About Us
The WJP is an independent, multidisciplinary organization working to advance the rule of law worldwide.
Our Work
We engage advocates from across the globe and from multiple work disciplines to advance the rule of law.
"The universality of the rule of law cannot be overemphasized. In the developing world, we general y have a political leadership that always looks at the rule of law as a foreign imposition from the West, without regard to the fact that the rule of law is in fact probably even more important for the developing world." -- Beatrice Mtetwa
The WJP Rule of Law Index relies on over 100,000 household and expert surveys to measure how the rule of law is experienced in everyday life around the world. In advance of the launch of the WJP Rule of Law Index 2014, we asked leading global voices to share their thoughts on the importance of the rule of law and the World Justice Project's efforts to measure it.
Here's what rule of law heroine Beatrice Mtetwa has to say about the #WJPIndex.
About Beatrice Mtetwa
Beatrice Mtetwa is a Zimbabwean lawyer who has been internationally recognized for her defense of journalists and press freedom. The New York Times described her in 2008 as ""Zimbabwe's top human rights lawyer.” Beatrice Mtetwa grew up on a farm in Swaziland without electricity or running water. Her father had six wives; she is the eldest daughter of 50 children. After graduating from university in Scotland, Beatrice attended law school at the University of Botswana. She moved to Zimbabwe shortly after it gained independence in the mid-1980’s. Beatrice’s first job was prosecuting cases for the new government of Robert Mugabe. Within a matter of years, however, she left her job disillusioned with the “selective justice” involving many of the cases. Beatrice opened her own law firm representing defendants victimized by the repressive government.
Beatrice Mtetwa is the recipient of several international awards including: the Inamori Prize for Ethics, the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Human Rights Award from the American Bar Association Section of Litigation; Beatrice Mtetwa is the only African besides Nelson Mandela to receive the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize from France. On February 28th 2014, Ms. Mtetwa was honored by the Department of State of the United States of America with the "International Woman of Courage Award," along with several other dynamic women.
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