Sri Lankans Get Access to Justice through Mobile Clinics

Displaced due to conflict， 18-year old Manickarajah Sulochana， of Vavuniya in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka， migrated to India in 1990， just after getting married. She had three children in India， but when she returned to Sri Lanka in 2010， she didn’t have documentation for her children.

Without these documents， it was difficult enrolling them in school. She also feared for her children’s safety， as not having a valid National Identity Card (NIC) to ensure your identity could lead to unnecessary questioning or harassment by the military or police.

For an individual to fully belong to and be recognized in society they must have the most basic legal documentation to which they are entitled by law: the Birth Certificate and National Identity Card. Without the latter， for example， an individual is not permitted to exercise their right to vote， open a bank account， or register to obtain any other services.

Lack of proper legal documentation also prevents the integration of people into society and a sense of belonging. This in turn contributes to significant tensions within society， with those who are unable to gain access to basic national and legal services feeling as though they are treated unequally in society.

Due to various circumstances - a lack of awareness， mistrust in Government systems， or loss of documents due to conflict and/or natural disaster - there remains a number of Sri Lankans unable to access the simplest of services because they lack basic legal documents. Since 2005， UNDP in Sri Lanka has provided legal documentation support in the conflict and disaster-affected provinces of North and East Sri Lanka through the Equal Access to Justice Project.

To address immediate needs in the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami and during and after the conflict in 2008， ‘one stop’ mobile clinics were established to provide legal documentation at the Divisional Secretariat level. The service brings together a number of government departments and institutions to directly engage with the people and support the process of issuing the required documentation and legal guidance.

Through a UNDP mobile clinic， Sulochana was able to obtain birth and citizenship certificates for her children， which enabled them to go to school and receive government benefits.

In 2012， the Sri Lankan government developed the National Policy Framework on Social Integration， which recognizes the lack of access to legal aid and legal documentation as a key factor preventing access to justice and leading to further exclusion of people who are already marginalized in society. With the support of UNDP， the Government then undertook an assessment across 13 districts to identify the extent of citizens who still lacked basic legal documents， covering 42，000 households comprising 152，976 people.

The assessment highlighted the districts of Ratnapura， Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya as the geographical areas of concern， areas of Estates comprised of people affected by low levels of income and education. This population faces challenges in accessing services due to language barriers and the vast distances that have to be travelled. As a result， these people were prevented from participating fully in the post-independence development process that took place in the country， which resulted in them lagging in terms of various indicators of economic and social development.

In direct response to these findings and as part of the UNDP supported Strengthening Law Enforcement， Access to Justice and Social Integration (SELAJSI) Programme initiated in late 2013， the on-going mobile clinics were extended to Ratnapura， Nuwara Eliya and Badulla districts.

Overall， 15，724 individuals benefited from the mobile clinics conducted in 2014. These beneficiaries were provided with legal documents and legal services.

The mobile clinics also provided an invaluable opportunity for government officials to move as close to the people as possible in their locality， enabling direct engagement with the people and building better trust between government and citizens.

The mobile clinics planned for January -June 2015 aim to provide 5，000 more people ‘one stop’ services at the Divisional Secretariat level.

個(gè)人要被社會(huì)充分接受和認(rèn)同，需要一些最基本的法律文件，如出生證明和身份證明。這些文件能確保個(gè)人擁有的一些權(quán)利。缺少一些法律文件阻礙人們?nèi)谌肷鐣?huì)，使他們?nèi)鄙贇w屬感，不能平等享受社會(huì)服務(wù)。

由于缺少意識(shí)，不信任政府系統(tǒng)和沖突導(dǎo)致文件丟失等種種原因，一些斯里蘭卡人缺少法律文件，無(wú)法享受最基本的服務(wù)。從2005年起，聯(lián)合國(guó)開(kāi)發(fā)計(jì)劃署在斯里蘭卡沖突和東北北部受災(zāi)省提供文件方面的幫助，這一舉動(dòng)屬于“平等地獲得公正”項(xiàng)目。

為了滿足人們需求，斯里蘭卡建立了一站式移動(dòng)診所，這些移動(dòng)診所囊括了一些政府部門和組織，為人們辦理所需要的文件并提供法律指導(dǎo)。在聯(lián)合國(guó)開(kāi)發(fā)計(jì)劃署，斯里蘭卡政府開(kāi)展了跨13個(gè)區(qū)的缺證件人口調(diào)查，涉及人數(shù)眾多，幫助許多人更好地融入社會(huì)，獲得公正。這些舉措使得政府能更接近人民，構(gòu)建了相互間的信賴關(guān)系。移動(dòng)診所的范圍還在不斷擴(kuò)大中。

[http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/ourstories/employment-programme-gives-hope-to-new-graduates-in-jordan/]