India: UNODC promotes discourse on access to justice at Regional Legal Aid Conference hosted by NALSA

New Delhi, India/28 November 2023: In South Asia, ensuring access to justice for the poor and vulnerable remains a pressing concern, underscoring the critical role of legal aid in addressing societal imbalances. Challenges abound, ranging from systemic barriers to geographic limitations, creating a landscape where marginalized populations often find themselves without recourse in legal matters. Limited awareness of legal rights, coupled with economic constraints, exacerbates the vulnerability of disadvantaged individuals, hindering their ability to seek and access justice.

However, within these challenges lie opportunities for transformative change. Initiatives aimed at enhancing legal literacy, coupled with the deployment of well-trained and accredited legal aid providers, present promising avenues for dismantling barriers to justice.

In this context, UNODC experts presented good practices, international norms and insights from South Asia at the first regional conference on Access to Legal Aid hosted by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), in collaboration with the International Legal Foundation (ILF), UNDP and UNICEF.

The conference was aimed at supporting partnerships to increase access to legal aid across the Africa, Asia and Pacific subregions of the Global South. Deliberations were held on key areas, including developing effective examples of people-centric justice systems and strategies for reducing pre-trial detention. 

Addressing the conference, UNODC's Criminal Justice Expert Ms. Seema Joshi Arya delved into key challenges, addressing the complexities of establishing accessible and credible legal aid and access to justice systems aligned with UN Principles and Guidelines.

Steering discussions on good practices, National Programme Coordinator in Sri Lanka Ms. Anusha Munasinghe emphasised the importance of well-trained and accredited legal aid providers in enhancing access to justice.

Project Officer in Nepal Ms. Reena Pathak shared insights on dismantling barriers to legal aid access, particularly addressing eligibility criteria—emphasising these as crucial steps toward inclusive justice.

The Conference brought together chief justices, ministers of justice, legal-aid officers, policymakers and civil society experts from 70 Africa-Asia-Pacific countries to discuss the challenges and opportunities in ensuring access to quality legal aid services for the poor and vulnerable. The conference also provided a platform for sharing best practices and identifying innovative solutions to improve access to justice in the participating countries.

This activity contributed to SDG 16 and SDG 17: https://sdg-tracker.org/