Annex
Project Summaries 2007-2008
GOOD GOVERNANCE, RULE OF LAW & DEMOCRATISATION
[Kazakhstan]
- The British Embassy in Astana
has funded via Freedom House a group of Kazakh NGOs to
monitor progress on Kazakhstan's record of delivery against its
OSCE commitments, including in respect of elections, political
parties, media, local self-governance, and freedoms of assembly
and conscience (£100,465).
- Charter for Human Rights
NGO lobbying to encourage Kazakh ratification and implementation
of the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR on the abolition
of the death penalty in Kazakhstan (£12,090
& £40,000).
- Eurasia Foundation Central Asia
project to foster an independent and representative civil society
sector in Astana (£18,233).
- Support for UNDP roundtable in Atyrau
on promoting multi-party dialogue on transparency in extractive
industries as part of wider UNDP initiative on building political
culture of dialogue and negotiation, followed in October 2008
by roundtables in Astana and Ust-Kamenogorsk (£3,000).
- Support for UNDP technical assistance
to strengthen the capacity of the Government of Kazakhstan and
all relevant stakeholders to carry out an effective OSCE chairmanship
in 2010 (£170,000 over FYs 2008/2010).
- Republican Network of Independent Monitors
NGO project to contribute to changes in electoral legislation
through participation in ODIHR/OSCE Human Dimension Implementation
Meeting in Warsaw (£3,272) & OSCE Civil Society Forum
in Helsinki (£2,000).
- Republican Network of Independent Monitors
NGO trained 200 short term and 11 long-term observers in 11 regions
of Kazakhstan, and 2000 manuals were printed for the use monitoring
elections (£12,700).
- Penal Reform International
project on strengthening the rule of law and promoting limitations
on the arbitrary exercise of governmental power in Kazakhstan
(and Kyrgyzstan) through enhancing an informed legal policy
dialogue (£120,000 over FYs 2006/2008).
[Kyrgyzstan]
- Eurasia Foundation Central
Asia in Bishkek project
to improve transparency of local government by engaging civil
society in the process of budgeting (£14,994).
- Public Union "Elsen"
project to promote greater transparency in the 2007 Kyrgyz Parliamentary
Elections by bringing together local NGOs to conduct election
monitoring. NGO "Taza Shailoo" deployed approximately
1600 STOs to monitor, in teams of two, at more than 750 polling
stations throughout the country (£9,000).
- Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society
NGO project to promote greater transparency of voting in the 2008
Local Councils Elections in Kyrgyzstan through independent
election monitoring (£3,861).
- Local NGO Association "Taza Shoiloo"
project to improve fairness of local Council elections in Kyrgyzstan
by increasing awareness of and ability to defend voter's rights
(£9,018).
- American Bar Association
initiative in Bishkek to target prosecutor reform programmes and
monitor progress towards establishing a more accountable, effective
and independent prosecutor system (£25,433 over 2006/2008).
[Tajikistan]
- The British Embassy in Dushanbe
has funded a number of projects to support the independent media
including training for TV journalists via the Khoma NGO
(£2,991), the provision of broadcast equipment to Regar
TV (£3,569), equipment and intern training to Kurgan-Tube
TV (£4,683 & £5,067), and equipment for the Pazhvok
newspaper (£4,281).
- The British Embassy in Dushanbe co-funded with
the EU the NGO Rushd to enhance the capacity of political
parties (£8,149 over FYs 2007-09). The Embassy also funded
a series of round-tables on topical issues with the participation
of political parties (£3,897), the NGO Fourth Power
to train political party officials in Sughd region (£3,183),
and the Varorud information agency to conduct research
into the participation of political parties in socio-economic
life (£3,356).
- The BE in Dushanbe funded Marifatnoki
NGO to run capacity-building seminars for civil society (£3,206)
and the establishment of an internet centre in the remote Tojikobod
region. (£3,032).
[Turkmenistan]
- The British Embassy in Turkmenistan
has funded an education reform development project with Turkmen
Supreme Council for Science and Technology: re-introducing the
English Language Research post-graduate degree in Turkmenistan
(£10,000).
- A study visit for the senior Turkmen prison officials
to the UK to learn prison management system of the UK (£10,800).
- A study tour for Turkmenistan education policy
makers and managers to the UK and France to explore the modern
approaches in educational planning and management. (£3,700)
- The Embassy has also funded strategic planning
training for NGOs (£2,500), a youth leadership Development
Centre (£15,000) and provided a range of support to civil
society organisations throughout Turkmenistan (£15,000).
HUMAN RIGHTS
[Kazakhstan]
- Penal Reform International
project to establish an independent and efficient National Preventive
Mechanism in Kazakhstan on combating torture (£210,000 over
FYs 2008/2010).
