On 1st September MyJustice brought together over 30 participants at a presentation and discussion of preliminary research findings by the Overseas Development Institute and Saferworld into access to justice and inclusion in Myanmar
More than 30 researchers, CSOs and development agencies participated in a discussion on research commissioned by MyJustice to explore issues of access to justice and inclusion in Myanmar. The study focussed on Mon and Yangon and involved discussions with over 500 individuals. Dr Lisa Denney of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Khin Thet San of Saferworld presented the preliminary findings, which have mapped how different people and groups in society identify and pursue different options to access justice. The research identifies some of the main disputes that people experience, how they attempt to resolve them, and how satisfied they are with the justice outcomes they achieve. The research points to extremely low levels of legal and justice awareness in Myanmar and that minorities and disadvantaged sectors of the population in particular have few justice options open to them. Caitlin Reiger, MyJustice Team Leader, said “the research highlights the variety and complexity of the barriers faced by people in their search for justice in Myanmar; MyJustice aims to identify ways to reduce and remove those barriers, offering access to justice for many more people”. The research report will be completed during September and available for download.