Sustainable development needs stable democracies. When all persons and institutions are held accountable with just and reasonable laws that are made public and enforced equally among all, societies and the environment can thrive.

At GOPA, we believe in the power of people-centered locally led development, supporting local actors to leverage their existing expertise, capacities and resources to bring about and sustain the change they desire.

When it comes to rule of law projects that seek to improve citizens’ access to justice, localization is critical. Indeed, not only do countries present unique circumstances within which stakeholders need to collaborate, but citizens’ relationships, or lack thereof, to the justice systems in their communities are heavily influenced by their experience of discrimination, corruption, and injustice.

[Photo: Tourism police training on cultural heritage protection, part of the EULEAD III project; Libya, July 2023. Photo by Ziad Aboujaafer.]

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to protecting human rights or promoting security, peace, and justice, but here are three ways to apply a localized approach to rule of law projects:

1. Prioritize people-centered justice

Localization helps promote peace and justice for all rather than perpetuating legal systems that benefit a small—often privileged—segment of the population. However, to be effective, people-centered justice requires a deep understanding of the intricacies of local judicial systems.

In Lesotho, for example, GOPA supports the Ministry of Justice, Law, and Parliamentary Affairs to improve governance institutions. A small, but key, component of the project is implementing the country’s first national justice survey, which employs a whole-of-society approach to gather meaningful data on the local people’s justice needs and wants. Our collaboration with local legal aid providers, local civil society organizations, and the University of Lesotho helps us reach vulnerable groups while gaining an even deeper understanding of the gaps in the Lesotho justice system.

By prioritizing people-centered justice, legal reforms can be better aligned with local needs while contributing to building a more inclusive and equitable justice system for all citizens.

2. Foster strong local partnerships

Effective localization leverages insights from a diverse group of local experts to build strong partnerships. In Libya, for example, GOPA coordinated with local- and national-level security institutions in designing, rolling out, and evaluating training sessions for over 550 government employees. This approach contributed to the 85% satisfaction rate of training participants, helped strengthen collaboration between relevant government agencies, and laid a solid foundation for stability and long-term government reform.

When local partners lead in communicating the rationale and goals of interventions, it leads to a clearer understanding of projects’ long-term impacts and reduces the public’s skepticism. We witnessed this effect firsthand through our work implementing police reforms in Moldova and supporting transitional justice in South Sudan, where community-led messaging significantly improved public trust in their police and justice systems.

3. Integrate with other sectors

Rule of law is foundational to all sectors – from public health to education to environmental protection. Localization ensures that rule of law is not addressed in isolation but rather is treated as a cross-cutting issue, leading to more comprehensive and sustainable development outcomes.

In Libya in 2021 and 2022, for example, GOPA facilitated the rehabilitation and reopening of Libya's Coastal Road, focusing on infrastructure development to support peacebuilding and economic recovery in the region. We recently complemented this work with training programs, conflict monitoring, and political analysis to help Libyan security and rule of law institutions be more conflict-sensitive and human rights-compliant.

Focusing on localization fosters lasting trust between funders, implementers, and communities, laying the groundwork for impactful legal and justice reforms. It also builds ownership and capacity which are both keys to sustainability. Supporting local actors to define project priorities, raise funds, design interventions, lead implementation, and evaluate results, implementers are better able to deliver interventions that local populations can sustain over the long term.