Access to Justice
The Asia Foundation Supports Legal Aid in Laos
August 24, 2020
News Post
On August 14, 2020, The Asia Foundation provided a grant to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) in Laos to further implement the Memorandum of Understanding on Access to Justice and Legal Aid Support for January 2020 to May 2023. The ministry plans to open legal aid offices in all provinces and districts of Laos, and the Foundation will provide support t… Read more
Alternative Dispute Resolution Gains Traction in Pakistan
December 18, 2019
Blog Post
Pakistan’s courts are overloaded. Civil litigation can often span decades, sometimes outliving the litigants. But with new legislation and support from The Asia Foundation, alternative dispute resolution is quickly becoming an accepted alternative that can speed the delivery of justice.
Water, Gender, and Poverty in Cambodia’s Stung Chinit Watershed
December 4, 2019
Blog Post
Cambodia’s Stung Chinit Watershed is one of the world’s most productive ecosystems, but it is also among Cambodia’s poorest regions, where inequalities of gender and poverty can make water for drinking and agriculture scarce or unavailable.
On the Anniversary of Independence, How Secure Is Timor-Leste?
September 25, 2019
Blog Post
Last month, Dili played host to visiting government officials from more than 20 countries, including Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Timor-Leste’s vote for independence on August 30, 1999. As the excitement and gravitas of the nationwide festivities taper off, and the dry-season dust resettles o… Read more
A Long Road: Access to Justice in Laos
June 19, 2019
Blog Post
When her father died suddenly last year, the family of Mrs. Somleuthai (her name has been changed for privacy) started to break apart. Her father, a small farmer, had left an inheritance, 2.5 hectares of land in the rural district of Xayabouly. Her mother and each of her six siblings insisted that they had the rights to all of it. The fighting went… Read more
Tackling the Backlog in Pakistan’s Courts
August 29, 2018
Blog Post
In his old age, a longstanding property dispute became the bane of Abdul Hamid Khan’s existence. The father of four sons and three daughters in Punjab’s Rahimyar district, Khan had been left, like Shakespeare’s King Lear, without a roof over his head. It was a dispute over land inheritance. In 2010, Khan transferred all his property, some 16 acres,… Read more
Seven Questions to Consider When Promoting Gender Justice in Sri Lanka
June 6, 2018
Blog Post
In October 2016, The Asia Foundation’s Sri Lanka office began a project to make that country’s formal justice system more responsive to victims of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Seventeen months later, and after five decades of working with security and justice institutions and promoting women’s rights in Sri Lanka, here are our insights… Read more
Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Paradigm Shift in Pakistan’s Justice System?
July 26, 2017
Blog Post
According to the World Justice Project’s latest Rule of Law Index, Pakistan ranks near the bottom in its ability to ensure protection of fundamental rights and advancing civil and criminal justice. Beyond the impact that this has on citizens, the challenges facing Pakistan’s justice system also impede economic development and drive inequality. Now… Read more
Minorities within the Minority: Indigenous Communities in the Bangsamoro
August 6, 2014
Blog Post
In March this year, a major milestone passed in the 40-year effort to end hostilities in the Philippines between the national government and Muslim separatist fronts. The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed a Comprehensive…