‘Youth as Catalysts for Justice’: The Just-Lead 2025 International Legal Conference
Last month’s Just-Lead 2025 International Legal Conference convened more than 350 participants at the University of Kigali, in Kigali, Rwanda, including student law associations from across East Africa, along with legal scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. The collective mission was to strengthen access to justice through youth-driven dialogue, innovation, and legal reform.
Held under the theme “Empowering the Youth as Catalysts for Justice: Advancing Equity, Human Rights Advocacy, and Legal Innovations for Social Transformation,” the July 18-19 gathering brought together a diverse range of legal minds and changemakers committed to reshaping the future of justice.
The conference was documented on social media—on X, @jl_conference, and on LinkedIn via the University of Kigali and the #justlead hashtag.
The conference aimed to equip young legal professionals with practical skills and mentorship, foster meaningful collaboration between youth, institutions, and civil society, promote innovation and technology in legal practice, and encourage community-centered methods of dispute resolution, particularly highlighting alternative dispute resolution processes.
The conference sessions addressed a spectrum of urgent legal themes from youth engagement in legal advocacy, technology and the future of legal practice, and social justice, to human rights, environmental law, refugee protection, and child justice. The agenda focused also on ADR’s role in peacebuilding.
While the full conference report--see link below--presents a broad array of voices and insights, this CPR Speaks post focuses on ADR and its critical role in fostering access to justice and sustainable peace.
Reclaiming Justice Through ADR
Opening the ADR discussion, Emeritus Rwanda Chief Justice Sam Rugege (CV available at https://bit.ly/4mkLy3r) reflected on Rwanda’s strides in building a a community-centered ADR framework grounded in dignity and reconciliation.
Highlighting reforms dating to 2003, he spoke about the legacy of homegrown justice mechanisms such as the Gacaca courts (see the United Nation’s “background note" at https://bit.ly/45X5x2v) and Abunzi community mediation, both rooted in restorative practices that prioritize dialogue and healing over retributive justice.
This author had the privilege of moderating an insightful ADR panel, led by Rwanda High Court Justice Harrison Mutabazi, who is spokesman for the Judiciary. (See his bio at the Weinstein International Foundation’s website, which is dedicated to promoting mediation use worldwide, at https://bit.ly/4mO13AX).
The session emphasized that mediation should not be seen merely as a tool to ease court backlogs but as a pathway to restore social harmony and deliver timely, restorative justice. Justice Mutabazi underscored Rwanda’s installation of ADR into the government’s Integrated Electronic Case Management System (IECMS), a digital platform that streamlines access to mediation services, especially for citizens in remote areas.
Notably, Rwanda is also working toward a comprehensive mediation framework in criminal justice, with a strong focus on victim-offender reconciliation.
Further enriching the conversation were panelists Mispa Fri Awasum, who is the Chartered Institute of Arbitrator’s Rwanda branch manager in Kigali, Rwanda; Victor Feh, managing director for Comprehensive Staffing Resources, an employee recruiting firm in Kigali, and Bernadette Uwicyeza, who is chief executive officer of Mediation Home Rwanda, a nonprofit with several offices in Rwanda that seeks to enhance mediation use and prevention at all levels of society. The panel members collectively reinforced that law is not solely an academic pursuit, but one rooted in ethics, empathy, and integrity.
The panelists stressed the need to equip the next generation of legal professionals with practical ADR skills and recognized credentials, especially for navigating trade and investment disputes. Access to regional training and mentorship was emphasized as vital for shaping meaningful and impactful careers in arbitration.
Equally critical was the discussion around harmonizing national investment laws with regional and international arbitration frameworks. The panel noted that strong enforcement mechanisms are essential to inspire investor confidence and ensure predictable, just outcomes.
Furthermore, the panelists called for a cultural shift urging young legal minds to champion non-adversarial approaches such as arbitration, mediation, negotiation, and community dialogue. These methods, they said, are not only more inclusive but essential to legal innovation, social cohesion, and justice systems that serve people equitably. They also underscored the role of institutional backing in mainstreaming ADR and advancing restorative justice models that prioritize healing, accountability, and resilience.
As highlighted in the conference report (which can be accessed on LinkedIn at https://bit.ly/4mnBVB5), the ADR discussions offered a clear message: Transforming justice systems begins with rethinking how we engage with conflict, and youth are leading that transformation.
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The conference concluded with powerful closing remarks from Michael Butera, Chief Technical Adviser to the Ministry of Justice (official bio on the Rwanda Ministry of Justice website at https://www.minijust.gov.rw/about). He called for continued support for platforms like Just-Lead, which unite young legal minds, institutions, and partners in a shared mission of advancing justice, equity, and innovation in Rwanda and across the continent.
The Just-Lead 2025 Conference reaffirmed a vital truth: Youth are not just the future of justice, they are actively shaping it today.
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The author, a 2025 Garvey-Nkrumah Fellow, was a 2025 summer intern at the CPR Institute, which publishes Alternatives. She is in her final year of law school in Kigali, Rwanda. For information on her fellowship, see https://afca-us.org/garvey-nkrumah-fellowship-program.
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