- UNDP project to mainstream
disability issues across public institutions and promote Kazakh
ratification of the International Convention on the Right of Persons
with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol (£104,000 over
FYs 2008/2010).
- Kazakhstan International
Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law NGO
project to support the Working Group on investigation and consideration
of facts of torture under the Office of the Ombudsman in Kazakhstan
(£13,658).
- Project to strengthen the women's movement in
Central Asia funded the participation of a Kazakhstani delegate
at the Association of Women in Development (AWID) conference in
South Africa in November 2008, which included a presentation on
"The Women's Movement in Central Asia: Facing Together Fundamentalism
and Other Challenges of the New Global Order" (£1,713).
- Contribution to National Human Rights Commission
and UNDP publication on "Compliance with Human
Rights in Kazakhstan in 2007 (£3,000).
- Contribution to UNDP project on the development
of the National Human Rights Action Plan to help a more consistent
and effective system of human rights protection/promotion in Kazakhstan
(£3,000).
- Adil Soz NGO project
to improve the quality of expert examinations over information
disputes to defend journalists' right for free speech (£62,877
over FYs 2007/2009).
- MediaNet NGO project to improve the legal
awareness of journalists in three regions of Kazakhstan: Kostanai,
Almaty & Karaganda (£3,810).
[Kyrgyzstan]
- Golden Goal
NGO project to promote increased awareness among women in four
village administrations in Osh Province of their civic, electoral
and political rights (£8,144).
- Institute of Public Policy
NGO project to strengthen the capacity of journalism departments
of Bishkek universities in providing up-to-date training on international
standards of journalism (£12,080).
- Institute for Public Policy NGO
project to strengthen the capacity of young journalism students
from remote regions of Kyrgyzstan to report comprehensively on
developments in their communities (£9,642).
- Institute for Public Policy
project to strengthen Internet journalism and contribute to promotion
of freedom of speech in Kyrgyzstan (£15,000).
- Yuzhniy Vektor NGO
project to improve the quality of ethnic journalism in the region
and to promote more balanced reporting in south Kyrgyzstan. 200
students were trained in the basics of ethnic-tolerant journalism
(£16,000).
- British NGO Children's Legal
Centre to run human rights workshops for vocational schools
(£7,473 over FYs 2007/09).
- CRC NGO carried out projects to train teachers
on juvenile justice (£2,699) and to develop the capacity
of staff at the juvenile prison (£3,105).
[Turkmenistan]
- Co-funding with the OSCE Centre
in Ashgabat for visit by UK lecturer on international human rights
legislation to provide lectures at the Turkmen State University
(£3,000).
- Capacity building for Government bodies mandated
to work on human rights issues, conforming to international standards
(via organising study visits to the UK), including the possibility
of introducing a system of ombudspersons (£12,000).
- Assistance to improve the system of work of the
Institute of Democracy and Human Rights Citizens' Complaints Department.
Funding a visit by an expert leading to a developed project (£29,000).
- Turkmen Penal Code reform project (£62,600
over FYs 2008/10).
- Media development project by BBC World Service
(£130,900 over FYs 2008/10).
[Uzbekistan]
- Workshop on the development
of civil society and the NGO sector learning from experience in
the UK (£6,700).
- The British Embassy in Tashkent is funding a
community-based project to estimate the prevalence of child labour
in remote rural cotton growing areas of Uzbekistan. The project
aims to prevent child labour through informal education and vocational
training (£56,890 over FYs 2008/10).
- Training courses for those working in the field
of social work/protection of children in Uzbekistan (£15,000).
REGIONAL SECURITY/CONFLICT PREVENTION
[Kyrgyzstan]
- Eurasia Foundation Central
Asia project to reduce
the risk of conflict in the Batken region through the development
of training courses to meet local skills requirements and establishing
a job centre (£25,000).
- American Bar Association/Central European
and Eurasian Law Iinitiative in Osh to
provide ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek students from madrassas and secular
schools in southern Kyrgyzstan with greater understanding of religious
freedom, civil and human rights, the judicial system and how individual
rights provide a common fundamental basis for openness and acceptance
of different groups within the community (£17,853).
- Ferghana Valley Lawyers Without Borders
project to contribute to the resolution of the statelessness problem
in the south of Kyrgyzstan through 16 mobile clinics, during which
538 stateless people were provided legal help and 226 local government
representatives were trained in the legalisation process (£13,600).
- Ferghana Valley Lawyers Without Borders
project to contribute to conflict reduction in south Kyrgyzstan
by raising awareness among local residents about legal ways of
resolving disputes. 556 residents received legal advice in mobile
clinics and local border guards and government representatives
were trained in conflict prevention (£18,945).
