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Ph:DR: Family photo after signing the Legal Aid Partnership Agreement
A Legal Assistance Partnership Agreement was signed by the Benin Human Rights Commission of Benin (CBDH), the Benin Bar Association (OAC) and the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative (ABA-ROLI) with financial support from USAID, on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 at Golden Tulip Hôtel le Diplomate in Cotonou. The objective of this agreement is not only to help certain petitioners (plaintiffs) unable to bear the legal costs related to enlistment in order to obtain justice and reparation which seemed impossible to them; but also to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Benin.
Aline ASSANKPON
Ph:DR: A partial view of the CBDH Commissioners
Very often, applicants (presumed guilty) are arrested and detained for particular reasons or because of insecurity. However, it is observed that the period of detention provided for by the Penal Code is difficult to respect: Instead of being released within the time limits prescribed by law, they remain in detention because, ignoring everything, the texts of laws and/or not having the necessary means to benefit from the services of a lawyer for their assistance. In these cases, unintentionally, human rights are violated in a country of law.
Thanks to the Legal Assistance Partnership Agreement that has just been signed between the CBDH and the Benin Bar Association and the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative (ABA-ROLI) with financial support from USAID, the Commission now has a formal institutional framework and exchanges with the Beninese Bar Association in order to register before the courts and tribunals of Benin, cases of human rights violations or abuses referred to the Commission and who deserve to be brought before the Beninese courts.
Ph:DR; Some representatives of Civil Society Organizations
During the present mandate of the CBDH, its action is very often slowed down, even hindered because the legal assistance of the applicants who request the intervention of the Commission for the purpose of obtaining justice and reparation has always been impossible, pointed out Commissioner Emérico Adjovi, Focal Point of the “Advancing Right in Benin” Project in French, “Advancing Human Rights in Benin”.
“Within the near future, victims in a situation of deviance and vulnerability who need to be assisted under the terms agreed in the Agreement will now be able to benefit from the assistance of the Benin Bar Association with the competent courts to restore respect for human rights”.
To add to these remarks, the president of the CBDH, Mr. Clément Isidore Capo-Chichi will say that in the exercise of their mandate of protection, more precisely of their supra-judicial function, the Commissioners of the CBDH face on a daily basis the imperative of reconciling the objectives of respect for the law and equity.
pH; DR: Panel discussion on Legal Aid in Benin
This is the theme of a discussion panel moderated by journalist Pesce Hounyo and which gives the possibility to all the assistance to appropriate it in any matter. Three debaters and not the least, provided answers of understanding. These include the Commissioner, General Rapporteur of the CBDH, Serge Prince-Agbodjan, the Lawyer at the Bar of Benin, Member of the Council of the Order, Me Raoul Placide Houngbédji, and the Secretary General of the Supreme Court, Richard Kpènou.
If the Commissioner of the CBDH, describes legal aid as “a mechanism put in place to provide assistance to people seeking justice, who do not have the capacity to contribute to the legal process through the support necessary to be heard and to obtain justice”. He will specify that in general, the legislator has provided for it and it is at the level of the Bar Association that this mechanism is put in place to allow citizens to go to them? Me Raoul Placide Houngbédji will recognize the legality and application of this judicial mechanism in Benin. “In Benin, the law provides for the establishment of this mechanism. The Benin Bar in correctional matters has been conducting an assistance policy which, for years, has allowed lawyers to go to prisons to identify cases that require the intervention of a lawyer and likely to be handled by Lawyers; some are supported by own resources and others require contributions by lawyers. Formally, legal aid is an aid fund that is set up to support litigants who are unable to bear the cost of access to justice. While the legislator has created for the litigant, the obligation to have recourse to the service of a lawyer”. The representative of the judicial body, the Supreme Court, will finally rule on the shortcomings observed in the Beninese justice system. “Ensuring the legality of citizens of justice is a principle of the legislator. Today, legal aid is not really organized and it must be made effective in all legal cases. Even the Supreme Court, since these rules of procedure require the appointment of a lawyer, has set up a commission to try to ensure legal assistance to the litigant. (Interview by: AA)
Indeed, the date of July 18, when the signing of the Legal Assistance Partnership Agreement took place, coincides with the celebration of Nelson Mandela’s International Day.
