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ACCESS TO JUSTICE
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NU believes in the necessity of more affordable and accessible systems of justice than that inherent in Bangladesh’s existing formal court and judicial systems. The lack of awareness among poor people of their civil rights compounds the issue. NU thus strives to see an increase in administrative participation and stronger representative structures at the grassroots level, giving poor people improved access to justice and other social services irrespective of gender or social class.
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Provisions and Strategies
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• Community-level legal and human rights education
• Paralegal and human rights training for community leaders
• Legal aid support to the most disadvantaged groups
• Promotion of Shalish as means toward more fair and equitable dispute resolution
• Building community institutions such as Shalish committees and Human Rights Monitoring Groups (HRMG) to build community activism
• Publication of quarterly newsletter with specific focus on women’s rights
• Monitoring of the local human rights situation and the fostering of human rights activism at the grassroots level
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Impacts and Achievements
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• Enhanced awareness and participation of local leaders and elected representatives
• More equitable dispute resolution – i.e., settling of disputes according to national law
• Emergence of strong, representative Shalish committees
• Reduction of violence
• Collective and concerted action
• Increased number of people receiving legal aid
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