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Get Out Your Checkbook!
July 5, 2007

In a world where legitimate causes are forced to chase charitable donations to do their good work, I have one more to add to your list. 

International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) www.ibj.org is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva Switzerland. Founded in 2000 by US citizen Karen Tse, the simple purpose of IBJ is to me one of the pillars upon which not only the US is based but all human rights. Consider this excerpt from IBJ’s mission statement”

“. . . IBJ works to guarantee all citizens the right to competent legal representation, the right to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment and the right to a fair trial. . . “

So simple and, you may think, a right few do not enjoy but such is not the case. When Karen first traveled to Cambodia in 1994 there were less than 10 attorneys in the country as a result of Khmer Rouge rule. The Cambodian justice system provided the “right to a defender” but practically speaking in name only. 

In many countries those charged with a crime have no legal representation whatsoever. In many of these cases torture is the standard investigative technique simply because it is cheaper to beat someone to the point of confessing than it is to actually investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged offense. Case closed and the government feels they have provided for the greater good of the majority of their citizens at a relative low cost to a few.  But the good news is that this often happens simply because the government and private sector in those countries do not have the knowledge necessary to develop a legal system that comes anywhere near what you and I take for granted. Enter IBJ. 

Based in part on her Cambodian experience Karen founded IBJ but unlike many other human rights organizations, she focused on working within a county’s existing laws to bring about change. As a result, IBJ has actually been welcomed by many governments generally viewed as not respecting human rights including China, Vietnam, Burundi, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe with many to follow, all in addition to Cambodia.

So why should you care? Well for starters it’s the right thing to do. We are fortunate to live in a country where this is generally not an issue but along with that blessing comes an obligation to help others less fortunate and this is one relatively easy way to do that. But if you need a more business oriented reason it would be that we work in an industry that buys much of the product we sell in countries where the basic human rights we take for granted are not even known let alone practiced. In short, if for no other reason we should do this because the consumers we expect to sell to expect us to. If you doubt that just ask Nike, Wal-Mart, Starbucks and many other companies like them.

Please go to the IBJ website (http://www.ibj.org/) and see what they’re all about. Review their goals and accomplishments and most of all; look at what you can do to help.

Bill Matthies is the president of Coyote Insight (www.coyoteinsight.com) and can be reached at (714) 726-2901 or wmatthies@coyoteinsight.com 

Posted by Bill Matthies on July 5, 2007 | Comments (0)