Value added: International Legal Alliances’ work
in restoration of rights and of the rule of law in conflict areas

ILA’s work as a legal and lobby expert organisation in restoration of rights and development of the rule of law in the rehabilitation of conflict-affected regions offers the most structural form of international cooperation.

Restoration of rights through practical legal solutions can not only be done by offering legal advice services and initiating court cases on behalf of the war-affected populations of refugees and displaced persons. The conflict has massively violated the rights of these people. Per definition, no legal system in the world –even of the richest and most democratic nations - has the capacity to swiftly solve all those cases. In conflict-affected regions, even if there had not been a war, the legal system is yet not adequate. Restoration of rights of the victims demands a multi-track approach of 1) legal services to the displaced populations 2) legal capacity building activities 3) developing alternative legal solutions 4) promoting solutions and combating the obstacles by advocacy and lobbying.

Traditional approached focus on 1 of the aspects of these solutions: either research (research institutes), legal advice by local lawyers (humanitarian organisations), mediation (mostly by political international bodies, and some NGOs), advocacy (Human Rights organisations), capacity building (training institutes, UN agencies and NGOs) etc, whereas ILA focuses on the entire process to come to these solutions. The output of ILA’s work is 10.000 of practical legal solutions for the victims of conflict in need of restoration of their rights. To come to those solutions, the needs on the field are at the basis of the development of the rule of law. Legal capacity building takes place on need assessment in a bottom-up process, as opposed to the usual top-down legal reform processes.

The method of cooperation in close partnership with international humanitarian organisations, local legal expert organisations, legal and conflict research institutes and the academic communities in the North and South makes the return on investment as structural as possible. ILA being in charge of putting all the expertise together in the development of practical legal solutions, restoring legal security. In this, ILA is closely linked up with the international initiatives and groups, as for example working as implementing partner of UNHCR. The development of practical legal solutions is never standard and requires tailor-made answers. The field programmes, implemented by ILA’s humanitarian partner organisation(s) are therefore closely coached.

ILA develops tailor-made solutions, adapted to the needs, the specific situation, local culture and legal traditions, local capacity, international presence, present funding possibilities and the international agenda. On the political levels, solving the refugee and displaced peoples’ crisis is reduced to return or local integration; both options have often political connotations, and the latter is often denying the rights the refugees had in their places of origin. ILA’s focus on restoration of rights enables durable solutions, and allows the displaced person to make him/herself the choice to return and/or integrate as is reflected in all international treaties with regard to refugees and IDPs.

Structural restoration of rights provides a structural entrance into the war-affected societies, focussing on the support of the local endogenous processes, enforcing the democratic system of the country, contributing to the prevention of new conflict:

-    civil and political rights – by obtaining an ID, the person participates in the democratic processes and society, where she/he enjoys civil and political rights and obligations

-    legal and social-economic rights; by restoring property rights (housing), built up rights (pensions), access to education (birth certificates) and public services, social benefits

-   cultural and minority rights

 

Intervention strategy
ILA’ expertise is to develop practical legal solutions whatever that will take: using the formal legal system or ADR, traditional system etc, using the already developed legal system/infrastructure or to take advantage of practices developed to cope with the reality, and help these practices to be incorporated in the legal structure.

The existing judicial system and capacity is the point of departure. However, in conflict/troubled regions there are often special issues at stake with which the formal legal system cannot cope well. Alternatives to the existing legal institutions are often needed to accommodate to the needs of the specific situation. Alternatives need to be developed to deal with justice issues and need to be adapted to the circumstances and issues at stake.  Mediation, arbitration, truth commissions, traditional/local justice procedures, and any special ad hoc procedures, mechanisms, committees, institutes, programs may be developed to cope with the special needs and issues. The idea is to identify the most appropriate way to apply Justice.

Justice is a good conduct into society and an opportunity to bring together influential groups of civil society; with a focus on legal practitioners, as well as involving political levels working on the development of Justice.  The involvement of attorneys and paralegals (as apposed to the public sector), brings in the grass roots issues/elements and represents the normal people whose rights are violated.

Partnership between organisations in the North and South
International Legal Alliances’ work is based on root cause and immediate cause assessments. This experience gives impetus to subsequent field activities in the areas of democratization and human rights in view of conflict prevention and peace building. These field missions provide the data for mediation, research & training. In this way, ILA links these activities to a presence in the field in conflict areas.

ILA creates bridges between the ‘South’ and the ‘North’ on the various local and international levels for a better understanding of the causes of conflicts aiming at identifying tailored instruments of conflict prevention. Partnership between the North and the South are at the very basis of ILAs’ work. ILA’s partners in the South are the implementing local partner organizations. The programs are based on local ownership, and developed on the basis of continuous feedback from the partners.

ILA at the start of its new missions identifies existing initiatives in the region and looks how the ILA Program can work with the capacity of existing organisations, multiplying the efforts. The process as described in Chart 1, requires a number of skills in legal assistance and capacity building. ILA is in charge of the ‘spiral’ or ‘pyramid’ process, bridging the different levels, using local and international lawyers and additional legal experts (in sub-themes). All the extra needs related to this process are provided in by partner organizations.

Assessment & Evaluation Phase
The first step of the partnership system is that ILA assesses the situation and identifies the needs and instruments to foresee in the needs. ILA offers this program development service to  NGOs, Governmental organizations, Government Institutes that plan to develop concrete projects in the field of peace building and conflict prevention in war-torn societies.

Local ownership is secured in ILA’s research method

Field analysis and consultation: Identification of local civil society structures and available capacity working on the issues. If this is not available, identify existing structures, which may be empowered to build up the local capacity. The local structures can be governmental, non-governmental, and/or private. Representatives of the Judicial System, as well as, people and institutions working on the issues at stake are identified and consulted. Consultation with relevant representatives in the field: local authorities, civil society, and grassroots. In this process, key organisations and figures are identified. In conflict situations, one has to make sure to consult with all parties equally to guarantee local ownership for all.

Emphasis on the way people from various levels and parties feel things, their perceptions, with focus on the displaced populations. This will also include the question of how people would like to see things develop. ILA will take into account the local culture(s) and traditions.

Implementation Phase
The 2^nd step is the implementation of the identified projects. If the partner in the project is a Government(al) institution, ILA identifies which international and local partners can execute the project.

In case the Partner in the project is an international NGO, the NGO will implement the project with an identified local NGO providing local expertise.  ILA’s role in the 2^nd phase is to coach, supervise, and further develop the project. The implementing NGO is in charge of fundraising, implementation, management (of project staff and local implementing partner), reporting to donors and administration, and will hire ILA for its coaching services. The local NGO provides the necessary local (legal) expertise. In addition, ILA provides the international network and advocacy/lobby. Thus, ILA remains committed to the programme all the way through, through its coaching function.