MEDIA RELEASE PR38017
Making Justice Happen: IBJ Fellowship for Innovative Criminal Justice Projects
GENEVA and SINGAPORE, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
In support of efforts to curb legal abuse across Asia, International
Bridges to Justice (IBJ) this week launches its second JusticeMakers
Fellowship Competition.
The Competition, opening January 27, is open to applicants who have
concrete, achievable ideas to promote and foster criminal justice and rule of
law initiatives. Each winning Fellow will receive USD5,000 to implement his
or her project. The winners will also participate in a week-long intensive
training course in Singapore.
The 2008 IBJ JusticeMakers Fellows started a paralegal training program
for Filipino prisoners and a juvenile justice program in Pakistan, among
other projects. IBJ CEO and founder Karen Tse sees IBJ JusticeMakers Fellows
as critical to protecting the basic legal rights of ordinary citizens. "We
are getting people around the globe working to end torture and ensure legal
rights."
The IBJ JusticeMakers Fellowship Competition is hosted on the IBJ-run
"connecting people around the world with the international legal community."
A panel of judges from various parts of the world will choose seven
Fellows from among the applicants. An eighth Fellow will be chosen by a
to evaluate each proposal.
IBJ will fund the 2010 Asia JusticeMakers Fellowship Competition through
an i3 Challenge grant from the Lien Centre for Social Innovation at Singapore
Management University. In a related project, IBJ is establishing the
Singapore Justice Training Center (SJTC), which will become a key regional
institution for training lawyers, judges, and police to safeguard legal
rights. The SJTC will focus its efforts on training legal practitioners from
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, among Southeast Asian countries.
About International Bridges to Justice
with a vision to end torture in the 21st century through justly implementing
criminal laws. IBJ's experience shows that providing legal counsel at the
earliest stages of defense can protect the rights of the accused. IBJ's
JusticeMakers program demonstrates the potential market principles have for
the human rights sector- that a large number of small investments can spark
creativity and potentially be a mechanism for ending torture.
SOURCE: International Bridges to Justice
CONTACT: Sanjeewa Liyanage of International Bridges to Justice,
Phone: +41-22-731-24-41,
Cell: +41-76-234-21-34,
sliyanage@ibj.org
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