FY 2003-2004 Human Rights and Democracy Fund Projects

FY 2003-2004 Human Rights and Democracy Fund Projects ($36,448,000)

DRL's Human Rights and Democracy Fund (HRDF), which is DRL's allocation of the Economic Support Fund (ESF), is used to fulfill the Bureau's mandate to monitor and promote human rights and democracy worldwide. HRDF supports innovative programming designed to uphold democratic principles, support democratic institutions, promote human rights, and build civil society in countries and regions of the world that are geo-strategically critical to the United States. The following are programs that have been or are currently being supported through the fund.

Europe and Eurasia

• Political Party Development in Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic ($450,000 + $437,000) – Foster the development of alternative political voices by providing political skills-building programs to local levels Uzbek groups, that are independent of the government and support political reform. In the Kyrgyz Republic, additional funds provided through this grant will build on an existing political party development program, which was funded with FY 2002 HRDF.
• Kyrgyz Republic Printing Press ($600,000 + $193,000) – Additional funding to continue supporting the establishment and operation of an independent printing press in the Kyrgyz Republic.
• Civic Coalition Against Torture in Uzbekistan ($615,000) – Create a civic coalition of forces to combat torture in Uzbekistan by training lawyers, medical doctors and human rights defenders to identify and document cases; supporting initiatives advocating for legal reform; and developing a national databank on incidences of torture.
• Protection of Human Rights in Uzbekistan ($550,000) – Increase the legal assistance and public education for human rights protection in Uzbekistan by providing free legal representation to detained citizens; building the professional capacity of young human rights practitioners; and developing a national media campaign to educate Uzbeks about human rights and resources for enforcing those rights.
• Support for Human Rights in Tajikistan and Turkmenistan ($600,000) – Strengthen the work of human rights defenders in protecting and promoting human rights in Tajikistan through training on monitoring and reporting, technical assistance, and a small grants program. The program will also assess the strength of the human rights community in Turkmenistan.
• Civic Bridges Across Central Asia ($350,000) – Create a regional, interactive network of citizens who will promote civic participation and advocacy campaigns.
• Media Resource Centers in Central Asia ($700,000) – Develop media resource centers offering an array of services to independent print media, including journalists’ training, in Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Uzbekistan.
• Youth TV-Journalism in Tajikistan ($315,000) – Train young journalists to produce a weekly TV program promoting youth civic participation in Tajikistan.
• Kyrgyz Women Journalists Training Program ($216,000) – Train Kyrgyz women journalists to produce television programs on women’s rights issues.
• Protecting the Rights of Kazakhstan’s Independent Journalists and Media ($350,700) – Create a network in Kazakhstan of skilled attorneys committed to protecting the rights of independent journalists and media outlets.
• Women’s Rights and Journalism Training ($340,000) – to support cross cutting and cross regional programs focusing on education, women’s programs, civil society, rule of law, literacy, youth programs, democracy building and governmental reform.
• Citizen’s Rights in the Ferghana Valley ($499,000) – Continued funding for a Citizens' Rights Advocacy Network in the Ferghana Valley.
• Ethical and Procedural Election Training ($450,000) – procedural and ethical election training for members of Precinct Electoral Commissions (PECs) in Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic.
• Central Asia Information Centers ($643,000) – Creation of twenty information centers in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan that will serve as information clearinghouses for access to independent media, democracy and human rights publications and legislative information.

