In 2020, there were more than 122,000 reported cases of gender-based violence (GBV) in Colombia. The country has also seen a rise in femicides in recent years. Since January 2022, the USAID Inclusive Justice Activity has been trying to improve Colombian citizens’ trust in the justice system by increasing access to justice services and reducing…
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…
Haiti needed a functional justice system for its citizens to emancipate economic development and lift Haiti out of extreme poverty To do so, JSSP used strategies with various stakeholders to adopt a modernized Haitian penal procedural code, replacing the outdated 1835 version. Legislations to accompany the code, such as the laws on prosecutors, and the…
People-centered justice (PCJ) is a rule of law approach that relies on the perspectives, needs, strengths, and expectations of the justice user to improve the quality of justice and reduce barriers to service delivery. It is an approach designed to fill the gaps of traditional, institution-focused programming that has left an estimated 5 billion people…
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…
Strengthening the rule of law, establishing an independent judiciary, and combating corruption have been priorities for many Ukrainians since independence in 1991, and have increased in importance following the Euromaidan and Revolution of Dignity in 2014. Despite popular support and political will for sweeping reforms, the establishment of new judicial bodies, and the reform of…
We’d like you to meet Karina Perez Jvostova! Karina is Chemonics’ monitoring, evaluation, and learning specialist for USAID’s Violence Prevention and Reduction Activity in Mexico. In this video, she shares her path to global development, what she learned as an UNLEASH ambassador, and advice for those interested in working in the development sector. Posts on the blog represent the…
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…
The activity’s period of performance focused on five districts — Gasabo, Nyaruguru, Musanze, Bugesera, and Nyamasheke — which connected local and national government representatives, non-governmental organizations, citizens, and community leaders through activities that enhanced access to justice and improved both the formal and the community justice systems. Duteze Imbere Ubutabera (DIU) aimed to increase access…
Since 2016, USAID/Guatemala’s Youth and Gender Justice Project (YGJP) has focused on strengthening the government’s and civil society’s capacity to provide justice and related services to juvenile offenders, victims of gender-based violence (GBV), and victims of trafficking in persons (TIP). This final report examines and presents highlighted results, lessons learned, and key recommendations from the…
Luke Waggoner is a former senior democracy and governance specialist at Chemonics.