- UNDP project to strengthen
the capacities of authorities in Uzgen and Bazakorgon districts
to address root causes of conflict. Local authority Committees
were trained in the basics of negotiation processes (£28,000).
- Eurasia Foundation Central Asia
in Osh project to strengthen the capacity of community-based NGOs
in Batken Oblast, Kyrgyzstan, to resolve local and cross-border
conflicts peacefully (£16,780).
- Ferghana Valley Lawyers Without Borders
project to reduce potential conflict in the Valley by increasing
respect for and application of human rights by the Border Service
of the Kyrgyz Republic (£11,500).
[Tajikistan]
- Provision of video-conferencing
equipment for the regional offices of the Tajik Drugs Control
Agency (£6,115).
- The British Embassy in Dushanbe funded via the
Vorukh Jamoat Resource Centre a summer camp for Tajik and Kyrgyz
children (£3,619).
- [Turkmenistan]
- Turkmen-British Anti- Narcotics/ELT Training
Centre development for Border Guards, Police, Customs and KNB
(£8,500).
- UNODC workshop on Integrated Border Management,
"Inter-agency and Cross-border co-operation" co-sponsored
by Turkmenistan government and British Embassy (£10,000).
- Drugs detection and interdiction training for
senior Turkmen anti-narcotics officers in Turkey; joint project
with UNODC and Turkish government (£20,000).
- Capacity building project for Turkmen law enforcement
training institutions on the drugs interdiction and detection
techniques training jointly with UNODC office in Turkmenistan
(£10,000).
- Opening of self-access English Language Learning
Centre for Turkmen Law enforcement officers (£3,300).
ENVIRONMENT/WATER
[Uzbekistan]
- Collaborative venture with
UND, the Government of Karakalpakstan and the Global Ecological
Foundation to encourage local communities in the conservation
and sustainable use of natural resources in the Amudarya Delta
of Karakalpakstan (US$7,000).
[Tajikistan]
- The BE in Dushanbe funded the
SWORDE-Teppa NGO to run an educational project informing
young people about the problems of climate change (£8,316
over FYs 07-09), and the Habib NGO to plant fruit trees
to prevent soil erosion caused by climate change. (£3,121)
ENERGY LINKS
The British Embassy in Astana is supporting a "Caspian
Sea Maritime Management" project to encourage interested
stakeholders, including the governments of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan,
to identify and address issues relating to the safe transportation
of oil across the Caspian in line with international standards
(£50,000). The Embassy is also supporting the British Sulphur
Consultancy Group to improve Kazakhstan's capacity to manage the
sulphur contained in Tengiz and thereby improve the quantity and
quality of Kazakhstan's contribution to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan.
(£46,138).
DFID ACTIVITY
In the Kyrgyz Republic, DFID's annual support
is currently worth some £7 million per year. Its programme
is defined within a Joint Country Support Strategy (JCSS) which
responds to the Government's national poverty reduction plans.
This had been agreed between donors and the Government and is
aimed at helping to deliver against objectives set out in the
OECD's 2005 Paris Declaration, to which the UK is signatory. DFID's
contribution is based on its comparative advantage vis-à-vis
other donors. The current DFID portfolio of activities focuses
on institutional strengthening and improving the services provided
by the Government to poor people.
Impacts to date include improved public financial
management; improved access to health services and accelerated
progress towards the health-related Millennium Development Goals;
improved access to clean drinking water; sustainable investments
in village social and economic infrastructure; and scaling up
HIV/AIDS prevention services for high risk groups and securing
behaviour change.
Current commitments include:
- Village Investment Programme
£7 million
- Public Financial Management £4 million
- Health sector support £9.9 million
- HIV/AIDs £3.6 million
- Rural Water and Sanitation £5 million
In Tajikistan, DFID's annual programme is
increasing from around £4 million this financial year to
£7 million in 2010. DFID's programme in Tajikistan is also
defined by a JCSS. The current portfolio of activities focuses
on private sector and rural development, good governance and improving
the performance of donors, including multilaterals. In 2008 there
was also significant support to the emergency needs caused by
a major winter energy and humanitarian crisis.
Impacts to date include improved public financial
management, improvements in the participation of communities in
local government planning processes, development of small scale
businesses, reduction of water borne diseases in rural areas,
introduction of legal arbitration services for poor people, scaling
up HIV/AIDS prevention services for high risk groups and securing
behaviour change, and reduced humanitarian suffering during the
2008 winter crisis.
Current commitments include:
- Zerafshan Community Development
Initiative £4.7 million
- Public Financial Management £3 million
- Private Sector Development £0.6 million
- HIV/AIDS £1.8 million
- Government Statistical Strengthening £0.6
million
- Disaster Preparedness £0.85 million
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