Rule of Law

Haugen notes several times in his book that “the vast majority of victims of injustice in the developing world are not victimized by complicated, knotted violations of human rights, but rather by simple, brutal acts of violence that are already against the law in their own countries.  Millions of victims of slavery and trafficking suffer in nations with robust antislavery and antitrafficking regulations.  Millions of victims of rape, of illegal land seizure, of police brutality endure violence that explicitly violates their country’s laws.  This violence persists simply because the victims have less power than those who oppress them.  Particularly when they are not effectively protected by the power of the rule of law, the poor are incredibly vulnerable to abuse.”  He cites a U.N. report that “four billion people around the world are robbed of the chance to better their lives and climb out of poverty because they are excluded from the rule of law,” and a World Bank report that concludes, “Police and official justice systems side with the rich, prosecute poor people and make poor people more insecure, fearful and poorer.”

They don’t take steps to seek justice because they are sure that it cannot be found.  In his organization’s work, “we bring power back to the side of the victim, by providing him or her with a strong, consistent ally who does not give up.”