International Bridges to Justice is dedicated to ensuring the basic legal rights of ordinary citizens throughout the world. Recognizing that sustainable reforms can only be achieved with the cooperation of governments, IBJ always works to implement existing laws in collaboration with governmental institutions such as justice ministries, the judiciary, prosecutors, police, and prison officials. In
each country where it maintains an active program, IBJ works at the national level to influence key decision-makers to bring about system-wide reforms. On the local level, IBJ employs a comprehensive approach comprising three interconnected elements to effect practical, affordable, and lasting changes that advance the rule of law: legal skills trainings, criminal justice roundtables, and public rights awareness campaigns. IBJ’s most basic function is to increase defender capacity. There are simply not enough skilled defense attorneys available to provide adequate representation to the huge numbers of people accused of crimes, nor is there the necessary infrastructure to support their work. To address this shortfall, IBJ provides training to new and experienced criminal defense attorneys, both increasing the number of lawyers taking on these cases and improving each lawyer’s ability to provide competent counsel. To promote mutual respect among the different justice-system stakeholders, IBJ regularly convenes roundtable meetings where defense lawyers, judges, prosecutors, police, and prison officials can engage with one another and identify common ground. By providing a forum for these parties to communicate constructively, IBJ fosters institutional understanding of the role that defense attorneys have to play in the development of a functioning criminal justice system. We also train these stakeholders in best practices for safeguarding citizens’ rights. Recognizing that knowledge is a powerful tool in the fight for human rights, IBJ conducts rights-awareness campaigns. By equipping ordinary citizens with a basic awareness of their legal rights, including the right to competent counsel, IBJ greatly increases the likelihood that individuals will assert their rights when arrested. IBJ employs a variety of media platforms to raise awareness, from simple posters to radio broadcasts. IBJ’s model is operating successfully in Burundi, Cambodia, China, India, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe. In addition to our country programs, IBJ offers global support to criminal defense lawyers through the Communities of Conscience program, the Legal Training Resource Center (http://elearning.ibj.org), the Criminal Defense Wiki (http://defensewiki.ibj.org), and the JusticeMakers Fellowship Program (http://justicemakers.ibj.org). IBJ also supports the Youth to join the Youth Scholars Program. An IBJ Youth Scholar is someone who wants to be engaged in their fight to end torture as an investigative tool. Also, a Youth Scholar is interested in fields of legal and human rights. The Youth Scholars will be part of IBJ’s youth program to mobilize youth as stakeholders in achieving IBJ’s goal of implementing due process rights and ending torture universally. IBJ envisions this initiative creating a global network of Youth Chapters who raise awareness about the issues that International Bridges to Justice deals with. IBJ sees youth as a fundamental pillar in achieving IBJ’s mission.
