The Konrad Adenauer Foundation, New York, together with the International Legal Foundation (ILF), hosted a roundtable discussion on the Equal Access to Justice for All resolution (A/RES/78/227) adopted in 2023 by the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and subsequently by the UN General Assembly.
The resolution notes with concern that challenges to access justice in criminal justice systems undermine the rule of law, the achievement of safe and secure societies, and the right to equal treatment before the law, and encourages Member States to ensure equal access to justice and reduce inequities in criminal justice systems.
This resolution notably calls for a meeting of experts to share information on challenges, lessons learned, best practices, and enabling factors needed to enhance the functioning of criminal justice systems to ensure equal access to justice for all. The expert meeting is scheduled to take place in Brasilia, Brazil, in December 2024.
Thus, the purpose of this meeting is to discuss with UN Member States, civil society organizations, and individual experts how the United Nations' permanent missions can ensure meaningful civil society participation in the planned expert group and deliver meaningful outcomes that advance equal access to justice for all.
Discussion issues:
- Preparations for the expert meeting on equal access to justice for all are being hosted in Brazil.
- Civil society's inclusion in this meeting of experts and how we can support.
- Discrimination in criminal justice systems is a key barrier to equal access to justice and the topic of the expert meeting.
- An overview of the meeting of independent experts being convened by the ILF and its partners in November in Brazil, and how it can feed into the equal access to justice for all expert meeting.
