| Overview : Within the Democratic Governance and Stabilization Unit of UNDP, the access to justice programme provides linkages between justice providers and communities through different activities including; advocacy on legal and policy reform through the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs as well as with civil society actors; increasing access to justice to citizens of South Sudan with special focus on vulnerable groups, such as juveniles, and women including the provision of legal representation in sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) and related criminal matters. Access to justice is a fundamental right and an essential prerequisite for the protection and promotion of all other human rights. In the Declaration of the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Rule of Law at the National and International Levels, adopted in September 2012, Member States of the United Nations reaffirmed the right of equal access to justice for all, including members of vulnerable groups and “recognized the importance of the rule of law for the protection of the rights of the child, including legal protection from discrimination, violence, abuse and exploitation, ensuring the best interests of the child in all actions, and recommit to the full implementation of the rights of the child”[1]. |
