December 2007

PRI urged African governments to implement the provisions contained in the Lilongwe Declaration on Accessing Legal Aid in the Criminal Justice System in Africa at the 42nd Session of the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), which took place in Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, last month.

The Declaration was developed in 2004 at a regional conference on legal aid provision in criminal justice systems in Africa organised by PRI and held in Lilongwe, Malawi. It was later adopted by the ACHPR at its 40th Session in 2006.

Since then, the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) have adopted resolutions on International cooperation for the improvement of access to legal aid in criminal justice systems, particularly in Africa, which make specific reference to the Lilongwe Declaration.

Operative paragraph five of both resolutions specifically asks,

…the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, subject to extra-budgetary resources and in cooperation with the African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, to assist African States, upon request, in their efforts at applying the Lilongwe Declaration on Accessing Legal Aid in the Criminal Justice System in Africa.

The Declaration is a very practical document which brings together internationally accepted norms on the right to legal advice and makes concrete proposals on how this can be implemented at low cost but with maximum effect in reducing the number of people unnecessarily detained.

It stresses the need for legal aid provision at all stages of the criminal justice system and recognises Africa’s traditional community-based alternatives to formal criminal justice. Acknowledging the shortfall of lawyers, the declaration proposes greater reliance on paralegals and trained legal assistants to complement the work of lawyers. It additionally stresses the need for greater legal literacy.

Speaking at the session, PRI welcomed the adoption of the Lilongwe Declaration in 2006 and encouraged African governments to now seek cooperation with the UN African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Justice and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to support its implementation.

Further Information
Lilongwe Declaration on Accessing Legal Aid in the Criminal Justice System in Africa (2004)

PRI’s main contribution to accessing legal aid in Africa has been the Paralegal Advisory Service, started in Malawi in 2000 and, since August 2007, the independent Paralegal Advisory Service Institute (PASI). Similar schemes are also operating in Benin, Kenya and Uganda. According to a recent independent evaluation, the achievements of the Paralegal Advisory Service in Malawi over the last four years have included:
• A  10 per cent  to 25 per cent reduction in the number of prisoners on remand;
• The participation of more than 90,000 prisoners in over 3,000 paralegal clinics;
• The release of  more than 2,000 prisoners;
• The diversion of an average of 77 per cent of juveniles from prison.