Trust Issues: Why Trust Matters in International Development

Trust is a familiar concept, yet one too often ignored in programme design. It isan essential ingredient of mutually beneficial human relationships. Internationaldevelopment projects, particularly those in the field of governance, rely on relationshipsto meet their objectives. Trust smooths collaboration between project staff, donors,local stakeholders, governments, and, ultimately, the people who benefit fromprogramming. Despite its…

Rights Live in All Languages: Promoting Indigenous Rights in Mexico

Indigenous Peoples remain among the world’s most marginalized populations and often face systematic exclusion from their nation’s social, economic, and political systems. According to Mexico’s 2020 census, more than 7.3 million people aged three years and older speak one of the country’s 68 indigenous languages, representing six percent of the total population with 25 million…

Rethinking Technical Assistance in Rapidly Changing Socioeconomic Environments

Lebanon is passing through the toughest economic and financial crisis of its history, starting in October 2019 and still ongoing. The country’s GDP has shrunk from $52 billion in 2019 to $22 billion in 2021, due to the combined impacts of regional politics, high levels of public waste and corruption, COVID-19, and the 2020 Beirut…

Championing Migrants’ Integration in Colombia

More than 2 million Venezuelans have migrated to Colombia since 2016, fleeing social, economic, and political hardship in search of employment and essential services. This massive population influx, coupled with sizeable numbers of Colombian returnees displaced by 50 years of armed conflict, has acutely strained public and private services and systems, particularly in urban areas…

Advocating for an Inclusive Justice System for All Colombians

For years, public confidence in Colombia’s justice system has been troublingly low, particularly in rural areas that lack sufficient government presence. Citizens in these areas interact with a justice system that is unresponsive to their needs and has a limited capacity to meet local requirements. Opportunities to improve citizens’ trust in the justice system are…

Guiding Principles for Integrating the Private Sector in Democracy and Governance

The intractable challenges associated with effective, sustainable, fully financed service delivery and community improvement require a more comprehensive approach to financing. Budget shortfalls, misused public funds, and the absence of innovative and responsive policies also erode trust in democratic systems in a world increasingly contending with nondemocratic movements. This blog post examines the merits of…

Final Report: Justice for a Sustainable Peace Activity

From April 2017 to September 2021, the Justice for a Sustainable Peace (JSP) Activity strengthened Colombia’s access to justice, increased citizen support for the rule of law, and improved the judicial response for victims affected by the armed conflict. Focusing on  54 prioritized municipalities in six departments, the Activity fostered a systemic, holistic, and comprehensive…

Improving Sri Lanka’s Justice System

Despite its rich legal and judicial traditions and highly experienced professionals in the justice sector, Sri Lanka faces delayed justice delivery, insufficient communication, lack of human resources, and limited training opportunities for professional development. These challenges have undermined public confidence in the justice system and fueled the government’s desire to improve it and align it…