FY04 DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ANNUAL SUMMARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ADDIS ABABA 003855 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/RSA AND AF/E FOR MGONZALES DEPT PASS TO USAID/AFR/DP/PAB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PHUM KDEM SOCI PREL ET SUBJECT: FY04 DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORT - ETHIOPIA ¶1. SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION. In FY04, post provided funding for six (6) Democracy and Human Rights projects totaling USD 74,783.00. Post selected these projects in accordance with the Mission Performance Plan. FY04 projects improved the quality of life for approximately 155,125 Ethiopians in five of the country's eleven administrative regions. Thanks to USG support, disadvantaged persons in Dire Dawa are receiving free legal assistance; women and children in Oromia Region are less likely to undergo Female Genital Mutilation and other Harmful Traditional Practices; and the human rights of disabled and homeless Addis Ababa residents are being protected through the provision of overnight shelter, wheelchairs, prosthetics, and orthopedic shoes. All of the FY04 projects have been completed. Paragraphs 2-12 provide project descriptions and statuses. END SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION. -------------- PRIOR FISCAL YEAR FUNDS -------------- FY 2002 ¶2. Project number: DHR-02-663-3 Project Holder: Addis Ababa University Faculty of Law Project Name: Printing of Civil and Criminal Codes Location: Addis Ababa Project Description: To print 1,000 paperback sets of three volumes of civil and criminal cases for distribution to defense lawyers and legal institutions. Estimated Number of Beneficiaries: Not indicated in the proposal U.S. Contribution: USD 6,000.00 Dollar Amount Disbursed: USD 3,000.00 Unliquidated Balance: USD 6,000.00 (USD 148.60 in advance and USD 2851.40 refunded to USAID in cash, but total amount not deobligated due to the unliquidated advance) Local Contribution: None Date Obligated: 09/10/02 Project Status: Incomplete. ¶3. Project Number: DHR-02-663-04 Project Holder: Addis Ababa University Faculty of Political Science and International Relations Project Name: Incorporating Human Rights Education in the Curricula of Higher Education in Ethiopia Location: Addis Ababa Project Description: To study the framework and mechanism of incorporating human rights education in the curricula of Ethiopian higher education so as to make relevant recommendations. Estimated Number of Beneficiaries: Not indicated in the proposal U.S. Contribution: USD 8,000.00 Dollar amount Disbursed: USD 8,000.00 Unliquidated Balance: USD 4,502.10 (NOTE: Process is underway to extend grant ending date in order to allow expenses incurred after original end date.) Local Contribution: None Date obligated: 09/24/2002 Project Status: Completed. ¶4. Project Number: DHR-02-663-05 Project Holder: Ethiopian Bar Association Project Name: Establishment of Legal Network Location: Addis Ababa Project Description: To establish a legal aid network that will provide pro-bono legal services to the urban poor and women and children. Estimated Number of Beneficiaries: Not indicated in the proposal U.S. Contribution: USD 10,000.00 Dollar Amount Disbursed: USD 10,000.00 Unliquidated Balance: USD 433.42 Local Contribution: None Date Obligated: 9/19/2002 Project Status: Completed FY 2003 ¶5. Project Number: DHR-03-663-07 Project Holder: Yordanos Development and Rehabilitation Organization Project Name: Construction of Feeding Center Location: Dilla Town, Gedeo Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region Project Description: To construct a feeding center for destitute children in Dilla town. Estimated Number of Beneficiaries: 100 orphans U.S. Contribution: USD 8657.00 Dollar Amount Disbursed: USD 7936.34 Unliquidated balance: USD 5.07 (to be written off) Local contribution: USD 2,235.00 Date obligated: 09/08/2003 Project status: Incomplete and abandoned; USAID is currently in the process of writing off the entire grant amount. ¶6. Project Number: DHR-03-663-09 Project Holder: Association of the Promotion of Indigenous Knowledge Project Name: Empowering Early Marriage Victims Location: Borena Saynt Town, Southern Wollo Zone, Amhara Region Project Description: To empower women and girls on the effects of early marriage through awareness creation. Estimated Number of Beneficiaries: 100 U.S. Contribution: USD 4,979.00 Dollar Amount Disbursed: USD 4978.89 Unliquidated Balance: USD 0.11 Local Contribution: USD 1,846.00 Date Obligated: 09/08/2003 Project status: Completed. CURRENT FISCAL YEAR (FY04) FUNDS -------------- ¶7. Project Number: DHR-04-663-01 Project Holder: Bright Legal Support Association Project Name: Free Legal Aid To The Disadvantaged Location: Dire Dawa Town, Dire Dawa City Administration Project Description: To pay office rent and utilities for one year; pay transportation allowance for 4 persons, 2 of whom are lawyers; and provide free legal consulting for disadvantaged persons and present their cases to the court. Estimated number of Beneficiaries: 500 U.S. Contribution: USD 4,441.00 Dollar Amount Disbursed: USD 3,799.10 Unliquidated Balance: USD 641.90 (deobligated) Local Contribution: None Date Obligated: 09/01/2004 Project Status: Completed. ¶8. Project Number: DHR-04-663-02 Project Holder: Centro Caritativo S. Giusepe, Ethiopian Catholic Church Project Name: Care for Those Living in the Streets Location: Kirkos Sub-city, Addis Ababa City Administration Project Description: To give care and support for the urban poor by purchasing and distributing wheelchairs/tricycles, prosthetics and orthopedic shoes, and by purchasing beds and providing accommodation for the homeless. Estimated Number of