Animated Film on REDD+

The Global Canopy Programme has released an updated version of “An Introduction to REDD”, described as "a short animated film that aims to explain REDD+ to non-expert audiences in a clear and succinct way."

Find out more about the film here, including versions in French, Portuguese and Spanish.

UN Resolution on Legal Aid

Via namati.org

The United Nations Commission for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice has unanimously adopted a resolution for the groundbreaking UN Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems. The principles and guidelines are the first international instrument on legal aid.

According to analysis by Namati, some of the most significant components of the resolution are:

• Prompt access to legal aid at all stages of the criminal justice process and a right to be informed about a right to legal aid and other procedural safeguards before any questioning and deprivation of liberty; 
• The involvement of a diversity of legal aid providers including lawyers, CSOs, university legal clinicians and paralegals; and 
• The development of a nationwide legal aid system that is sufficiently staffed and resourced to ensure effective and quality legal aid services delivery. 

Read more of Namati’s analysis on the principles and guidelines here.

Law, Environment and Design Workshop - Bangalore

Natural Justice and the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology co-hosted a workshop entitled “Engendering Dialogue among Law, Environment and Design” at Srishti's campus in Bangalore, India on 7 December, 2012. The workshop sought to share the visions of participants, discuss ways of working together, and explore possible intersections between law, environment and design. The workshop also saw the launch of the website of Natural Justice and Srishti’s exciting new joint project, the Law, Environment and Design (LED) Lab (opening January, 2013). Representatives from the Global Environments Summer Academy, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development and the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment also participated in the workshop. 

While the LED website is not yet fully populated, it can be accessed here.

Workshop on Legal Empowerment in Southeast Asia

Rooftops in Jakarta.

From 6-7 November in Jakarta, Indonesia, Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) attended a two-day workshop on legal empowerment in Southeast Asia. Hosted by Namati, the Open Society Justice Initiative, the Indonesian Legal Resource Centre, and the TIFA Foundation, the workshop brought together over 30 lawyers and legal specialists focusing on legal empowerment in the region. Over the two days, the group heard presentations, engaged in participatory methodologies and developed a forward-looking strategy for the region. Participants also assessed how to ensure that justice issues are referenced in the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals process, which they considered to be a particularly strategic approach to creating systemic change. On behalf of the Natural Justice team, Harry thanks the organizers for the opportunity and looks forward to supporting next steps.

ALF Presentation on Creative Media and the Law

Namita Malhotra of the Alternative Law Forum (ALF) presented on her experiences using different forms of media to communicate the law at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology on 3 October, 2012. The presentation introduced faculty from Srishti and the Natural Justice India team to the use of different media forms and some of their potential challenges. ALF has used these different forms as tools to intervene on a variety of issues ranging from piracy to censorship. Their work continues to highlight the need for experimental modes of communicating the law, with an emphasis on exploring how the law can be deconstructed and understood through a multidisciplinary lens. This presentation will help to inform Natural Justice and Srishti’s work in setting up a lab to focused on exploring how design can be used to flesh out legal problems.