• China Model Advocacy Courthouse ($330,000) – This project addresses the lack of true due process in criminal cases by training defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges, and seeking ways to change court procedures to allow attorneys to offer their clients a meaningful defense.
• Promoting Rule of Law in China ($607,000) – This project will support the creation of a rural legal aid corps and promote the development of a unified legal system in China.
• Women’s Rights Task Force in China ($299,000) – Women’s rights proponents will be supported through the development of task forces on domestic violence, women’s labor rights, and women’s property rights, and the building an active network of women’s rights groups in China.
• China Criminal Justice Reform ($350,000) – This project promotes the development of criminal defense in China and seeks to educate defendants and legal professionals alike about the rights of criminal defendants.
• Rule of Law and Governance in China ($550,000) – This project will promote citizen participation, transparency, and legal advocacy in China.
• Electoral and Political Reform in China ($800,000) – This project supports activities to improve and expand local elections, promote political participation, encourage governmental transparency and accountability, and support debate on political reform.
• Judicial, Administrative and Regulatory Reform in China ($600,000) –In order to strengthen the rule of law in China, this program will support judicial reform and administrative and regulatory reform.
• Promoting Standardized Elections in China ($350,000) – This project will build understanding and respect for democracy and public participation by standardizing and strengthening elections and democratic processes.
• Grassroots NGO Development in China ($500,000) –The number of small, grassroots NGOs in China has increased and this project seeks to support these organizations by creating and developing municipal and sub-provincial networks of local grassroots NGOs. The NGO networks will provide capacity building support, including training programs and peer-to-peer learning.
• Strengthening American Studies ($500,000) – This project will promote understanding about democracy and the U.S. political system by strengthening American studies programs in China and introducing Western journalistic traditions and practices to Chinese journalists.
• Promoting Labor Rights ($370,000) – This project will support labor rights in China by sharing best practices and innovative labor rights projects in China.
• NED China ($2,980,500) – The National Endowment of Democracy will support a grant-making program to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the People’s Republic of China.
• Encouraging Citizen Participation and Openness in Governance ($205,000) – This project promotes transparent accountability and strengthens legislative hearings, including training of newly elected community office leaders and staff.
• Criminal Defense Training in China ($200,000) - This project will train criminal defense lawyers and engage these lawyers in the need for criminal defense reform

• Strengthening Women’s Advocacy Groups in Jordan ($565,000) – Strengthen local women’s advocacy groups through training, research, promotion of collective action, and facilitation of contacts with decision-makers at all levels of government.
• Resolving the Past and Protecting the Future in Algeria ($368,000) – Promote reconciliation and democratization in Algeria by strengthening local NGOs to monitor the human rights situation and to advocate for citizens’ needs with an emphasis on the issue of the missing.
• Empowering Women in Maghreb ($640,000) – Promote women’s rights advocacy across the region through human rights lawyering workshops and networking initiatives, and to develop grassroots awareness and mobilization through an education program for illiterate and semi-literate women.
• University Training in Human Rights and Rule of Law in Egypt ($510,000) – The program will increase the effectiveness of local and international NGOs in Egypt and the MENA region in promoting human rights, civil society and the rule of law through training in substantive and procedural human rights law.
• Reporting for Humanity in the Middle East ($828,600) – Continued funding to develop and strengthen independent media in the region through training in basic journalism skills with an emphasis on truthful, balanced and constructive reporting.

• Economic and Political Empowerment in El Salvador ($380,000) – Development of a reform model that will help give ordinary citizens greater security over their assets, institutions capable of protecting private property, access to loans and credit, and other productive financial tools.
• Training for Poll Watchers in Venezuela ($285,000) – Train and deploy thousands of party activists to polling sites across Venezuela during the upcoming referendum and any subsequent elections.
• Combating Public Sector Corruption in Paraguay ($200,000) - Support the formation and training of a Permanent Joint Task Force to Combat Public Sector Corruption in Paraguay.
• Office of the Guatemala Special Prosecutor ($85,000) - Support for the efforts of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes Against Human Rights Workers in Guatemala.
• Bolivia: Improving Political Processes for Indigenous Peoples and Farmers ($437,000) – to build the capacity of indigenous peoples and rural farmers in Bolivia to more effectively advocate for reform and engage in the legislative process.
• Strengthening Democratic Governance in Ecuador through Anti-Corruption Practices ($400,000)– to develop, test and implement a pilot transparent municipal government management model in four municipalities in Ecuador.
• Voter Education in Haiti ($250,000) – to promote citizen participation in Haiti through voter education and training.

