Placing People at the Center of Justice in Africa: The African Alliance for People-Centered Justice Strategy Document

The growing recognition of people-centered justice as crucial to achieving the 2030 Agenda’s objectives—eradicating poverty, reducing inequality, fostering shared prosperity, and protecting the environment—underscores the urgency of action. Without this urgency, these global promises risk falling short. While numerous African countries have initiatives promoting people-centered justice, they remain fragmented and insufficient to achieve the level of progress needed to meet SDG16 (equal access to justice for all) across the continent.

SDG16 aligns closely with Goal 11 of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which emphasizes justice as a central theme. This alignment presents a valuable opportunity to leverage these frameworks to strengthen one another. A coalition of diverse stakeholders championing people-centered justice could enhance collaboration and integration between these development agendas. However, Africa currently lacks a continent-wide platform dedicated to advancing people-centered justice at the regional level, while also engaging with global efforts like the Justice Action Coalition and the Ibero-American Alliance on Access to Justice.

In November 2024, the African Alliance for People-Centered Justice was created to mainstream the concept of people-centered justice, and launching as a high-ambition coalition of governmental, intergovernmental, and nongovernmental organizations that seek to promote the understanding and use of people-centered approaches to justice in Africa.

This strategic document outlines the proposed vision, mission, values, strategic goals, objectives, and activities for the African Alliance for People-Centered Justice (AAPCJ) from 2024–2028. It also outlines the initial governance structure of the AAPCJ. The strategic goals identified in this strategy are:

1. To ensure a common and shared understanding of people-centered justice among a range of formal and informal justice actors,
2. To mainstream a people-centered approach into the delivery of justice at the country level, and
3. To expand the work of the Alliance into other countries and regions in Africa.