The Compact and Forum was created to help achieve two of the UN’s key priorities among its Sustainable Development Goals: promoting the rule of law and increasing access to justice.
As a sister organization of the GFLJD (Global Forum on Law, Justice and Development), the Compact and Forum not only brings together legal minds from all over the world to raise awareness of the challenges faced by legal practitioners across the globe, we are also able to coordinate and augment existing initiatives to help countries achieve the rule of law and access to justice in support of sustainable development.
We amplify the professional voices of lawyers by connecting law societies and bars across the globe, harnessing the collective perspective, purpose and power of the global legal profession towards the advancement of the rule of law and access to justice. in order to build a sustainable future.
Empowering Women by Balancing the Law (EWBL) supports interested countries in assessing legal landscapes and in turn design and implementing reforms to discriminatory laws and improving enforcement of existing legislation. Through a gender-inclusive lens and a bolstered vision for equality, EWBL and interested countries partner to build resilient economies and greater fulfillment of international commitments.
EWBL was launched by the Legal Vice Presidency of the World Bank under the supervision of former World Bank Senior Vice President and Group General Counsel, Sandie Okoro. The importance of this project was highlighted and revitalized throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated existing gender-based inequalities and brought about a worrisome reversal of decades worth of gains in the economy, jobs, and voice and agency. EWBL is managed by a task force from the World Bank’s Legal Vice Presidency. It draws on the expertise and experience of our attorneys worldwide to cater to countries’ needs for real solutions that put an end to imbalanced laws that limit women and girls’ opportunities.