Meeting the challenges of delivering: justice on the ground.

• Author: Titov, Dmitry
• Position: Report

The rule of law is like the laws of gravity: It holds our world and our societies together and ensures that order prevails over chaos. This is how the Secretary-General summarized the concept at the General Assembly's High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law in September 2012.

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A month before that meeting, the Secretary-General and I visited Timor-Leste and had the privilege of seeing at first hand how the United Nations work to advance the rule of law has taken centre stage in building peace, security and development there. Supporting Timor-Leste's Prosecutor-General in completing hundreds of investigations of serious human rights violations committed during the crisis in 1999; assisting prison authorities in improving conditions of detention by developing standard operating procedures for prison officers; developing a roadmap to guide future support to the justice sector--these are just a few examples of how the United Nations has worked to strengthen the rule of law in Timor-Leste.

Around the world in the past decade, there has been a growing understanding of the importance of strong justice and security institutions in building stability and sustained economic development in conflict and post-conflict societies. As a result, we have seen rising demand for United Nations efforts to strengthen the rule of law in post-conflict and crisis situations. A critical factor in that work is national ownership and participation. As the Secretary-General has stressed on several occasions, identifying, developing and using national capacities must be a priority in the aftermath of conflict. When credible, capable national stakeholders are visibly in the lead in the national peacebuilding process, it bodes well for the sustainability of our endeavours.

United Nations efforts in this area are wide-ranging, and cover every stage of any scenario after conflict. To address immediate gaps in justice and corrections that might threaten to derail or disrupt a peace process, the UN can assist in setting up emergency mobile courts, support measures to address inhumane prison conditions and arbitrary or prolonged detention, and help strengthen national capacity to fight conflict-related crime. We work to address the disproportionate impact that conflict has on women and girls, combating gender inequality through greater access to justice, targeting conflict-related sexual violence, and advancing women's representation and participation in...