International Justice Mission

Thanks for your interest in the International Justice Mission (IJM). As an officially registered 501(c)3 "non-profit band" JUBILEE has promoted and supported the work of this incredible organization for the past 3 years. In March 2006, I became an official IJM Justice Advocate - a trained volunteer. I wrote this article as an introduction to IJM for people visiting our website (www.livejubilee.org)

Much Love,
Curtis
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AN INTRODUCTION TO IJM – Article by Curtis Romjue of JUBILEE

Gary Haugen (Harvard, University of Chicago Law) worked with the US Department of Justice and led the United Nations Rwanda genocide investigation before going on to found the International Justice Mission in 1997.

During his time with the UN, Haugen was exposed to a variety of our world’s great needs. Some people need food. Others need medical attention. Just as basic as these is the need for JUSTICE.

Haugen discovered that there are many groups who bring aid in the form of food and medicine, but where basic human rights are being denied – as in the cases of forced child prostitution and slave labor – there is often no one to help.

If a Peace Corps worker or missionary finds a child without food, the response is rather simple – get them food. But what do you do when you uncover a brothel where children (some as young as 5 years old) are forced to perform sexual acts for paying customers? What do you do when you encounter the multi-billion dollar industry of rape for profit? Go to the police? Unfortunately, too often the police are part of the problem. Their silence is for sale. So what now?

Haugen learned that to help these victims of injustice, you must work within the appropriate channels of law. IJM is composed of legally trained professionals who conduct private investigations, documenting evidence in cases of injustice. Not relying on the local police force alone, IJM ensures that this evidence reaches the courts, and labors diligently for the prosecution and conviction of the perpetrators.

IJM's Four-Fold Purpose (from www.ijm.org)

• Victim Relief - Relieve the victim of the abuse currently being committed.
• Perpetrator Accountability - Bring accountability and just consequences under the law to the specific perpetrator(s) of abuse.
• Structural Prevention - Prevent the abuse from being committed against others who are also at risk by strengthening community factors that are likely to deter potential oppressors, reduce the vulnerability of at-risk populations and empower local authorities to stop such abuses.
• Victim Aftercare - Provide access to services to help victims transition to their new lives and to encourage long-term success.