• Nigeria Sharia Symposium ($310,000) – Support for a conference in Abuja, Nigeria that will engage Nigerian Sharia criminal judges on adapting Sharia to changing needs and realities, and provide a developing a strategy to address shared concerns in Muslim countries.
• War Crimes Documentation in Sierra Leone ($800,000) - To support war crimes documentation in Sierra Leone which will assist the work of the Special Court of Sierra Leone (SCSL) and the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
• Health and Educational Needs Assessment in Equatorial Guinea ($225,000) - To support the performance of a health and education needs assessment and the creation of an implementation plan for Equatorial Guinea.
• Managing Influence: De-Politicizing Media in Cote d'Ivoire ($435,873) - to support the training of journalists and print media outlets in Cote d'Ivoire on internationally recognized standards of journalism.
• Conflict Mitigation Strategies in Cote D’Ivoire ($385,000) – strengthen local Ivoirian NGOs and community leaders to use conflict mitigation skills to bring peace and stability to local communities.
• Reconciliation in Angola ($373,000) - to develop and implement community reconciliation programs and educate youth on human rights in Angola.
• Nigerian Human Rights Reporting Program ($388,000) - support for the training of journalists in Nigeria on human rights reporting skills with a focus on fair and balanced reporting of Sharia Law news items.
• Muslim Women’s Advocacy in Africa ($897,000) - to work with Muslim civic groups in Liberia, Nigeria, Sudan and the self-declared Republic of Somaliland to organize advocacy workshops targeting non-elite Muslim women.

• Monitoring and Reporting on the Human Rights Conditions in North Korea ($250,000) – Support the efforts of South Korean NGOs’ to monitor and report on the human rights condition in North Korea in order to help fill an important information gap and raise international awareness of the human rights situation there.
• NED Tibet ($250,000 HRDF + $250,000 other ESF) – Continued support for programs on democratic education in Tibetan communities, human rights reporting on Tibetan communities, and the free flow of information about Tibetan communities.
• The International Center for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP)- ($350,000) - to promote regional and international linkages among progressive Islamic intellectuals and activists, and to promote an international level of discourse on progressive interpretations of Islam.
• Center for Civic Education in Southeast Asia ($640,000) - an interactive civic education program for middle school-aged students in southern Thailand and Malaysia.
• Asia Calling Radio ($365,000) – Support for an independent, indigenous, pro-democracy radio news show in Southeast and East Asia.

• Voice for Humanity in Afghanistan ($475,000) – to implement a pilot project that would convey information about the new Afghan Constitution as well as basic democracy concepts and voter rights, through face-to-face training, supported by solar-powered digital audio players.
• Women’s Leadership in South Asia ($716,000) - to strengthen the role of women in elected governments in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

• Community of Democracies Follow-up Meeting of Latin American and African States ($100,000) – Provide funds for a two-day, USG-lead conference for Latin American and African government and non-governmental representatives as a follow-up to the Seoul Community of Democracies Ministerial. The Latin American and African participants will exchange lessons learned on democratization efforts in their regions. The exchange will help participants to identify ways to strengthen democracy through regional initiatives and through individual countries’efforts.
• NED Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program ($1,000,000) – Continuation of a democracy fellows program which hosts scholars of democracy and democracy practitioners, activists, and civic leaders. This was a congressional earmark.
• World Movement for Democracy ($250,000) – Continued support to NED for the development of networks of democracy-promotion civic organizations in regions of the world.
• NED’s Small Grants Program in the Muslim World ($4,967,500) – NED will expand its current small grants program in countries with significant Muslim populations. The majority of the funds will be used to support programs to advance democracy, human rights, independent media, civil society, government accountability, political party development, and effective election administration in the Middle East, African and South Asia.
• Embassy Small Grants Projects ($446,000) - small grants of up to $50,000 for Posts to administer human rights and democracy projects worldwide.
• Human Rights Documentation ($450,000 + $217,000) - To facilitate the implementation of the Martus software in Nepal, Cambodia, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya. The Martus Human Rights Bulletin System is a new software tool that provides the benefits of encryption technology, and is customized for use by human rights organizations to capture, store, and disseminate information on human rights abuses in a secure, reliable environment.
• Human Rights Commissions ($356,627) – Support for the national human rights commissions in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Gaza and West Bank by building the capacity of the commissions to analyze new laws and monitor the implementation of the new laws, enhance their human rights monitoring and reporting capabilities, and build administrative capacity of the commissions.
• Support for Community of Democracies ($187,000) - Support for non-governmental organizations initiatives related to the Community of Democracies.
• Muslim Democratic Leaders ($100,000) – Additional support for an ongoing project to establish a network of democratic political leaders in the Muslim world