OUR PROGRAMMES
Most people in Bangladesh have limited access to either the formal or the informal justice system. The worst affected by this are women, children and the marginalised.
BLAST seeks to reach out to this section of society with the aim of raising their awareness and understanding of available rights, remedies and services, and ensuring greater responsiveness to their needs from within the justice system.
Legal Aid
Legal Aid
BLAST’s core activities focus on legal aid – including advice, referral, mediation, litigation and community awareness — for the poor and marginalised.
Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
Alongside individual legal aid, BLAST undertakes strategic litigation, or public interest litigation, as a key part of its advocacy for law and policy reforms to ensure effective legal protection of rights.
Capacity Building
Capacity Building
BLAST aims to improve access to justice by building capacity of legal service providers and other actors in the justice sector. Our activities in this area include staff training, capacity building for management committee members and panel lawyers, awareness programmes for clients and capacity building on rights issues.
Advocacy
Advocacy
BLAST organises advocacy meetings, workshops and seminars on a range of issues to not only facilitate changes in Bangladesh’s laws, but also increase discourse around issues of justice in Bangladesh. We also work closely in formal and informal networks with other organisations and coalitions both nationally and locally, including on documentation research, investigation, advocacy and public interest litigation.
Research
Research
BLAST’s research activities are complementary to its legal aid and public interest litigation and advocacy activities. We have conducted several small-scale research studies on various issues, relating to our ongoing advocacy including implementation and follow up of Supreme Court judgments.