Objectives

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Category: Hawassa University

Published on Thursday, 19 January 2012 06:14

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Objectives

1 General objectives :

To create a conducive environment for graduating students to experience the law in its practical application; as per new externship requirement. Increase the legal awareness of those in the justice sector and the community at large, particularly relating to human rights. 3.2.2 Specific Objectives: ? First, to expand the Legal Aid Center’s activities in Hawassa and duplicate the same in other locations [For details reference can be made to the original project proposal of the Hawassa university law department free legal aid center] ? Secondly, to establish a Human Rights Center based on campus to facilitate and further the common aims of the Human Rights Commission and the University: • Undertaking extensive research on issues of human rights law jointly with the FDRE Human Rights Commission • Advocacy services to concerned stakeholders and certain vulnerable groups of the community on legal matters particularly on human rights; • Launching continuous and sustainable trainings on human rights issues to the community and to the concerned law enforcement organs; • Preparing relevant manuals, brochures, bulletins on contemporary and fundamental human rights issues; • conducting nationwide as well as region-wide workshops on human rights topics and publishing proceedings of the workshops; • providing assistance, to its capacity, the existing or future similar institutions /centers / working to the advantage of vulnerable groups of the community; • Involving in constitutional disputing concerning human rights before the house of federation and in particular with the SNNPR regional state council of Nationalities

Specific activities and strategies

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Category: Hawassa University

Published on Thursday, 19 January 2012 06:10

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Specific activities and strategies

  Activities and Goals  

-Rights-based advocacy works:

Specific Tasks and Activities on behalf of the Vulnerable Groups

The effectiveness and fairness of a particular legal system is evaluated on the basis of how it treats and promotes the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups. Vulnerability is a special circumstance exposing some section of a particular group to increased hazards or risks as compared to other sections of the society.  Vulnerability exists due to sex, age, physical and mental condition, state of health, deprivation of liberty, belongingness to a particular social group, economic condition and so on. To be more specific persons forming such groups are women, children, the aged, disabled, a caste group, the urban poor, arrested and convicted persons, prisoners, those living with HIV/AIDS and so on.

Thus, there has to be some level of effort at least to narrow down the gaps of disadvantage and marginalization and accordingly alleviate the conditions of such groups. One of these mechanisms could be the right-based advocacy works supporting and sensitizing the rights of such groups. For the time being, this project intends to work out specific tasks and activities in the area of rights of detained and convicted persons, children, women,

Thus, different units will be established to work on the agenda of human rights:

1.1. Child rights and Service unit

In the area of child rights and with a view to alleviating the hazards facing children in the Region and the surrounding, the Centre has the intention to carry out specific activities in the following areas:

• Creation of Awareness: - Specific tasks to be done in this area are examination of the relationship between children and their family environment. Family is the basic unit of the society upholding and nurturing the foundation of the future generation. Thus, it is crucial to work out the role and responsibilities parents and those closely related to children such as guardians and tutors.
• The other area focuses on the identification of family problems and the manner of its resolution taking into account the best interest of children. This includes mechanisms under family level, the ordinary judicial system, and referral to social services.
• Fighting the root causes of the street child, labor exploitation, abuse and child trafficking. This area too requires intensive education and awareness campaign both at community and school level.
• Special arrangement and support to the educational rights of girls and those children coming from the marginalized group of the society which includes the urban poor.
• Court representation of child victims
• Establishing shelter homes for child victims
• Creating emergency telephone hotline for reporting abuse
• Conducting training and research programs

1.2. Women Rights and Domestic violence Unit

In the area of women’s rights, there are also areas of concern demanding high level of efforts. These include:-

• Sensitization and awareness works on the rights of house wives and fighting against domestic violence especially those directed towards domestic servants.
• Creating awareness and investigating complaints upon matters of gender-based discrimination in various socio-economic areas such as work places, schools, and other social services.
• The overriding concern of increased exposure of women and girls to HIV/AIDS and the hazards facing commercial sex workers is another subject of advocacy works
• Implementing the rights of women’s access to basic economic channels such as land and other property rights equally with male members of the family especially during succession.
• Investigating, receiving complaints and researching on Domestic violence;
• Establishing in the long run shelter and rehabilitation center for the victims of domestic violence.

1.3. Caste and other vulnerable groups study Unit

• Undertaking  research on the available caste group and their special circumstances
• Researching and understanding  the human rights implication of caste
• Investigating human rights violations relating to the caste group as well as towards the disabled and elderly
• Sensitizing the people and the local governance to the concern and vulnerability of the caste group, and
• Studying the problems of accessibility of the disabled
• Total awareness creation

1. 4. Local Governance and Land Rights study Unit

• Training the local governors on the laws of the land and emphasis on the right aspect of land
• Conducting research on land use issues and human rights concerning land matters
• Inculcating the human rights based approach to land governance
• Investigating complaints on Women and land rights ,
• Sensitizing and investigating claims concerning Disability and land rights vis-à-vis the  law’s shortcoming
• Investigating complaints regarding Children and their rights on land in the event their parents passed away
• Training social court judges on how to legally handle land related disputes without immensely compromising the due process of the law 

2. Strategy

2.1. Making Criminal Justice Fair and Efficient- CREATING A MANUAL for Training to Raise Awareness of Various Justice Organs and Professionals

Criminal justice administration is a delicate issue as it necessitates the balancing between community/public and individual interests. Thus, it is too crucial to identify and make aware the criminal justice guarantees of those persons coming into contact with the process. Such persons are either mere detainees waiting for proper determination of their status (guilty or otherwise) or those serving the period of their sentence after effectively going through the conviction process. The first category includes mere arrestees and accused persons and the second fall under prisoners serving their sentence. The rights of such persons are too delicate: One due to power imbalance between the individual confined and government agents and the usually harassing environment of the police station. Second, there is lack of knowledge on the legal guarantees of such people during the operation of the justice process which may principally lead to miscarriage of justice. Third, there is limited resources and mismanagement of those scarce resources in the correction institutions.

