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Legal Empowerment Fund to Tackle Global Justice Gap

Legal Empowerment Fund Logo

The Fund for Global Human Rights (FGHR) announced a bold new initiative with the aim of closing the global justice gap, the Legal Empowerment Fund (LEF), on Saturday, September 25, 2021 at Global Citizen Live in New York City. In collaboration with the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Namati, FGHR (a longtime Channel grantee partner) described how the LEF aims to provide long-term funding to grassroots activists and organizations who are helping their communities to take on systemic injustices and advocate for more protection under the law.  

“By supporting justice defenders in local communities, the Legal Empowerment Fund is an opportunity to afford people the dignity and protection they deserve,” said FGHR President and CEO Regan Ralph. The LEF will be directed by Atieno Odhiambo, a human rights lawyer based in Kenya whose work has focused on access to democracy, governance, and justice.  LEF’s mission is described in this video.

Through its grant-making and technical assistance, the LEF will: 

  • Provide frontline civil society organizations with resources 
  • Foster and share learning on effective legal empowerment strategies 
  • Strengthen the power and agency of excluded communities including women, Indigenous people, and children 
  • Increase access to justice, improve laws, and drive systemic change