IDLO has been active in legal and judicial reform in Afghanistan since 2002. In a challenging environment, IDLO has become a leading partner for the Afghan government, donors and international agencies in the shared goal of re-establishing the rule of law. IDLO’s strategy focuses on three key areas: youth education, access to justice for all and capacity building.
In partnership with graduates of an IDLO public defender training course, IDLO established the first independent Legal Aid Organization of Afghanistan (LAOA) in Kabul to provide free criminal defense services and legal advice for the poor and disempowered. Today, LAOA numbers over 34 lawyers, most of them trained by IDLO.

“IDLO is the one organization that has supported us from the very beginning. More than any other supporter, IDLO has always been there for us. Without their training, mentoring, advice and personal approach to our development, there would be no LAOA and hundreds of innocent Afghans would be in jail,” says LAOA Executive Director, Afzal Nooristani."