Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2025
I’m Jerim Obure, a global development scientist of Kenyan origin. I work as a Senior Specialist for Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning at the International Justice Mission (IJM)- a U.S. based CSO that supports the strengthening of justice systems around the globe. I am also a member of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) and the M&E Professionals Association of Kenya (MEPAK). Here I share insights gained from IJM’s justice systems work based on Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – ““Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.”
As a global human rights CSO, IJM over the last two decades has implemented programs aimed at supporting the capacities of justice systems to respond to “violent crimes” that are targeted at vulnerable persons across numerous countries in the global South. These include (among others) violence against women and children in South America, forced labour slavery in the Asia Pacific region, and abuse of policing powers by law enforcement authorities in sub–Saharan Africa. From numerous studies and evaluations we have conducted in various parts of the world on how justice systems respond to some forms of violent crimes, we have learned that poor justice governance and administration may also contribute to widespread abuse of human rights of some vulnerable groups, the majority of who fail to get justice if not appropriately assisted through the entire process of the justice journey. Sadly, these victims are too often portrayed as predators as a result of their social vulnerabilities, economic marginalization, and sometimes low levels of literacy- all which predispose them to violence, and subsequently making it difficult sustain their effective participation through the justice value chain processes.
Global human rights standards based in international human rights law benefit both civil society and businesses. Access to justice is a fundamental right of citizens and moving away from global standards is not an option. The State as authoritative guarantor of the rule of law has both the obligation to protect the lives of citizens from violation and to provide means for pursuing effective remedies by victims of violence of human rights nature. The mechanisms of availing justice- the administration of justice- is an important question of governance accountability in the dispensation of rule of law. According to the 2025 SDGs monitoring report, only 35% of the targets are on track, while Goal 16, which targets access to justice is among the most poorly performing goals with corruption and inefficiency the main challenges.
Global standards remain the bedrock of meaningful outcomes and “what works.” To make steady progress towards achievement of Goal 16.3, states must take extraordinary steps to empower citizens and make the administration of justice to be citizen centric. Proactive steps to eliminate the bottlenecks that hinder citizens and the provision of special accommodations for vulnerable and indigent citizens to help them overcome the financial and legal technicalities of justice mechanisms are essential.
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