USAID’s APPROACH
USAID’s work in the area of the rule of law focuses
on several areas. These include reforming the judicial system
to be more efficient, fair, and transparent, and helping to
reform laws and create criminal procedure codes that support
the rule of law. USAID is strengthening justice institutions
through training and expert technical assistance. In an effort
to sustain those reforms, USAID programs also aim to improve
legal education, train those currently involved in the justice
sectors, and prepare students who will work in the field in
the future.
USAID also supports the expansion of prosecutors and defenders’
offices, and the professionalization of the judiciaries of
those countries. USAID programs make justice more available
to historically excluded groups through alternative dispute
resolution and through the creation of community justice centers.
USAID also equips civil society to better advocate for pro-justice
initiatives, and works with other U.S. government agencies,
regional organizations, and other donors to help coordinate
efforts on rule of law projects in the region.
Though USAID programs sometimes supply tools like computers
for better case-tracking or buildings to house community justice
centers, in most cases, USAID “has invested in the cement
of the justice system—human and institutional capacity—as
distinguished from the investments in the bricks of physical
infrastructure and equipment.”5
Strengthening institutions and equipping people maximizes
possibilities for long-lasting improvements to the justice
sector, and through USAID’s long-term commitment and
established relationships in the region, tremendous results
have been produced.
USAID’s Democracy and Human Rights Office in the Bureau
for Latin America and the Caribbean works with several partner
organizations in the region. Current partners for regional
initiatives include the Justice Studies Center of the Americas,
and the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance
Program of the U.S. Department of Justice.6
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