Developed in collaboration with LWB France from 2003 to 2005, the objective of the Afghanistan project was to revive the profession after years of civil war and Taliban rule which almost annihilated the justice system, the judiciary and the legal profession.
LWBC worked notably with the Minister of Justice in drafting a Code of Ethics and on a project to create a national bar association. A series of training sessions on human rights issues was also planned for the legal community.
During their missions, the LWBC teams met with various actors involved in the country's national justice system, including the Minister on Women's Issues, representatives of the Judicial Reform Commission, of the Association of Jurists and of the Independent Human Rights Commission.
The Afghanistan project was terminated before the expiration of its term due to security reasons.
Developed in collaboration with LWB France from 2003 to 2008, the objective of the Nigeria project was firstly to support Nigerians in the defense of individuals sentenced to cruel punishments by the Islamic tribunals.
The collaboration of LWBC and LWB France then turned its focus towards the long term detention of individuals who have not been charged with a crime, who did not have access to a lawyer or did not appear before a judge, which unfortunately is a common practice in Nigeria, just like the bad treatment or the violations of fundamental rights of individuals arrested or detained, which are also too numerous. It is always the poorest people, especially the women, who are the first victims of the most flagrant injustices.
In order to contribute and oppose these phenomena, the teams of LWBC and LWB France assisted Nigerian lawyers in their efforts to put an end to situations of abusive detention or violations of fundamental rights of detainees in the prisons of the states of Abuja, Bauchi, Nasarawa and Kaduna.
The two organizations also reinforced the capacity of justice sector stakeholders in the penitentiary, judicial and police sectors, and of lawyers – prosecutors as well as defence – thorough workshops and round tables. LWBC and LWB France also organized training sessions for Legal Aid lawyers, within the lectures and round table series with Legal Aid Council of Nigeria.
Finally, the volunteers of LWBC and LWB France have put in place pilot projects in the states of Bauchi and Nasarawa so as to assure coordination and better communication between justice sector stakeholders.
