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 Foreign Operations Appropriated Assistance*
Fiscal Year (FY) 2007: $11.34 Million (M) ($11.19M FSA, $0.15M Other)
Estimate FY 2008: $10.19M ($10.19M FSA)**
Assistance Goals: The U.S. Government’s (USG) foreign policy towards Belarus is robust democracy promotion with the goal of empowering the Belarusian people so that they may determine their own future. In support of this objective, the majority of U.S. assistance is targeted to support Belarus’s transformation to a democracy that respects human rights and the rule of law by building democratic institutions and strengthening civil society. U.S. social and humanitarian programs work to improve standards of living, demonstrating U.S. support for the Belarusian people.
Areas of Focus (Foreign Operations Appropriated Assistance):
Peace and Security (PS): FY 2007: 0.15M; Est. FY 2008: 0
- Work with the Government of Belarus (GOB) to physically protect nuclear material;
- Due to concerns over human rights violations committed by the GOB, the U.S. provides no bilateral assistance to the Belarusian military or law enforcement bodies.
Governing Justly and Democratically (GJD): FY 2007: $8.95M; Est. FY 2008: $9.16M
- Build the capacity of NGOs in Belarus to increase public participation and act as agents for change;
- Strengthen independent media outlets and journalists inside and outside of Belarus to increase access to independent information;
- Build the capacity of democratic parties to unify, strategize, organize and connect with constituents.
Investing in People (IIP): FY 2007: $1.55M; Est. FY 2008: $0.73M
- Combat HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis and educate people living in the Chernobyl-affected regions on a more radiation-free lifestyle;
- Increase access to independent higher education through support for the European Humanities University (EHU), now located in Lithuania;
- Combat human trafficking by increasing NGO advocacy skills, increasing awareness, job skills and job-seeking skills among potential victims and assisting with victim reintegration.
Economic Growth (EG): FY 2007: 0; Est. FY 2008: 0
- Due to concerns over human rights violations committed by the GOB, the United States provides no direct economic growth assistance.
Humanitarian Assistance (HA): FY 2007: $0.40M; Est. FY 2008: $0.30M
- Provide basic assistance to the most vulnerable populations through the provision of donated humanitarian assistance; in FY07, this assistance was valued at $11.4M.
2007 Successes:
- With USG support, 900 Belarusian youths seeking an alternative to state-sponsored higher education received free tuition for an EHU distance learning program.
- A USG-supported external radio project improved its program content and increased its audience to over 16,000 hits per month, a four-fold increase from the end of 2006.
- Nearly 600 people received USG-assisted political party training in FY 2007.
- More than 300 political activists whose human rights were violated received humanitarian and legal services through USG supported NGOs.
*Division J of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Act: Department of State Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2008, including: FSA, Child Survival and Health (CSH), Non-proliferation, Anti-terrorism, De-mining and Related programs (NADR), International Military Education and Training (IMET) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF).
**Estimate from FY 2009 Congressional Budget Justification; Website: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/101440.pdf.
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Belarus: Est. FY 2008 USD Thousands
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Total For. Ops. Accounts**
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$10,192
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FREEDOM Support Act (FSA):
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