Resource Library

This report aims to raise awareness about the role that the reform of public health laws can play in advancing the right to health and in creating the conditions for people to live healthy lives. By encouraging a better understanding of how public health law can be used to improve the health of the population,…

In Guatemala, almost half of the total population is indigenous and the majority live in rural areas. Despite progressive laws that recognize the right to health, rural populations face major barriers and discrimination to access healthcare services. Because of this situation, rural communities have organized themselves as “community defenders for the right to health.” This…

This publication guides paralegals and those affected by land grabs in solving their cases. It includes useful laws, regulations, institutions, and methodologies drawn from the practical experiences of handling these cases. This document is written in Burmese.

The South African Citizenship Act is the sole act which regulates citizenship in South Africa. It must be interpreted in the spirit of the Bill of Rights in the South African Constitution which states: “No citizen may be deprived of citizenship” and that South Africans share an equal citizenship.” – Section 20 Published in 1995,…

This short booklet is a collection of real stories which illustrate the problems children in South Africa face with access to citizenship. It also recommends a solution and records the recommendations made by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on the relevant issue.

This policy brief presents a series of recommendations that were developed in an effort to assist the Mozambique Ministry of Health and clinical partners in improving access to information for patients/family members regarding their health and their rights as health system users. It includes data and stories drawn from real cases, concrete examples of the type of information that should be…

Kituo cha Sera na Utafiti- Mpango wa Haki za Mazingira wa Namati Utangulizi na Maelezo ya Jumla ya Mwongozo wa Utendaji Maeneo mengi ya dunia, bila kujali viwango vyao vya maendeleo ya kiuchumi, yapo katika ukingo wa mgogoro mkali wa kimazingira. Katika maeneo haya, shughuli za miradi ya uzalishaji kama vile mashamba makubwa, uchimbaji madini…

Strengthening citizen-led accountability initiatives is a critical rights-based strategy for improving health services for indigenous and other marginalized populations. As these initiatives have gained prominence in health and other sectors, there is great interest in how they operate and what makes them effective. Scholarly focus is shifting from measuring the efficacy of their tools and…

This resource, Guide des Facilitateurs de la Protection des Terres Communautaires, is the French version of the Community Land Protection Facilitator’s Guide. The English version can be found here. Namati’s Community Land Protection Facilitators Guide is a step-by-step, practical “how to” manual for grassroots advocates working to help communities protect their customary claims and rights to…

From 2014 until 2016, the Community Self Reliance Centre implemented an adaption of Namati’s legal empowerment approach to community land protection in four communities in Nepal, with the goal of piloting a strategy for successfully addressing challenges of landlessness in the country. In early 2018, Namati undertook an assessment of the work for the purpose…

This research brief is part of a series that reviews the nature of the work undertaken by community paralegals, and the extent to which that work is recognized or funded by government. In Kenya, community paralegals are recognized in the Legal Aid Act of 2016 as “paralegals.” The first briefs published for this series focus on the…

This September, world leaders and grassroots justice defenders will mark the 10th anniversary of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor​. This presents us with a unique opportunity. With the attention of world leaders trained on the anniversary, we have the chance to spotlight the work of our community from the last decade and…

This collaborative guide is a collection of resources for reformers interested in advancing open government and expanding justice. It lays out model commitments, provides a state of play on the growth of the topic in Open Government Partnership, and collects resources (partners, “how-to”s, and defines terminology). From the overview: The Open Government Partnership provides a…

Introduction et Aperçu du Guide Pratique De nombreuses parties du monde, quel que soit leur niveau de développement économique, sont sur le point de connaitre de graves crises environnementales. Dans ces régions, les opérations de projets d’extraction comme les plantations de grande envergure, l’exploitation minière et le développement industriel ont réduit voire dégradé le bien-être…

Deciding whether or not to allow an investor to use community lands and natural resources is one of the most important decisions a community can make. When negotiations are conducted fairly and inclusively, investments may result in the creation of jobs, provision of much-needed infrastructure such as schools, roads and clinics, and rental payments that…