July 18 of each year is dedicated to the commemoration of the South African leader, Nelson Mandela by the Beninese Human Rights Commission (CBDH). The purpose of this celebration is to share the legacy of a man who changed the 20th century. “This is a privileged moment to renew our attachment to the values that inspired Nelson Mandela: His absolute determination; his deep commitment to justice, human rights and fundamental freedoms; his deep conviction in the equality and dignity of every human being; its total commitment to dialogue and solidarity (…); characteristics which, after all, make this great statesman a defender of human rights,” declared Commissioner Clément Isidore Capo-Chichi, President of the CBDH. (AA)
A non-exhaustive assessment reveals 662 requests received to date by the Commission and of which 96 or 74% come from towns and prisons in the country. “In analyzing these requests, of a particular type, we can see that some are the subject of a decision by the Constitutional Court. However, despite court rulings on the arbitrariness of their continued imprisonment, people are still in prison. Not being constituted councils, the processing of these requests takes a halt in the instruction procedure, declaring us incompetent. Many of these cases therefore require legal assistance. unfortunately notes the President of the Commission.
Faced with this situation of powerlessness, the Commission decided to make public the “first 100 Opinions”, following referral or self-referral by the Commissioners in the exercise of their functions. Institutions have decided to echo this publication, on reading certain opinions, which for them, should not remain on the simple observation of incompetence. This is why, following the CBDH, ABA-ROLI and the Benin Bar Association have decided to combine their efforts to ensure the processing of complaints until the damage is repaired.
As a stakeholder in this partnership agreement, the Benin Bar Association thus gives hope to detainees and is part of the same dynamic as the CBDH. In saluting the American Bar Association (ABA-ROLI) and the CBDH which undertake to offer guarantees of stability and security to all without any distinction, the President of the Benin Bar Association, Me Angelo Hounkpatin declares: “the rule of law combines at the same time: the limitation of the power that each body exercises its competence with the respect of dedicated procedures; the ranking and control of these acts in relation to the fundamental norm and finally, the possibility of being offered to citizens who address themselves to judges to assert their claims to respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, against the State itself”.
In the context where the rule of law is addressed to the State, “the reality of addressing a judge to assert claims to respect fundamental rights and freedoms is not easy; for one must possess the science, the art and the technique. This is what justifies a judicial organization bringing together the presence of a lawyer whose services vulnerable and destitute people cannot afford. It is in this that the CBDH, the ABA-ROLI and the Beninese Bar have just taken a fundamental act by signing this partnership agreement which will allow the Beninese Bar to fulfill its general mission of legal assistance in complete peace of mind for the benefit of the most vulnerable citizens in all matters.” the Beninese Bâtonnier convinces himself.
After a panel discussion around the theme: “Legal Assistance and Access to Justice in Benin”the USAID-Benin Resident Director, Mr. Carl Anderson will in turn appreciate the commitment of the CBDH. “I am convinced that our partnership will be valuable in securing justice and defending the violation of human rights. And the commission will be able to strengthen its role as a national institution for the defense of human rights”.
To conclude this rich ceremony which makes sense in terms of justice and equity, the Minister of Justice and Legislation, Me Yvon Détchénou observes that these initiatives which are punctual will have to exist over time for a real defense of human rights. Congratulating the Beninese Bar for its investment in the defense of fundamental rights and freedoms, the Minister of Justice assures the full will of Parliament to support these actions. “The political will is one, the resource people, the circumstances, the realities, it is this whole ecosystem that will make human rights exist in Benin. So legal aid has always existed, it hasn’t worked because despite the passage of time, men haven’t been able to adapt to the changing situation. Today, we are at the stage where we have to adjust the realities with our wills. In criminal matters, legal aid is compulsory especially when the means of the State make it possible to support them effectively. And so before December 2023, a new law on legal aid will be passed” promet Me Détchénou.
This CBDH ceremony is therefore the synthesis of all that has been done so far with the United States Embassy in Benin, through USAID, which has supported the Commission over 18 months to implement the Youth Program – Civic Education in Human Rights and then, the “Advancing Right in Benin” Project, which is part of the execution of the human rights protection mandate in Benin.
