Rule of Law and Development Cooperation in Times of Crisis: Future Perspectives
We have seen a shift in rule of law and development cooperation’s priorities and practices. However, the current context of manufactured ‘crisis’ has shown an even faster pace of change, which has shaken the sector and cast doubt on our ability to deliver meaningful change through locally led solutions and people-centred justice. Indeed, we have found that enacting solidarity, empathy, and hope have themselves become acts of resistance.
During the Shifting Discourses project supported by THRIVE Institute and the KPSRL, we interviewed practitioners working in the rule of law, development, and humanitarian international cooperation. This led us to take a closer look at how donors and development stakeholders engage with ‘localisation’ and decolonial practices. We summarise these findings in our Shifting Discourses Report and with a team of researchers, we created the Shifting Discourses Policy Brief that was presented to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Objectives
We invite you to this event to envision pathways to push forward localising the rule of law and development cooperation. We hope this event can be a catalyst for new partnerships and future collaborations between participants.
Agenda (Online Event)
16:15 – 16:30
Welcome and Opening Remarks
16:30 – 16:45
Exploring the impacts of the ‘Shifting Discourses’ Project, Report & Policy Brief
16:45 – 17:05
Intervention 1 - ‘Crisis’ and the current state of rule of law and development cooperation: where do we go from here?
Speaker: Andrew Solomon
17:05 – 17:25
Intervention 2 - Funding localisation in critical times: Enacting hope, solidarity and community
Speaker: Mr. Yasah Musa Kimei
17:25 – 17:55
Q&A and Open discussion: How can localisation of the rule of law and development cooperation continue to be funded and enacted meaningfully? *
17:55 – 18:00
Closing remarks
*we ask that participants reflect on this question throughout the interventions and prepare any questions and remarks they would want to share during the open discussion.
Registration
Registration is possible through this link. You will receive the Zoom link a few days before the event.
Speaker Profiles
Andrew Solomon
Andrew Solomon is a seasoned innovator in the field of legal and judicial reform, with three decades of experience culminating in his recent role as a Senior Rule of Law Advisor at USAID. He has led in developing evidence-based policies, designing cutting-edge programs, and facilitating locally-led initiatives to close justice gaps, combat impunity and insecurity, and strengthen trust in justice institutions around the globe. His specializations in court excellence, people-centered justice, and legal empowerment are shaped by his work with organizations including the American Bar Association, American Society of International Law, Brookings, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Andrew currently sits on the board of the International Association for Court Administration and will soon join the board of the American Bar Association's Rule of Law Initiative. In the meantime, he is developing a Rule of Law IDEAS CoLab to inventory select justice innovations, aggregate new design tools, and build a space for rule of law leaders and influencers to collaborate in solving people's primary justice problems.
Yasah Musa Kimei
Mr. Kimei is Project Manager at the Nubian Rights Forum, a grassroots legal empowerment organisation based in Nairobi, where he leads the Citizenship and Land Programme. He is also ‘community engagement lead’ of the interim core group of the Global Movement Against Statelessness and is on the steering group and the management committee of the Global Statelessness Fund. in 2024, he was granted a fellowship from the Social Change Initiative. Mr. Kimei is a prominent Nubian human rights activist whose advocacy focuses on matters of statelessness, citizenship, and access to digital ID. His advocacy work extends beyond his own community to also advocating for the rights of other stateless communities in Kenya and across the world. He has spoken about his work at conferences and high-level events around the world, including in The Hague and Kuala Lumpur.
Online - Zoom