Justice Sector Support Project Progress Report

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KABUL 000572 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INL/FO AND SA/FO AMB QUINN NSC FOR AHARRIMAN/KAMEND E.O. 12958 N/A TAGS: SNAR PREL PGOV PTER KCRM AF SUBJECT: Justice Sector Support Project Progress Report ¶1. (U) Summary: In the July 2005 launch, the Chief of Team, three embedded advisors (two in the Ministry of Justice, one assigned to the Prison Director and one assigned to the Minister, and one in the Attorney Generals Office) and three legal experts (legal trainer, criminal justice, and criminal defense attorney mentor) arrived in Afghanistan. The fourth embedded advisor (Ministry of Interior and Attorney Generals Office Coordinator) arrived in early October. The cable highlights JSSPs accomplishments and significant findings to date. End Summary Work with the Afghan Attorney Generals Office (AGO) -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) JSSP has completed a comprehensive assessment of the AGO organization and operational capacity, including legal framework, organizational, resource and personnel constraints and limitations, mapping out and constructing a detailed organization chart of the AGO to understand the current structure and enable further work on structure. JSSP also contributed to the German Police Project Offices Police Guidelines for Discovery, Investigation and Coordination with the Investigating Prosecutors. ¶3. (U) JSSP is assisting the AGO in creating personnel records for all prosecutors in Afghanistan, containing data on their heir educational backgrounds, skills, and training received. Provincial Justice Reform Projects -------------- ¶4. (U) JSSP spear-headed the Wardak Justice Reform Project, a multi-agency development effort bringing together USG and Afghan officials, from Kabul and Wardak, to improve and reform the criminal justice sector in the Wardak Province. The Project will bring the full spectrum of USG community resources (infrastructure projects, public education, training, etc.),along with international assistance, across all components of the Wardak justice system, resulting in an efficient system that functions and will serve as a model for other provinces. Subcommittees, under the guidance of JSSP experts and Afghan leaders, are developing and will implement a comprehensive strategy for increasing successful prosecutions and strengthening the organizational structure of the provincial prison. USAID will fund the building of a courthouse and CFC-A will fund the building of a new Prosecutors Office. In three months, the group will have a full understanding of the inmate population, along with a plan on how to address over-detention and other problems. ¶5. (U) Modeled after the Wardak project, the Ghazni Project was only recently initiated (December 2005). Future activities of this kind will launch in February/March. Corrections -------------- ¶6. (U) JSSP coordinated the development of the design of the National Provincial Prisons-Detention Centers Survey. JSSP experts provided analysis and input on the criminal justice system aspects of the survey. The actual surveying, funded by 2Q9F?