Projects
ILF-Afghanistan
The ILF has established a country-wide public defender system in Afghanistan, known as ILF-Afghanistan. ILF-A opened its first full-time office in 2003 in Kabul, with two Afghan lawyers and a $30,000 grant from the Open Society Institute. From 2003 to 2007, ILF-A sent volunteer lawyers from the UK, US and Canada to mentor Afghan lawyers and expand the project throughout the country. Since opening its Kabul office, ILF-A has been the primary provider of criminal defense services in Afghanistan. Today, it has 13 offices throughout the country with 43 Afghan lawyers who have been trained and mentored on a day-to-day, case-by-case basis by International Fellows from the United States, Canada and Germany, as well as national senior defense lawyers. In addition, ILF-A set up the first legal clinic for law students in Herat contributing to the increased number of qualified women lawyers interested in the field. ILF-A has demonstrated to the legal community the key role defense plays in a justice system. Courts, prosecutors, lawyers and the community at large now understand that indigent criminal defense is the first protection against human rights violations.
While there is continued discussion about the sustainability of legal aid services in post-conflict countries, the ILF has demonstrated that the cost of not having such services is far higher. When qualified lawyers represent the accused, the number of defendants incarcerated is greatly reduced. Active defense lawyers lower the level of arbitrary detentions by challenging weak prosecutions and getting defendants released before charges are brought. By limiting the time spent in prison where torture and other human rights abuses are commonplace, active defense lawyers are the first protectors of human rights. Finally, limiting the rates of incarceration and sending indigent defendants back to their communities as soon as possible increases the level of security by engendering trust in the central government
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