Update on 01 August 2023: In light of current events in Niger, our operations have, for now, been put on hold.
In Niger, real progress in the justice sector is taking shape. Through data, leadership, and a commitment to innovation, work is now focused on the creation of a national strategy on people-centred justice.
Justice for all is integral to a healthier and more prosperous society. By improving access to justice, societies invest in the foundations for a fairer future. This also has immense social and economic benefits.
Under the leadership of the Minister for Justice of Niger, Mr. Ikta Abdoulaye Mohamed and with support from actors across the justice sector, including civil society organisations as well as the Embassy of the Netherlands and HiiL, Niger is moving forward with the implementation of a national people-centred justice programme.
This effort started with data. Two recent national Justice Needs and Satisfaction studies (French version) have illuminated the scope of people’s justice needs, what’s working to meet those needs, and the opportunities to improve access to justice across the country.
Building on this gathered data will be a series of strategic workshops. The first one took place from 12 to 14 June in the city of Dosso, 125 km from Niamey, the capital. HiiL coordinated the sessions that featured a diverse group of over 30 Nigerien stakeholders from the justice sector and civil society working to devise the foundation of a people-centred strategy. During the workshop, the stakeholders prioritised the following areas for the national strategy and based on the 2022 justice needs data: 1) Crime, 2) Land problems, and 3) Access to personal documents.
Razane Boustany from HiiL attended the workshop. ‘’One of the most intense and touching moments for me was a session called ‘image de justice/ the image of justice’. While seated all together, each stakeholder shared a symbolic object that represented in their view the current situation of the justice system in Niger”, she says.
These items included many objects such as glasses “to help us see clearer and further”; an image of a hospital “where we cure justice problems but where it’s also difficult to know which doctor to turn to”; an image of a heart “because justice starts and ends with the heart which gets us closer to the humanity of justice”; a picture of a child “because justice must also be for the most vulnerable”; and a compass to signify a shared direction.
According to Razane the stakeholders, although sceptical at first, pledged to implement the systemic and integrated approach of people-centred justice. Achieving this reality, however, will require a shift in thinking — one that prioritises people and their needs, and not those of processes and institutions. The next workshop will tackle this aspect wholeheartedly.
Three days after the stakeholder’s first meeting in Dosso, the Minister for Justice Mr. Ikta Abdoulaye Mohamed participated, alongside 19 other Government Representatives, shared progress on people-centred justice initiatives during the meeting of the Justice Action Coalition.
“My country is committed to strengthening access to justice,” said Minister for Justice, Mr. Mohamed Ikta Abdoulaye. “We acknowledge the specific needs of our country and the general need for access to justice, and we’re working with civil society, judicial institutions, and other stakeholders to achieve this.” See the blog by HiiL CEO Sam Muller for more information on this high-ambition coalition that has come together to commit to closing the justice gap by 2030.
