OVERSEAS ACTIVITIES OF SLOVAK NGOS

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000670 SIPDIS USAID FOR PPC/SPP GHARRIES BUDAPEST FOR USAID/NOWICKI AND KUTOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL EAID LO SUBJECT: OVERSEAS ACTIVITIES OF SLOVAK NGOS ¶1. Slovak NGOs continue to proudly participate in overseas activities fostering democratization. With support from Slovakaid (the branch of the MFA responsible for foreign aid) Slovak NGOs note that their own post-communism transition experience gives them a "comparative advantage" when it comes to civil society and development work. In 2005, Slovak Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) is anticipated to top SKK 160 million (USD 5.1 million). ¶2. After the successful Slovak elections in 1989, Slovak NGOs were active in Serbia and Croatia. The NGO community received funding primarily through the Democracy Commission Small Grants Program (including Pontis Foundation, Obcianske Oko, MEMO 98),and money was also provided by IRI, NDI and the German Marshall Fund of the US. ¶3. Currently, several Slovak NGOs are involved in projects overseas, with some receive funding from the GOS (Slovakaid),while others receive US or other foreign assistance from their NGO umbrella organization. According to our records, a total of USD 310,057 in small grants from the Embassy went to Pontis, Integra, People in Peril, Civic Eye, Memo 98, and NOS (the precursor to Pontis) in ¶1999. Below is a list of some of the Slovak NGOs active abroad: - With funding from Slovakaid, Slovak NGOs Obcianske Oko, Memo 98, and Pontis Foundation participate in civil society, media, and political development programs primarily in Belarus, the Ukraine, and the Balkans. - Obcianske Oko sent 85 election observers to the first and second rounds of the Ukrainian Presidential election in 2004; it sent 38 to the repeated second round. - Pontis Foundation and People in Peril have been working in Cuba to promote democracy and free speech. (The Slovak government and individual politicians have supported Cuban dissidents.) - People in Peril also operates a project in Afghanistan on women and education. - Integra, an NGO specializing in small and medium enterprise development, is now using resources developed through USAID funding and small grants from the embassy in anti-corruption projects in Romania, Bulgaria, and Kenya. It would like to expand to Sudan. - With U.S. funding, Pontis and IVO have been training Iraqis in Slovakia (most recently a group of 16 Iraqi police officers),through subgrants from IRI. - Partners for Democratic Change in Slovakia (PDCS) provides its expertise with conflict resolution and civil society in a wide range of countries, from the Balkans to Central and Southeast Asia. Later this year, PDCS will be sending trainers to Yemen. - The German Marshall Fund was also active in Ukraine. Former Slovak Foreign Minister Pavol Demes, the Fund's Director for Central and Eastern Europe, was hailed as a "Champion of Freedom" by President Bush during his February 2005 visit to Bratislava. - ABA-CEELI (Iraq) organized training in Slovakia for Iraqi judges, in cooperation with the MOJ, Slovak parliament, and other Slovak NGOs. ¶4. In addition, the GOS has published the following 2005 Overseas Development Assistance budget (Note: SKK 31.3 equals USD 1): - Projects and activities for priority countries*: SKK 88.6 million (approx. USD 2.8 million) - Development Education projects:** SKK 2 million (approx. USD 64,000) - Official Assistance projects for Ukraine and Belarus: SKK 10 million (approx. USD 320,000) - Micro-grants administered through diplomatic missions:*** SKK 2 million (approx. USD 64,000) - Projects and activities for Serbia and Montenegro: SKK 58 million (approx. USD 1.85 million) *Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Mongolia, Mozambique, Sudan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Cambodia ** These projects are mostly short-term and implemented in Slovakia *** Kiev and Sarajevo ¶5. Other GOS ministries participating in Overseas Development Assistance include: - Ministry of the Interior: SKK 4.5 million (approx. USD 144,000) for immediate humanitarian assistance. - Ministry of Environment: SKK 4.1 million (approx. USD 130,000),for contributions and fees to international organizations, UNEP Environmental Fund, Trust Fund at the UNEP for the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, UN FCCC Framework Convention on Climate Change, CITES Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. - Ministry of Agriculture: SKK 1.45 million (approx. USD 46,000),for an annual one-time contribution to the Food Research Institute for a FAO project on data of food composition in Central and Eastern Europe CEECFOODs. - Ministry of Education: SKK 47.6 million (approx. USD 1.52 million),for a study of foreign students from developing countries in the Slovak Republic. Scholarships are granted as a priority to students from countries selected as territorial priorities of Slovak ODA. VALLEE NNNN