ARDHO Rwanda

ARDHO (Association Rwandaise pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme)
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What we do

The main purpose of ARDHO is to provide Pro Bono legal aid to vulnerable and disadvantaged Rwandans with access to justice through a range of services including Legal Advice, Mediation, Referral, Orientation, Legal assistance/Representation in Courts and Other Justice Institutions.

Our Programs

Human Rights and Legal Education (HRLE) Program
  • Community Human Rights and legal awareness
  • Outreach and legal education on Prisoners and detainees Rights
  • Community Dialogue on Laws through school’s interactions and outreach with local leaders
  • Promotional activities & legal education messages through Media Houses
Research, Capacity Building And Advocacy (RCBA) Program
  • Public Policy, Laws Analysis and Advocacy
  • Research, Monitoring and Documentation on Human Rights Issues
  • Capacity Building of CSOs and Stakeholders
  • Shadow reporting on International and Regional Mechanisms
Access to Justice and Pro Bono Legal Aid(AJPBLA) Program
  • Legal Advice, Mediation, Referral,Orientation
  • Legal assistance/Representation in Courts and Other Justice Institutions
  • Provision of other Pro Bono legal aid Service

ONGOING ACTIVITIES AND CURRENT ARDHO’S EXPERIENCE

In that perspective, ARDHO has initiated a good number of actions through the following projects:

  1. ARDHO with the support of UNDP via RGB, is implementing a project named “ Community Dialogue/engagement with local leaders a response to children victims of sexual abuse for a better access to justice” in Musanze District. The main objective of the project is to contribute to the reduction of sexual child abuse and teenage pregnancy and other connected child rights violations in Rwanda, by 2023 . It focused its interventions on legal education for local leaders, young children, teachers and administrators in secondary schools with the purpose to prevent and stop teenage pregnancy and gender based violence.
  2. Under financial support of KNH, ARDHO is implementing the action aiming at fighting against child sexual violence and teenage pregnancy in Rwanda entitled ‘’ Supporting Children and Teen Mothers to Thrive’’.
  3. Actually, ARDHO is implementing a project named “Pro-Bono Legal Aid Project” funded by the A4ID through the Legal Aid Forum (LAF). The action consists essentially to provide pro-Bono legal aid and awareness services to the Community in Nyarugenge District and families of detainees and prisoners;
  4. ARDHO implemented a project funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy through the Legal Aid Forum (LAF) and Swiss Confederation. The action consists essentially to provide legal aid and awareness services to detainees and prisoners;
  5. ARDHO implemented a project funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy on Capacity Building, Legal Assistance, and Advocacy for Women Street Vendors’ Rights in KICUKIRO, NYARUGENGE and MUSANZE;
  6. In 2018, ARDHO implemented a project funded by Rwanda Men engage Network, for contributing to reduction of child sexual violation through combating early and unwanted pregnancies and improving skills to sexuality reproductive health in Lycee of Ruhengeri (APICUR School);
  7. From 2016-2018 funded by European Union, ARDHO in collaboration with TI-Rwanda Implemented a project with the main objective to contribute to strengthening the rule of law in Rwanda by Promoting Universal and Equitable Access to Justice;
  8. In May 2017, ARDHO conducted a research related to address street Vendor’s issues concerning the basic rights and procedures to access to legal trade activities through advocacy and Legal Assistance, this research was funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands Embassy in Kigali;
  9. ARDHO implemented a project in 2014 funded by British High Commission to facilitate access to Justice for refugee’s victims of GBV abuse in Rwanda through legal representation in courts and legal advocacy and awareness services;
  10. The same project continued in 2015 funded by PLAN INTERNATIONAL RWANDA in the all refugees Camps in Rwanda;
  11. ARDHO implemented in 2015 a project aiming at providing legal assistance and Representation in favor of vulnerable prisoners and Gender Equality for Women Living with Children in 3 Prisons‘’ Nyarugenge, Musanze, Bugesera ‘’. This project was funded by UNDP.
  12. ARDHO have been working with TROCARE, and OXFAM on various activities of Promoting and protection of Human Rights

THE MAIN ACTIVITIES IN ACCESS TO JUSTICE

  • Awareness raising/ Legal Education/Outreach activities in communities and crime prevention This activity is done in different sectors, in community works Umuganda every month, public meetings of the community, institutions and schools that include students and at  Rwanda prisons where we deliver message on international and national legal standards protecting human rights regarding fundamental rights of detainees and prisoners;
  • To receive individual complaints and providing legal advice; Advocacy to the relevant institutions will be carried out for cases which found left unattended for a long time, and the legal representation to court is provided for the very vulnerable cases of prisoners and detainees.
  • The legal advice is provided through organized mobile legal aid clinics in prisons and to the locations identified in the targeted districts, through lawyers and Advocacy and Legal Advice Officers appointed to every prison.
  • Community Based Child Protection Mechanisms are strong and contribute in the protection of children from violence in a sustainable manner and organize events and campaigns to discuss with different stakeholders on their expected roles in fighting child rights violations and teenage pregnancy
  • Teen mothers are linked to specialized organizations for psychosocial counselling and victims of abuse are supported to access criminal justice
  • Contributing to promote Women street vendor’s cooperatives to their basic rights and procedures for accessing to legal trade activities through advice, advocacy and legal assistance in Rwanda

In effort to promote access to justice and therefore strengthening the rule of law in Rwanda, some projects have limited its activities to the criminal justice, focusing on the awareness of prisoner about their legal rights, the legal assistance to the vulnerable and access to justice at the right time and reasonable costs.

 STAKEHOLDERS WE WORK WITH  

ARDHO is working with Judiciary institutions and actors working on rights of prisoners and detainees including:

  • Ministry of Justice,
  • Courts and tribunals,
  • Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS),
  • Rwanda National Police (RNP),
  • Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB),
  • National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA),
  • Rwanda National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and
  • Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working on legal aid

ARDHO MEMEBERSHIRP AFFILIATION  

  1. ARDHO is member of CLADHO a Human right umbrellas in Rwanda
  2. ARDHO is member of Rwanda Men Engage Network
  3. ARDHO is member of Legal Aid Forum (LAF)
  4. ARDHO is in the coalition of Never Again Rwanda (NAR),