Banjul Report 3

One of the most encouraging moments of my time in The Gambia was hearing Jacqueline’s story. Jacqueline was a widow in Kenya when a 2007 contested election led to violence. As the violence escalated, she was raped in her home.

A few weeks after her rape, Jacqueline realized that she was pregnant. Her immediate reaction was to seek an abortion. In fact, she tried three separate times to abort the child, but something thwarted her each time. Eventually she decided to bring the child to term but to give the child away. While in labor, Jacqueline instructed the nurses to not even let her see the baby.

After delivery, however, Jacqueline heard the baby – a little girl – crying. And despite Jacqueline’s instructions, a nurse brought the bundled baby to Jacqueline’s bedside. Jacqueline immediately fell in love, and she decided to keep the baby. Jacqueline’s daughter is now a vivacious, beautiful young woman – Jacqueline proudly showed me some pictures!

Jacqueline decided one other thing as well: to stand alongside other victims of violence like herself. So she began and now runs a group called Grace Agenda. Her motto is: “Grace is Strength.” Jacqueline shared with me that it was God who carried her through her ordeal and who now empowers her work.

Jacqueline was a powerful reminder to me that the battle to protect human life and dignity is much more than a conflict of human institutions and efforts. The battle is at heart a spiritual one. I am thankful to teach at a law school and work with a Center for Global Justice where Jesus Christ is honored and followed as Lord. He is the motivator and the power behind our work. Any success we achieve will indeed be through his grace and strength.

Opening Ceremony of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights

Tabu, who works in Northern Uganda helping people accused of crimes to navigate and not get lost in the justice system

Banjul Report 2

Yesterday was the second day of the NGO Forum associated with the meeting of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.  After some panel presentations in the morning, in the afternoon we broke into small working groups and were tasked with discussing specific types of human rights challenges and then presenting recommendations to the group (200 or so) as a whole.

I served as the presenter for the group on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa. In our group were human rights defenders from Mozambique, The Gambia, Sudan, Mauritania, Guinea, Uganda, and Malawi. We began by discussing current challenges faced by one or more of these nations, of which there were many. These are just some examples: detention without cause; the mixing of men, women, and children in the general prison population; torture by prison authorities or other inmates; and poor sanitation and health conditions.

It was encouraging to hear, though, that some of these nations are making progress with their prison systems as well. Some are providing life skills training for inmates so that they can more easily integrate back into society after they serve their sentence. Others are being more intentional to allow inmates to see and interact with family members. Uganda is taking concrete steps to speed up the processing of cases and to shorten pre-trial detention for inmates (especially children). For example, Uganda now allows paralegals to assist minors with bail hearings and makes greater use of plea bargaining for minor offenses.

I was particularly encouraged about developments to reduce the length of pre-trial detention in Uganda, because Regent Center for Global Justice students and faithful partners (like Uganda Director of Public Prosecution Mike Chibita and Pepperdine Professor Jim Gash) have worked on this issue for many years. It is really a joy to see the Center's work bear fruit in concrete ways!

Report from Banjul

"The human rights situation is bleak on the African continent." Refugees from the civil war in South Sudan are "not living lives worthy of human beings." "Blood is flowing on our continent." These were some of the stark words spoken by African human rights advocates on day one of the NGO Forum associated with the meeting of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights.

I am in Banjul, The Gambia, participating in the NGO Forum and Commission meeting this week on behalf of Regent's Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law. Today produced an extreme range of emotions. On one hand, the reports of African human rights non-governmental organizations were indeed bleak. From corruption and the violent repression of political opposition to abuse of women and children, including forced marriages to little eleven year-old girls, the day confirmed that the forces of darkness are alive and well. On the other hand, it was a joy to get to know men and women who have dedicated themselves to protecting the lives and dignity of all human beings that we know come from God.

I am here to be an encouragement to these men and women and to see whether and how the Center for Global Justice and our students might grow our impact in Africa. Please pray for wisdom and divine appointments.

Jeffrey A. Brauch

Professor, Regent University School of Law

Executive Director, Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law

Jeff on the NGO Forum panel presenting recommendations from the interest group meetings

Jeff on the NGO Forum panel presenting recommendations from the interest group meetings

Jeff and Brigadier Siachitema (Southern Africa Litigation Centre)

Student Staff Projects for Fall 2016

To provide Regent Law students with practical experience in the legal protection of human rights, students volunteer with the center each semester for a minimum of 5 hours/week. Here is an overview of the projects that our student staff members are working on this semester:

IJM Uganda: International Justice Mission Uganda fights land grabbing, a terrible problem that affects thousands of widows and orphans in Uganda. In order to aid IJM's work, the Center is expanding a legal memo it drafted last semester on the legal doctrine of res judicata. The Center's memo will help IJM decide the best legal strategy to bring civil suits on behalf of widows whose land was stolen.

Kyampisi Childcare Ministries: KCM is a nonprofit organization in Uganda that fights child sacrifice. In order to aid KCM in its work of monitoring child sacrifice cases, as well as aid prosecutors, the Center is putting together a legal manual that outlines the steps involved in a child sacrifice case, applicable charges for the defendant, and various legal issues that will have to be addressed to have a successful prosecution.

Handong: The Center works in partnership with Handong International Law School to advance the rule of law and expand religious freedom in Mongolia.  This semester, the Center is drafting a legal memorandum relating to the implementation of homeschooling in Mongolia.

