About Us

Traditionally injustices in the developing world have been tackled by human rights organisations that produce reports and demand action at a government level.  By contrast, CLEAR is a grass roots organisation that seeks redress in individual cases through the local justice system, using local lawyers. 

CLEAR’s vision is to provide the poorest in developing societies with access to justice, through:

• Community legal education, particularly in slum areas and in remote parts of Kenya and Uganda.
• Access to justice through legal aid centres aimed at advising and representing the most marginalised.
• Prison work, working with prison ministries to afford access to legal advice through legal education seminars and pro bono representation to those who have been arbitrarily arrested or have been awaiting trial for excessive periods.
• Advocacy at Government level, in particular on unjust and outdated laws or administrative practices.
• Public interest litigation in carefully selected cases. 

CLEAR is distinctive in that the projects are owned by the Lawyers’ Fellowships of the respective countries and their fervent desire is to realise the long term aim of funding the projects entirely themselves. The LCF in the UK, through social enterprise projects, shares and encourages this drive to self-sufficiency. 

CLEAR International raises funds and utilises expertise in the UK to help grow these indigenous legal aid and education projects.

There are 4 main emphases:

• Delivery of each project must be owned and driven by local management, staff and volunteers
• Delivery of each project must be cost effective & subject to regular audit
• In addition to providing relief to individuals, the projects should enhance local society’s understanding of human rights and access to the rule of law
• Each project’s clientele should be the poorest and most vulnerable in society, often women and children

In response CLEAR International provides:

• Management expertise
• Funding
• Technical support, e.g. Law books, software, computers and research