Equal Rights, Access to Justice, and Vulnerable Populations

A significant number of people around the world continue to face persistent barriers to access to justice and other legal problems, hampering their ability to exercise their rights. For example, a 2019 World Justice Project study found that 49 percent of the citizens surveyed experienced legal problems, and 17 percent reported that they had given up any hope of trying to resolve them. 

This situation is even more urgent for vulnerable and marginalized populations, who report a greater number of legal problems. For historical, cultural, political, and/or other contextual reasons, these populations are denied access to legal protection or social and economic participation and programs. Without access to justice, individuals in poverty, youth, women, ethnic minorities, the elderly, and migrants are susceptible to exploitation by powerful groups and individuals, and have few tools to challenge violations of their rights.

USAID’s range of programming on access to justice, particularly for vulnerable populations, advances international standards and goals that treat legal empowerment as key to a fair justice system. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Articles 2 and 14) and Sustainable Development Goal 16 highlight: the importance of the rule of law and access to justice; the development of effective, accountable, and transparent justice institutions; the protection of fundamental freedoms; the protection of women and children; and reducing trafficking in persons. This edition of the DRG Learning Digest examines the following topics:

•  Evidence from Access to Justice Programming: What Works and What Doesn’t?
• Utilizing Evidence to Advance Access to Justice: A Haiti Case Study
• People-Centered Justice: Upholding Equal Rights for Vulnerable Populations