Fall 2009

Announcements

Website Launch

The Justice Education Society’s International Programs website has a new look! Use the left column to navigate to discover current projects, events, the online newsletter, international resources, past projects, and our team.
Find all the information you need about our international projects at www.JusticeEducation.ca/international.

Introducing our JES International Team

Meet the Justice Education Society’s dedicated staff members who implement our International Programs. More…

Project News

Central American Region

The Justice Education Society is leading a multi-country criminal justice system strengthening program in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. This program addresses the genuine need for justice systems to respond to serious violent crimes in the northern triangle of Central America, such as the approximately twenty homicides each day in Guatemala City.

JES has recently signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with the Judiciary, and the Attorney General’s office in Guatemala, and with the Attorney General and the National Public Security Academy in El Salvador.

During July 2009, the needs assessment for the training course on Phase 3 - Oral Trials was initiated in Guatemala.

For El Salvador and Honduras, this October was the first time having a full training program for police, prosecutors, and judges on all the stages of a criminal case – from the crime scene to trial (Phases 1, 2 and 3). The initial “training for trainers” on Phase 1- Crime Scene Investigation for the specialists from El Salvador and Honduras that will be in charge of the replication of this training program in their own countries was offered this month in Guatemala. Read more…

Our extensive presence in Guatemala has evolved from single small proposals to a full training program which is in place at present. This project is a response to a specific request coming from our partners, in part to address the needs raised by new legislation passed in the country that allowed for the implementation of Special Methods of Investigation to fight against organized crime. Therefore, a specific plan was developed to help Guatemala acquire these specialized techniques of investigation.

This past August saw the implementation of the second part of the project. CAFCA (Centro de Análisis Forense y Ciencias Aplicadas or the Centre of Forensic Analysis and Applied Sciences), our local partner, organized a three day Seminar called “Special Methods of Investigation: legal and investigative challenges” to discuss the challenges both legal and operational to the implementation of these techniques in Guatemala. There were 21 participants at this seminar including Guatemalan and Canadian police officers, intelligence agents, prosecutors, and judges.

A third component to this project, a course on surveillance, is under development and will be offered in the next few months. Read more…

The Justice Education Society and La Defensoria Maya (DEMA) have embarked on a knowledge exchange project that aims to increase awareness and understanding of indigenous justice practices and in doing so strengthen relationships between Aboriginal communities in Canada and Mayan communities in Guatemala. This is the first time JES has worked with indigenous partners on an international program.

In September, four Mayan delegates from Guatemala spent eight days developing connections with Aboriginal communities in BC, marking the third phase of this exchange. This trip deepened the relationships between Mayan and Aboriginal communities where there is the most potential for sustainable future partnerships, and will be followed by a final phase to the project exploring the sharing of educational tools on indigenous justice practices. This communication of ideas will culminate in the development and sharing of tools and resources based on indigenous justice practices that will be used for public legal education programs to benefit Aboriginal and Mayan youth. Read more…

Ethiopia

In June 2009, Rick Craig and Evelyn Neaman went to Ethiopia to begin this four-year CIDA project. This project is part of a multi-country criminal justice system strengthening program that aims to strengthen the Rule of Law in different regions of our world by taking concrete steps to build effective justice systems not only in Ethiopia but also in three countries in Central America: Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

In Ethiopia, this project will help develop the capacity of the Ethiopian police, prosecutors, and judges in their ability to deal with crimes of violence against women.  It includes training and implementation of crime scene investigation skills for police, major case management and oral trial skills for prosecutors, and oral trial skills for the judiciary.
 
The JES staff met with the Vice President of the Supreme Court, the Vice Minister of Justice, and a variety of justice professionals all of whom were very interested in becoming partners in the project. The JES will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice, which will be the lead partner for this project. The JES team will be opening an office in Ethiopia in the fall of 2009, and is in the process of hiring a local project coordinator. Read more…
 

Upcoming JES International Events, and Highlights from JES International Programs

Explore JES International’s history and future. More…

Discover the impact of JES’s International Programs through our multimedia resources. It’s Time: African Women Join Hands Against Violence is a stunning documentary that tells how the unique partnership between JES and two African organizations is working to combat an epidemic of domestic violence. For this and more resources click here.

Thank you to our numerous funders and partners. As a non-profit organization, the Justice Education Society relies on their support, without which none of these projects would be possible.