Shared Hope: Every semester the Center supports Shared Hope with the Protected Innocence Challenge (PIC).  The PIC is a 50-state survey designed to improve the laws of all 50 states as they relate to the sex trafficking of children. This semester, the Center is analyzing whether each state has vacatur laws that allow minor sex trafficking victims to have any convictions that resulted or related to their trafficking vacated rather than merely expunged.  When a sentence is vacated, it is completely erased from all existence, as opposed to expungement, which normally just seals the records of the conviction.  Vacation of a sentence thus offers greater protection to the victim.

Turkey Project: This semester the Center is planning on writing a short book that discusses the legal framework regarding secularism and religious freedom in Turkey.  Turkey is a very strategic country, situated between the west and the east, mostly Muslim but constitutionally secular, etc.  Recent events in Turkey, however, have the potential to upset this balance and make Turkey another Islamic state.  The booklet is thus intended to explain Turkey's constitutional commitment  to secularism and guarantee of the Free Exercise of Religion and (2) the illegality of many of the government's recent actions, including the ongoing state support of mosques. We intend to use the booklet as a means to educate those in Turkey about what Turkish law actually says and requires.

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights: The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is the body responsible for overseeing and implementing the major human rights treaty for Africa. The Center for Global Justice is currently praying about whether to become a certified non-profit organization (NGO) before the ACHPR, which hosts two sessions every year in order to address the status of human rights in the continent. Center Executive Director, Professor Jeffrey Brauch, will be attending the next session, which is to be held in The Gambia in October. We are drafting a legal memo on the ACPHR to help us identify if and how we can be involved and to better understand the major human rights issues that need to be addressed from a biblical perspective.

ADF International: As always, the Center is partnering with ADF International to monitor all cases before the European Court of Human Rights to ensure that we identify all cases on which ADF should intervene.

Jerusalem Institute of Justice: This semester the Center is continuing a project from last semester for JIJ on the Palestinian refugees. One of the primary points of disagreement between Israel and Palestine is what to do with the Palestinian refugees.  Palestine claims all refugees have a "right to return" to Israel. Israel claims that no such right exists.  We are analyzing the legal situation of the refugees, specifically looking at whether a future (or existing?) state of Palestine has an obligation under International Law to grant citizenship to the refugees.

Center Intern Update: Julianna Battenfield

June 23, 2015

I have been in Pretoria, South Africa for 2.5 weeks and I will leave for Cape Town today to spend 3.5 weeks there. I am working at a firm called Motla Conradie, which is involved in cases fighting for religious freedom, against corruption, managing conveyances, and the charge forward to help debtors who have garnishing orders entered against them that authorize creditors to take 100% of their paycheck.

There is a nation-wide reform going on to change the system to potentially cap the garnish % at around 25% of each paycheck and Motla Conradie is taking up the fight in Pretoria. I am not permitted to divulge any more detail via a public forum about our work, but I can tell you that it will help a lot of people!

I am also working for Advocates International at the Advocates Africa branch helping to prepare for the international conference that will be held in Cape Town toward the end of August.

The theme is Religious Liberty: A Touchstone for True Freedom in a Modern World. Religious liberty is not just important for Christians, but for and to all people who want to be able to choose to take a stand for what they believe in, regardless of what that might be. It is the right to be able to believe in and express a viewpoint about morals and values that others might disagree with.

The right to the freedom of speech and the right to religion is instituted in most constitutions in Africa and in constitutions or bills of rights all over the world, but it is being threatened by many different agendas who would seek to silence any voice that would stand for a belief that would oppose their own. This conference will serve as a gathering and an equipping place where attorneys interested in furthering and continuing to ensure that people that hold all different types of religious beliefs and convictions may continue to share their faith with others and talk about controversial topics in peace and without fear.

 

I have been compiling a report as to where every one of the 54 African nations stands in relation to religious freedom, LGBT rights, abortion, and other related family law issues. I have been living with one of the partners at the firm, Crystal, and her family, and in our spare time we have visited the infamous Lion Park, the Pretoria Zoo (the largest in Africa,) Soweto where Nelson Mandela lived, the Orlando Towers (where I bungee jumped!,) downtown Johannesburg for a food festival, and more. The people in South Africa are overwhelmingly welcoming and hospitable and they do family really, really well.

I am currently, thoughtfully, and prayerfully writing a blog post about what I’ve been learning about race and will post that as soon as I can.

Off to Cape Town!

Twenty Days of Interns: Julianna Battenfield

This summer, 20 Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law interns are spread across four states and ten countries, going not only with the Gospel, but also with legal training and a passion to see the Lord’s justice carried out on a fallen earth.

Julianna interned with Advocates International South Africa, a branch of the international non-profit that links over 130,000 Christian legal advocates and jurists in over 156 nations. Advocates International works to promote the rule of law, justice, religious freedom, rights for families and children, and advocates for victims of abuse in order to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Julianna's primary project was working with the African Commission for Human and People's Rights to create a snapshot of where each African nation's Constitution and case law currently stands in the areas of family life and religious freedom (including Sharia law) that will be used all over Africa by advocates so that they may strategically encourage nations to work together in matters of religious freedom and family law. She also researched and wrote briefs and participated in cases involving religious freedom, hate speech, sexism, and race-relations issues while also working at an orphanage on the weekends.

Whether fighting sex trafficking in India and Indonesia, advocating against partial-birth abortion in Europe, advancing the rule of law in Uganda, or securing religious freedom in Bulgaria and South Africa, our interns are making a difference.

See where all of our interns are working here >

Donate to our Internship Grant Program >