Accordingly, the following activities are identified with a view to familiarizing with various guarantees of criminal justice and the respective responsibilities of relevant justice organs and professionals:

• Elaboration of the essential guarantees of persons coming into contact with the criminal justice processes at different stages such as suspected, arrested, accused, convicted and those undergoing correction both under international and domestic instruments.
• Determination of the scope and respective obligation of the various justice institutions involved in the investigation, prosecution, adjudication and correction stages of criminal justice in order to ensure a fair system without seriously compromising public safety and order.
• Assessment of the need and role of the defense council especially at pre-trial stage with a view to ensure fair process.
• Examination of the basic rights of those who are effectively brought under criminal justice machinery esp. undergoing correction.
• Identifying the possible remedies to be sought by those victims of the violation of criminal justice guarantees, be it at the investigation, prosecution, adjudication or correction stages.

2.2.  Training for different professionals in the justice system

• Training programs for social court judges
• Arranging workshops to acquaint the judges with the necessary knowledge of civil and criminal procedure as well as human rights and basic legal skills

2.3.   Working as a complaint receiving center and a place where human rights advocacy could be facilitated

• As per the mandate of the Ethiopian human rights commission by which it is empowered to investigate on human rights violations and cater on human rights consultancy services the legal aid center which is already established in Hawassa and to be established in the different localities within the region.

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Category: Hawassa University

Published on Thursday, 19 January 2012 06:03

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Organizational structure of free legal aid

Nomenclature:  it is opted to call the center as a human rights center with the view to underlie the very goal of the center, which is addressing the broad spectrum of human rights issues.

Location: the location of the center is proposed to be at the main campus ofHawassaUniversity. However, it is true that the center will establish branch offices outside with the view to facilitate the tasks of the center.

 Administration

The administration of the center will consist of

• Advisory  Board
• Mainstreaming committee
• Head of the Law school
• Director
• Coordinator of different units
• Secretary
• Resource persons ( staffs) 

The director and coordinators will be appointed and removed by the department dean / head of the law school /. The director shall submit annual /quarterly report to the dean / department. The director will receive payment in an amount determined by the dean / department head.       

The advisory board

• As its name indicated the advisory board shall have an advisory role to the center
• It shall give advice to the director on the overall activities of the center
• The board shall have seven members selected among the members of the community , organs of the judiciary, FDRE human rights commission  and the parliament  council of the SNNPR)
• Ø The board shall meet at least once in a year                        

         Duties / responsibilities of director

• The director shall be responsible for all activities of the center
• He shall submit annual/ quarterly  report regarding the activities of the center to the head of the law department
• He shall supervise all people working for he center
• He shall promote and supervise new projects, raise funds, write funds in consultation with the advisory board / department head.
• He will utilize great funds and those universities funds given to him for various needs of the center to consultation with the dean / head of the law department.

Mainstreaming committee (selected by dean & director)

•  The committee has the duty and responsibility to assess the cases that is presented to the court of law.
• Supervising the activities of the human rights center.

  Responsibility of the coordinators

• The coordinator will have the responsibilities to coordinate the research and other activities of their respective units
• They  shall also assume other responsibilities that the director may sign to them

 Additional personnel

• In addition to the aforementioned administrative bodies, the center will have additional workers necessary to undertake the day to day activities of the center. they will include a secretary , a treasurer, research assistant, research fellow  attorneys and supervisor attorney
• The director in consultation with the advisory board determines the pay/ remuneration for this position. The center will invite guest speakers and experienced research fellow from other institution whenever necessary.
• The attorney and the supervisor attorney will be among the members of the department who are practicing law  before courts of law.

HUFLAC  ADMINISTRATION:

The structure is similar to that of the HUHRC;  however the director of the  Legal Aid Center has the overall responsibility over all branches; as well as duty to oversee joint and coordinated operation between the Legal Aid and Hum. Rts. Centers.  

Summary:  Strategies, Evaluation and Monitoring

              The first part of our overall strategy is to expand our legal aid center, locally in Hawassa by coordinating with the various courts for a permanent presence; then by working with existing educational institutions law departments duplicating our center in other locations in the South.  These center facilities will be able to also function as local receiving places for complaints to the Human Rights Commission; as well as local branch of our Human Rights Center.   In the final analysis the funding agency is responsible to monitor, evaluate and supervise all functions of the project.

The new major initiative contained in this project proposal is the establishment of a Human Rights Center on the Hawassa Univ. campus to coordinate all the activities detailed in this proposal;  especially the awareness training and research  proposed.

From the practical, logistical point of view the need for our own vehicle is paramount.

The budget includes travel expense; but our movement to various locations would be facilitated greatly to achieve our common objectives.  A used vehicle with 12 passenger capacity would be ideal.  This item is not included in the specific items in the budget.

The Center currently operate free legal aid service provided to indigent section of the communities in the following locations.

   1. Hawassa City first instance court. 

   2. Regional supreme court

  3.  Yirgalem ( Dale woreda police station)

   4. Ziway ( Adamitulu woreda court)

  5. Shashemene ( west Arsi woreda court)

   6. Hawassa University Main campus as main office

We are also mindful of the vital close cooperation with all level of local governors, and justice sector and community representatives in the specific locations.