Bringing Access to Justice to Marginalized Namibian Communities 

Access to justice in Namibia is severely limited by economic and geographic barriers. Namibia has a relatively small legal profession with virtually all lawyers residing in Windhoek and one or two other cities. However, nearly 70% of Namibians live in rural areas. Moreover, the established fee schedule precludes most Namibians from obtaining the services of a lawyer. There is a critical need in Namibia to increase access to justice for the thousands of rural Namibians who have no opportunity to obtain information about how to pursue their legal and political rights.

New Perimeter is providing assistance to the Namibia Paralegal Association (NPA), an organization that is helping to address this need. Through more than 200 trained lay advocates (which the NPA refers to as “paralegals”), the NPA provides a wide range of services to Namibians living in rural communities that would otherwise have no means to learn about their rights and how to pursue them. New Perimeter lawyers are working with NPA to prepare an updated basic skills and resource manual for paralegal volunteers and will conduct training sessions for paralegals and community leaders on access to justice strategies.