DUSHANBE, May 11, 2009, Asia-Plus — International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Section (INL) of the United States Embassy recently launched a Justice Sector Reform Grants program to support Government of Tajikistan efforts in this sector, according to the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe.
Eight grants totaling $300,000 were issued to Tajik non-governmental organizations to carry out justice sector reform projects. This is the first year INL has offered funding for justice sector reform. The grants include: legal aid project to establish centers to provide legal advice and court representation to those not able to afford commercial legal representation; a court monitoring project to monitor court proceedings to assess compliance and equal application of the law to increase public confidence in the judicial sector; a minors legal representation project to coordinate with the primary state agencies responsible for juvenile justice to raise awareness of and improve compliance with Tajik and international children’s rights standards; a third party arbitration project to popularize alternative dispute resolution methods and expand third party resolution through creating and supporting legal support centers; a legal education project to increase the knowledge and skills of teachers to improve the quality of teaching of law and human rights to secondary school students and increase youth understanding of constitutional rights.
U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Necia Quast congratulated the 2009 Justice Sector Reform Grants Program recipients at a reception in her residence on May 7.
