19 September 2008

Monrovia, Liberia: The day I took a Kenya Airways flight from Nairobi to Monrovia to take up my UNV assignment as a Judicial Systems Monitor will always remain an important day in my life. It marked a new beginning for me professionally.

Access to justice is a multifaceted phenomena. It can refer to the physical infrastructure such as good courtrooms, qualified court personnel or even the systems and procedures employed by these gatekeepers to justice.

I work with the Legal and Judicial System Support Division (LJSSD) at the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). I spend most of my working time traversing the two counties of Grand Gedeh and River Gee to gather information and data, to monitor cases in the various courts, and to give legal guidance to the national partners. My courtroom experience and legal background come in handy during these interactions.

Apart from this, I find that listening skills, interpersonal skills and report-writing skills are invaluable to me. Being a social justice activist, I have this firm belief that access to quality justice is the bedrock to peace and development. Careful planning and strategizing goes into the reports that I submit to my supervisors in Monrovia. This is because the contents of these reports are used by the mission leadership to engage the government on justice sector reforms and policy formulation.

During my trips around the two counties that I cover, I became aware that most court sheriffs and bailiffs are not paid by the Government. In River Gee the prison facility is managed by volunteers; with no pay or allowances to sustain them. I always try to identify myself with them, to appreciate and recognize their contribution. I also caution them not to misuse their volunteer positions to oppress or canvass for bribes from the people they serve, but to always use their skills and time to bring positive change within their communities.

I am aware that judicial and law enforcement officers wield a lot of power, which if used wrongly can lead to injustice and impunity. My monitoring activities ensure that cases of abuse of power and judicial excess are brought to the attention of concerned officials and that they are dealt with immediately in order to protect the legal and human rights of the victims.

To achieve this, I employ the diplomatic and persuasion skills that I learnt in law school to convince the officials to do the right thing in the right manner.

In one case of judicial excess, I helped a woman who had been condemned to imprisonment for an indefinite time to finally walk out to freedom. She had stood surety for her son [ie. made a legal agreement to take responsibility] who was accused of rape. The son ran away and the judge ordered her to be arrested and locked up "until she could produce her son in court".

This was indeed a Catch-22 situation; she could not leave jail until she purged her contempt [ie. fulfilled her obligations] and she could not purge her contempt so long as she continued to be in jail! I approached the judge and implored him to temper justice with mercy and release her on humanitarian grounds since she was the sole breadwinner of her family and she had other children to cater for. I also pointed out to him that her son was a fugitive from justice and as such it was the responsibility of the Government to pursue him.

Viola! The next day the woman was set free after staying in custody for close to four months. This and other cases add spice to my life; they give me reason to continue monitoring and observing the justice system in motion.