Strengthening Access to Justice in the Great Lakes Region -Uhaki bila Mipaka.

The last two decades in the Great Lakes region have been marked by some of the most serious and protracted armed conflicts since the Second World War, grave human rights violations and routine abuses of International Humanitarian Law. High levels of trade, and historical ties between Rwanda and DRC create opportunities to strengthen social cohesion and regional integration, but also increase the likelihood of cross border challenges in the justice sector. Every morning, thousands of migrant workers such as teachers, students, domestic workers, constructors, cross border traders cross the borders between Rwanda and the RDC to work or study. During their stay, these Rwandans and Congolese often come into conflict with the law for reasons such as Issues related to migration documents, land issues, Smuggling, Commercial Disputes, security or covid-19 related offenses. The porosity of borders makes it easy for offenders in one country to move to another country and evade the law, leaving victims without recourse to justice. Citizens from one country arrested in another country find themselves in a very vulnerable position with limited legal assistance or knowledge of legal processes in a foreign country - both in terms of formal and administrative justice. Family visits become costly and contribute to the deterioration of their social and psychological conditions. Societal attitudes towards women and girls are such in this region that they find themselves the focus of routine discrimination. Despite the interconnectedness of conflict and crimes in the region, at present there are few mechanisms for collaboration between the justice organs of the two countries. Low levels of formal collaboration between the two countries facilitates illegal and arbitrary arrest as well as ill treatment. This severely affects the rights of both victims and the accused, and fuels resentment on both sides of the border. Ill feeling and perceptions based on years of stigma and stereotype across this conflict affected region contributes to wider tensions and instability in border communities. These cross-border areas are often breeding grounds for conflicts, particularly between state services and their citizens, between citizens, and between citizens and the public services of neighbouring states. To promote access to justice and stability in the region and address these issues, the project will respond to the immediate needs of cross-border populations while working to improve strategic structural problems through the promotion of dialogue and regional cooperation. The project will directly improve access to justice by equipping cross border communities with the information and access they need as well as providing them with legal aid support and building the capacities of actors in the justice sector. The project will also work with authorities and civil society locally to find mechanisms to quickly and efficiently resolve disputes and support authorities at the border who face these challenges every day. At the highest level, the project will also work with governments and policy makers from both countries to create a space for dialogue which will be a critical first step towards the harmonization of justice related policies and improved cooperation in the long term. The project combines improved governance of justice with peacebuilding, building of social cohesion and conflict prevention in the Great Lakes region. This project is also unique as there are projects on access to justice in the region but they focus on the national level or do not link justice to peacebuilding.