Pathfinders is an active member of the global Working Group on Customary and Informal Justice (CIJ) and SDG 16+, led by the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) and ODI.
This unique coalition includes a broad array of global, national, and local organizations, including the United Nations and other intergovernmental agencies, international humanitarian and development partners, women—and Indigenous-led advocacy groups, grassroots justice defenders, academic institutions, and think tanks, among many others.
Established in 2020, the Working Group has pursued a common agenda to promote access to justice for all, advocating for the centrality of CIJ systems as critical to advance access to justice for all and indispensable to the achievement of SDG16. The Working Group’s shared vision establishes that equal access to justice for all cannot be realized without engaging the systems that most people—and the most excluded constituencies—already turn to; those systems, in turn, must be subject to the same basic standards of effectiveness, accountability and transparency as state institutions.
The Working Group on Customary and Informal Justice's goals are to create an enabling policy environment, at national and global levels, for governments, development partners, and civil society to engage effectively with CIJ in efforts to build more coherent and inclusive justice systems, which will contribute to achieving equal justice for all. We will achieve this by:
Published in 2023 by IDLO on behalf of the Working Group on CIJ and SDG16+, a groundbreaking call to action was issued in the form of recommendations representing a new consensus on engagement with CIJ amongst key stakeholders in the global justice community.
| The Workstreams | |
| Workstream 1: Sustaining collective action on CIJ | Co-led by IDLO and ODI |
| Workstream 2: Improving the policy-relevant evidence base on understanding and engaging with CIJ systems | Led by World Justice Project |
| Workstream 3: Mobilizing and supporting a High-Level Group on CIJ | |
| Workstream 4: Policy advocacy action | Co-led by Pathfinders, the African Centre of Excellence–Access to Justice (ACE-AJ), Cordaid, and Kituo Cha Sheria |
This strategy (set to launch in Fall 2024) will identify key initiatives/activities, roles, responsibilities, required and available resources, and provide a compelling narrative for the proposed interventions.
The campaign will aim to build policy consensus on CIJ and drive more relevant and effective justice investments through a series of bold, concrete actions at both global and country levels.
