WARDAK PROVINCE JUSTICE INITIATIVE - AN EMERGING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000573

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND
CENTCOM FOR POLAD, CG CFA-A, CG CJTF-76

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM IR RS AF UNGA SEP
SUBJECT: WARDAK PROVINCE JUSTICE INITIATIVE - AN EMERGING
PATTERN


1. (U) SUMMARY. On January 29, the Maidan Wardak province
judicial sector coordinating committee, a joint U.S - U.N
funded effort, highlighted major accomplishments towards its
goal of reforming the provincial judicial system. Key
accomplishments thus far include approval for renovation of
the courthouse and construction of a justice administration
building, identification of a defense attorney for the
province, and mobilization of public outreach/awareness
working groups to disseminate information about citizens'
constitutional rights. Governor expressed optimism that
reforming the courts system will help Maidan Wardak establish
itself as a model for all of Afghanistan. END SUMMARY.

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS
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2. (U) This was the fourth meeting on reform of the Maidan
Wardak provincial judicial system, a project jointly funded
by USG and UNAMA. Throughout the course of discussions USAID
had agreed to fund the renovation and expansion of the
existing courthouse, and architectural designs approved at
the January 29 meeting. In addition to the courthouse
project, CFC-A will fund the construction of a 7,000 square
foot administrative building. The administrative building
will provide office space for most sectors of the judicial
system, including the defense attorney and the director of
prisons. Currently, the defense and government directors are
operating out of a small room in a rented building. (NOTE:
The Kandahar PRT has also granted USD 140K for the
refurbishment of provincial prison facilities. END NOTE.)


3. (U) Members of the defense and government sectors
received a list of all registered defense attorneys
throughout the country, including the attorney that was
designated by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) as the defense
attorney for Maidan Wardak province. Defense Sector Director
Shah Hussain argued that, although one attorney was better
than none, more assistance would be necessary to handle the
case load for the 57 detainees currently in pre-trial
confinement. Hussain stated that identifying the number of
pre-trial detainees was only possible because he had started
a statistical compilation of all cases that his office
received and registered over the past nine months as well as
the number of detainees that were held on related charges.
Cases were organized by the date/quarter received and
assigned to a category. The three categories were family,
land, and debt disputes. Hussain further expressed gratitude
to CFC-A for their efforts in assisting his department with
detainees' rights and transportation. CFC-A has contracted
two organization to assist with addressing the legal rights
of detainees. One of the organizations was the International
Legal Foundation (ILF),currently in country, whose goal was
to develop a strategy to provide legal counsel to all
detainees throughout the province. CFC-A Legal Advisor
Michael Tobin noted that discussions were underway with the
PRT Commander to establish and manage a fleet of vehicles to
transport staff and detainees to official appointments
throughout the province.


4. (U) USAID has granted funds for a Rule of Law project
(RoLP) to provide information to citizens on their
constitutional rights. By December 2005, the project had
been implemented throughout all 11 districts in Wardak
province. Activities included community-wide discussions at
public outreach/awareness gatherings, distribution of RoLP
materials, radio broadcasts, and equipment (TV, DVD, etc.)
for a community information center in each of the 11
districts. Community and religious leaders, media officials,
government and judicial authorities, and the RoLP's public
outreach team members all participated in planning these
outreach activities.

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OPEN ITEMS
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5. (U) Leaders from the six working groups noted that the
following needs must be addressed: guidance/interaction
between provincial judicial leaders and the ministries in
Kabul; transportation for staff and movement of detainees;
communications equipment to facilitate contact between the
provincial capital and surrounding districts; training for
officials to include delineating the roles and
responsibilities of each department; office equipment for
daily functions; increased salaries to offset the costs of
living and commuting; and security for staff members,
detainees, and buildings.

6. Comment. The accomplishments signify a step in the right
direction towards reforming the Maidan Wardak justice sector.
Of the open issues outlined above, many will be resolved
with the renovation and expansion of the courthouse, the
building of the administrative building, and the
establishment of a fleet of vehicles to transport staff and
detainees for official business throughout the province.
During the establishment of the judicial infrastructure,
capacity building and training exercises could be
concurrently implemented. However, while the construction
and training projects are costly endeavors, the delineating
of roles and responsibilities for each department is a task
that could be immediately addressed without any additional
costs to the donors of the Maidan Wardak judicial system
reform project. End Comment.
NEUMANN