemination and citizens involvement in and confidence in election processes 2) Increase access to justice by offering free legal information and dispute settlement services 3) Strengthen the capacity of traditional leaders to work for good governance and local law enforcement; and 4) an improved policy framework to increase opportunities for judicial review at local level. The above objectives are achieved, inter alia, through support for legal advisers, capacity building of traditional leaders and local structures, support for short and long-term national observation, policy support to harmonize the various legal systems and support for local dispute settlement mechanisms.

The support aims to increase legal certainty for poor men, women, boys and girls in Liberia. The reconstruction of the formal justice system in the countryside after almost collapsing during the civil war continues; thanks to international support. Liberia has a dual legal system with both formal and customary courts. The lack of competent personnel, infrastructure and resources characterizes the formal judicial system which has a huge lag. Traditional custom is recognized by the Constitution and occurs in most parts of the country. The traditional rule of law, led by traditional leaders, is usually more accessible and effective, but risks leading to inadequate respect for human rights in general and, in particular, the enjoyment of human rights by women and other minority groups. Studies show that only a small percent of all legal cases reach the formal system. Carter Center therefore works to strengthen the mechanisms of law enforcement that de facto handle most legal cases and disputes.

The Access to Justice program has for several years been working to build capacity within customary structures to contribute to increased capacity and ability to accountability, and that these structures are in line with human rights. The effort is also aimed at strengthening the link between the various legal systems. The consciousness and knowledge of the population about the formal legal process is low. Carter Center also works to inform the people about the laws and duties and rights of citizens under the country laws. Ambassaden har fått en förfrågan från Carter Center om förnyat stöd till programmet Access to Justice. Ambassaden kom överens med Carter Center att programförslaget till ambassaden för den nya fasen skulle inkludera en komponent för att stödja utförandet av fria, transparenta och fredliga val. Val är en brännande utmaning för Liberia i år och Carter Center har tidigare erfarenhet av valstöd i Liberia. Följaktligen har Carter Center föreslagit att inom ramen för denna insats inkludera och expandera sitt valarbete under främst 2017, med inriktning på medborgar- och väljarutbildning, nationell valobservation samt förebyggande av valrelaterat våld. 

Det övergripande målet med insatsen är att stärka freden i Liberia genom att förbättra medborgares tillgång till rättvisa, stärka rättssäkerheten på länsnivå samt att verka för fria, transparenta och säkra val. Carter Center har benat ut detta i fyra mål med tillhörande aktiviteter: 1) Förbättra informationsspridning och medborgares delaktighet i och förtroende för valprocesser 2) Öka tillgång till rättvisa genom att erbjuda gratis juridisk information och tvistlösningstjänster 3) Stärka kapaciteten hos traditionella ledare att verka för gott styre och lokalt rättsutövande och 4) Ett förbättrat politiskt ramverk för att öka möjligheterna till rättslig prövning på lokal nivå. Ovanstående mål uppnås bland annat genom stöd till juridiska rådgivare på bynivå, kapacitetsuppbyggnad av traditionella ledare och lokala strukturer, stöd för nationell valobservation på kort och lång sikt, policystöd för att harmonisera de olika rättssystemen och stöd till lokala tvistelösningsmekanismer. 

Insatsen syftar till att öka rättssäkerheten för fattiga män, kvinnor, pojkar och flickor i Liberia. Återuppbyggnaden av det formella domstolsväsendet på landsbygden efter att nära nog ha kollapsat under inbördeskrigen, fortgår främst tack vare internationellt stöd. Liberia har ett dubbelt rättssystem med både formella och sedvanerättsliga domstolar. Bristen på kompetent personal, infrastruktur och resurser karaktäriserar det formella rättsväsendet som har en enorm eftersläpning. Traditionell sedvanerätt erkänns av konstitutionen och förekommer i stora delar av landet. Den traditionella rättsskipningen, under ledning av traditionella ledare eller byäldste, är oftast mer lättillgänglig och effektiv men riskerar att leda till bristande respekt för mänskliga rättigheter i allmänhet och i synnerhet HBTQ-personers och kvinnors åtnjutande av de mänskliga rättigheterna. Studier visar att endast några få procent av alla rättsfall når det formella systemet. Carter Center arbetar därför med att stärka de mekanismer för rättsskipning som de facto hanterar de flesta rättsfall och tvister. 

Programmet Access to Justice har under flera år arbetat med att bygga kapaciteten inom de sedvanerättsliga strukturerna för att bidra till ökad kapacitet och möjlighet till ansvarsutkrävande samt att dessa strukturer är i linje med mänskliga rättigheter. Insatsen syftar även till att stärka länken mellan de olika rättssystemen. Medvetenhet och kunskap hos befolkningen om den formella rättsprocessen är låg. Carter Center arbetar även för att informera befolkningen om landets lagar och medborgares juridiska rättigheter, möjligheter och skyldigheter. The overarching goal of the programme is "Strengthening peace in Liberia by enhancing citizen ownership of government, strengthening the rule of law at the community, and preventing violence". During the period 2017 to 2021 this was implemented through four specific objectives: 

1. Improve information, citizen engagement, and confidence in a peaceful electoral process;
2. Provide effective free legal information and dispute resolution services;
3. Strengthen the capacity of traditional leaders to advance and implement good governance and community justice practices, and;
4. Support a policy framework to increase access to justice at the community level.

Objective 1 contributed to to safe, inclusive and fair elections through civic education, national long-term and short-term observation of the election and violence prevention, by mobilising a diverse range of influential community actors to conduct civic education and to provide support to community violence prevention mechanisms, as well as by deploying short- and long-term election observers through Liberia Election Observation Network (LEON). In 2021, The Carter Center entered into a new agreement with Sida to continue supporting LEON and their work with election observation in the contribution "Carter Center support to LEON 2021-2024" (Activity-ID: SE-0-SE-6-14828A0101-LBR-15150). 

Objective 2-4 was implemented through the The Access to Justice programme and has contributed to access to justice for all and improving local good governance and conflict resolution. During the period 2017-2021 this comprised work with customary and local mechanisms offering free legal advice and conflict mediation services; strengthening the capacity of traditional leaders to promote good governance and community justice practices and; improve the national policy framework to support Access to Justice at the Community level. During this period, the Carter Center started working with Community Justice Advisors - volunteers supporting community members with assistance to justice seekers, case assistance and community awareness raising. 

In 2021, the support was extended until 2023, for continued work with the Community Justice Advisors component, with the following Sub-Objectives: 

1. Increased rural and urban marginalized populations understanding of their rights and responsibilities within the justice systems.
2. Increased provision and utilization of needed legal support for marginalized citizens to access justice

The 24-month cost-extension June 2023 - May 2025 will only cover The Carter Center's proposed exit strategy for their Rule of Law programme in Liberia - according to the following objectives: 

Objective 1: To support the establishment and organizational capacity of a new Liberian civil society organization able to receive direct funding from Sida and other international partners.

Objective 2: Increase access to justice for underserved populations in Liberia