Equitas - International Centre for Human Rights Education

Published purpose

This project aims to significantly improve the rule of law in La Francophonie through the implementation of international and national standards, enforcing existing legal safeguards and improving access to justice to all individuals, particularly marginalized groups, including women and youth. The project focuses its efforts in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. Direct prevention of torture is achieved through early access to trained legal counsel; it is the combination of defenders taking cases and proper training that ensures impact. Through training, multi-stakeholder dialogues, rights awareness campaigns, and the exchange of good practices, the project reinforces the capacity of human rights defenders to provide legal representation, increases awareness and engagement in the promotion and protection of human rights, and creates a structure to prevent torture, or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment within the justice system.