Beneficiaries: 270 U.S. Contribution: USD 21,916.00 Dollar Amount Disbursed: USD 21,916.00 Unliquidated Balance: None Local contribution: USD 197.00 Date obligated: 09/01/2004 Project status: Completed. ¶9. Project Number: DHR-04-663-03 Project Holder: Association of Development and Aid in Worehimeno Area (ADAW) Project Name: Awareness Raising to Fight Female Sex Abuse in Legambo Woreda, South Wollo Location: Akesta Town, Legambo Woreda, South Wollo Zone, Amhara Region Project Description: To undertake rapid pre-intervention assessment, prepare educational materials, conduct training of trainers and training campaigns, sensitize community, and conduct post intervention assessment. Estimated Number of Beneficiaries: 150,175 U.S. Contribution: USD 7,077.00 Dollar Amount Disbursed: USD 7,064.20 Unliquidated Balance: USD 12.80 (deobligated) Local Contribution: USD 2,204.00 Date Obligated: 09/01/2004 Project Status: Completed. ¶10. Project Number: DHR-04-663-04 Project Holder: Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission Project Name: Awareness Creation for Mobilization Against Harmful Tradition Practices in Meki Town Location: Meki Town, East Shoa Zone, Oromia Region Project Description: To conduct training of trainers and change agents on female sexual abuse, organize mass mobilization and sensitization campaign, conduct pre- and post-intervention assessments, and develop educational materials. Estimated Number of Beneficiaries: 4,000 U.S. Contribution: USD 21,626.00 Dollar Amount Disbursed: USD 20,867.59 Unliquidated Balance: USD 758.41 Local Contribution: None Date Obligated: 09/01/2004 Project Status: Completed. ¶11. Project Number: DHR-04-663-05 Project Holder: Kembata Women's Self Help Center Project Name: Material Support for Women's Self-Help Group in Durame Town Location: Durame Town, Hadiya Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region Project Description: To strengthen the capacity of women by educating them about their rights; equipping a women's business center with machinery for tailoring, embroidery and knitting; and procuring furniture for the center. Estimated Number of Beneficiaries: 100 U.S. Contribution: USD 10,023.00 Dollar Amount Disbursed: USD 10,023.00 Unliquidated Balance: None Local Contribution: USD 289.00, labor and materials Date Obligated: 09/01/2004 Project Status: Completed. ¶12. Project Number: DHR-04-663-07 Project Holder: Good Samaritan Training Center Project Name: Vocational Training Center for Poor Street Girls Location: Mekanissa, Addis Ababa City Administration Project Description: To purchase various tools and equipment such as weaving and mat-making machines. Estimated Number of Beneficiaries: Approximately 80 girls each year U.S. Contribution: USD 9,700.00 Dollar Amount Disbursed: USD 9,700.00 Unliquidated Balance: None Local Contribution: USD 14,470.00 Date obligated: 09/01/2004 Project status: Completed. SUCCESS STORY -------------- ¶13. Project Number: DHR-04-663-04 Amount Expended: 21,626 USD Project Name: Awareness Creation for Mobilization Against Harmful Traditional Practices ¶14. Ethnically diverse Ethiopia boasts cultural and traditional practices that are rich and varied. Many of these practices are beneficial to the maintenance and perpetuation of society, but others - labeled Harmful Traditional Practices - pose serious threats to people's health and well-being. Women and children suffer disproportionately from these practices. ¶15. With support from the Democracy and Human Rights Fund administered by the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission launched a community awareness and mobilization campaign against Harmful Traditional Practices (HTPs). The project tackled Female Genital Mutilation (FGM),early marriage, and abduction, which affect women and girls, and milk teeth extraction, uvulectomy and tonsillectomy, which are performed on children. Ten villages in the Dugda Bora district of the East Shoa Zone in Ethiopia's Oromia Region were the focus of the activities. ¶16. Project coordinators employed various strategies to sensitize 4,000 community members to the detrimental effects of HTPs and erode social and cultural support for continuing the practices. The strategies included "change agent" workshops to engage religious leaders, elders and other influential community members in combating HTPs; village awareness campaigns to foster dialogue through "idirs", "baltenas" and other traditional associations; school awareness campaigns to educate and mobilize students, parents and teachers through anti-HTP clubs and dramatic presentations; and community-wide dissemination of t-shirts and caps declaring the wearers' commitment to stopping FGM and other HTPs. ¶17. According to the project's quantitative and qualitative research findings, community members are significantly more informed about HTPs, more community members consider the practices harmful and understand their negative health effects and legal implications, and an increased number support eradication of these HTPs. ¶18. Attitudes toward FGM changed most dramatically, due mostly to a multi-pronged approach to tackling the deeply entrenched and widespread practice. Project organizers held sensitization workshops for practitioners on the harmful effects and illegality of their actions, and provided the women with oxen and cows to encourage the adoption of an alternative livelihood. ¶19. As a result, the number of parents who promised not to circumcise their daughters has increased, more girls are resisting the practice, and more boys are committed to marrying uncircumcised girls. ¶20. Without a doubt, the project on "Awareness Creation for Mobilization Against Harmful Traditional Practices" has made significant inroads into protecting the rights and dignity of women and children. HUDDLESTON