GUINEA-BISSAU FY2006 DHRF ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORT

UNCLAS DAKAR 001130 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/RSA, AF/EPS AND AF/W AID/W FOR AFR/SD/DG AND AFR/WA ACCRA FOR USAID/WA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KDEM EAID PU SUBJECT: GUINEA-BISSAU FY2006 DHRF ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORT Our report on Democracy and Human Rights Fund (DHRF) activities in Guinea-Bissau for FY2006 follows. All FY05 activities have been successfully completed. Annual Status Report for FY2005 is as follows: Prior Fiscal Year Funds FY2005 DHRF NO. Amount Obligated Amt. De-obligated DHRF-05-657-001 USD 20,000 USD 1,441.40 FY2006 DHRF NO. Amount Obligated Outstanding Amt. FY06 USD 30,000 USD 14,855.34 Success Stories a) DHRF-05-685-002 Amount expended: USD 18,558.60 GROUP NAME: Law Faculty of Bissau Project Cost: USD 18,558.60 Project Location: Bissau Target audience: lawyers, judges, law students, human rights groups, local government officials, Members of the National Popular Assembly, police, and others in the legal profession or with an interest in law DESCRIPTION: Guinea-Bissau's civil code had never been compiled in an accessible tome for use by jurists, lawyers, scholars and the public. The code covers topics including family law, urban planning, and property law. Guinea-Bissau has only one law school, which is largely supported by NGOs and donors. The law school produced a Portuguese-language annotated volume of approximately 500 pages containing Guinea-Bissau's entire civil code, which included civil law inherited from Portuguese law, Guinea-Bissau's Constitution, and Bissau-Guinean post-independence laws that replace or amend the previous civil code. One thousand five hundred copies were printed and distributed to the Bissau-Guinean public, especially those in the legal profession. Expected results include facilitation of the operation of courts in promotion of the rule of law. The books will serve as a training tool for Bissau-Guinean jurists and other professionals in support of the justice sector's role in defending democracy and human rights. b) DHRF-06-685-004 Amount: USD 30,000 GROUP NAME: National Research Institute (Institucao Nacional de Estudus e Pesquisas - INEP) Project Cost: USD 30,000 Project Location: Bissau Target audience: Students, university faculty, and the Bissau-Guinean public, especially people with an interest in research and Internet access The Scientific Public Library of Guinea-Bissau actually consists of approximately 48,000 books and journals. About 15,000 publications and all catalogs were destroyed in the civil war of 1998-99. INEP is the premier research institute in the country, serving as a resource for researchers and students and also publishing academic journals related to the economic and democratic development of Guinea-Bissau. The DHRF program restored Internet access to INEP, providing students with a necessary tool for any academic work. The program will also help to replace and update the collection of books, academic journals and periodicals from those that were destroyed during the war. It was the first time that Internet access had been restored to any facility at Amilcar Cabral University, the only national public institution of higher learning in the country. JACOBS