TURKMENISTAN: INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000206 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, EUR/ACE, DRL AID/W FOR EE/EA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EAID KDEM TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACCEPTS USAID PROPOSALS FOR COOPERATION REF: A. ASHGABAT 0099 ¶B. 07 ASHGABAT 1130 ¶C. 07 ASHGABAT 1346 ¶D. 07 ASHGABAT 1391 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On February 7, USAID Country Representative met with the Director of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights to discuss areas of potential cooperation outlined in the letter received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) January 16. During the meeting, the Institute's director identified a joint international conference on NGO legislation as its priority and proposed the first week of April as a potential date. She also welcomed technical assistance to professionalize the commission established by President Berdimuhamedov shortly after his inauguration to review citizen's complaints against law-enforcement bodies. In addition, she asked for assistance on developing a database of legislation that would be accessible to citizens through an Information Resource Center to be set up at the Institute, support to revise the juvenile justice system, training for Institute staff on legal awareness and computer skills, and possible study tours to introduce international experience to government officials. Most of the proposals are in line with USAID's existing programs, and the director agreed that USAID's partners could carry out working-level discussions to address these opportunities as a next step. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) USAID Country Representative met with the Director of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights Shirin Ahmedova and Department Head Shemshat Atayeva on February 7 to discuss areas of potential cooperation that were specified in the official letter received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on January 16 (Ref. A). Ahmedova said she had called Foreign Minister Meredov and explained that she wanted this to be a working meeting, without the formalities of MFA participation. (COMMENT: Atayeva arranged the meeting directly with a USAID FSN, without the involvement of the MFA, and no notetakers from the MFA were present. This underscores Ahmedova's ability to maneuver through and around internal protocols. END COMMENT.) Skipping the customary formalities, Ahmedova proceeded directly to the possible areas of cooperation. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NGO LEGISLATION ¶4. (SBU) As background, Ahmedova explained that the Institute's objective is to support President Berdimuhamedov's initiative to bring Turkmenistan's laws up to international standards. The Institute has already submitted numerous recommendations to the commission reviewing legislation, and identified the laws on civic organizations and religious organizations as current priorities. To this end, she wants to organize conferences focused on these two laws. (NOTE: ICNL already proposed to jointly organize such an event after an October 2007 meeting (Ref. C). END NOTE.) The conference's goal should not be to criticize existing legislation, but to provide information and generate constructive feedback that could be channeled to the government through the commission. ¶5. (SBU) Based on the Institute's current schedule, the event could be planned for the first week of April 2008. The proposed event would be connected to two concepts: the ongoing process of legal reforms in Turkmenistan, and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. She proposed the following agenda: -- Day 1: Focus on international standards for laws related to civic organizations; -- Day 2: Focus on positive examples of countries with such legislation (NOTE: Ahmedova identified Kazakhstan, Moldova, and the Baltic countries as possible examples, but acknowledged other possibilities. END NOTE),with presentations by government representatives from these countries; and -- Day 3: Focus on development of new legislation in Turkmenistan. Each presentation should be followed by moderated discussions. The ASHGABAT 00000206 002 OF 003 expected output from the conference would be recommendations for a new law that could be submitted to the commission. ¶6. (SBU) Ahmedova proposed that the co-organizers be MFA, IDHR and USAID. The participants should include representatives of the Mejlis (Parliament),MFA, Ministry of Justice, the Democratic Party, and major civic organizations. To broaden the exposure of this event, she proposed inviting participants from each province. She promised to organize significant mass-media coverage for the event, and offered to cost-share meal expenses for any provincial participants. REFORMING THE CITIZEN'S COMPLAINT COMMISSION ¶7. (SBU) Ahmedova said that the commission, which was set up by President Berdimuhamedov shortly after his inauguration, had already received over 1,500 complaints so far. The commission is tasked with responding to all complaints it receives. She pointed out the need for a system that will allow the commission to summarize and analyze the complaints, and wants to make it more professional, effective and responsive to the population. To this end, she welcomed support from an international expert that could help to upgrade this structure into a real professional operation. USAID's local governance programs have not specifically supported the development of this type of body, but have generally addressed improved information flows between citizens and local governments. USAID will consider possible ways to support this request, and as a first step will provide a summary of its local government activities undertaken in other countries. In addition, USAID will arrange a meeting with the Institute for its local government specialist, who will be on TDY in Ashgabat from February 11-15, to discuss these programs in greater detail. IMPORTANCE OF INCREASING LEGAL AWARENESS ¶8. (SBU) Akhmedova repeated her earlier stated interest in developing a database of legislation in the Russian language as part of the Institute's plans to develop an Information Resource Center on its own base (Ref. B). Ahmedova was pleased to hear that ABA already has such a database, and asked to receive a copy for review. Stating that she wants the planned Information Resource Center to do more than just hand out information, she suggested that they would be receptive to USAID training two staff members, who then would provide services to clients. ¶9. (SBU) Ahmedova requested USAID's support in publishing legal information and distributing these materials. USAID Representative said that ABA was already doing this type of work through its legal clinics under the Community Empowerment Project, and offered to share training materials for her review. Although the Institute's mandate focused more on increasing awareness among government officials, she agreed that the modules used to train ABA's lawyers might be modified for future joint training sessions for these officials. INTEREST IN REFORMING THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM ¶10. (SBU) The government currently is looking at proposals for reforming specific laws, such as the Criminal Procedures Code and Defense of Rights of Children to bring them into conformity with international standards. (NOTE: Ongoing donor input to reforming the Criminal Procedures Code was corroborated in a February 7 phone call to USAID Country Representative from German legal expert Dr. Rolf Knieper, who advised that the German technical agency GTZ had signed a Memorandum of Understanding recently with the Institute. Under this MOU, GTZ will provide commentary on the Criminal Procedure Code and was requested to work on the Civil Procedures and Family Codes. END NOTE.) As part of this process, she would also like to reform the juvenile justice system to decriminalize certain penalties for youth aged 14-16. Using the example of fourteen year-old kids being jailed for stealing a car, she said this was "not like committing murder." Although UNICEF provided examples of ASHGABAT 00000206 003 OF 003 laws on juvenile justice, she would also like to learn more about how such penalties were actually administered in other countries (i.e., sentencing, processing, etc.). She suggested that an exchange/study tour for representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Mejlis (Parliament) and the Institute would be welcomed. COMPUTER TRAINING ALSO NEEDED ¶11. (SBU) Noting the importance of upgrading the computer skills of the Institute's staff, Ahmedova welcomed two-day basic computer skills training to be provided by USAID's partner IREX through the Internet Access and Training Program. She said that such training should be done at the Institute rather than an outside location, and that training should begin with department heads first. In a candid acknowledgement laced with a hint of frustration, Ahmedova acknowledged that Institute currently does not have access to the Internet at all -- not even via TurkmenTelecom. (NOTE: In past meetings, Ahmedova has told USAID that she was trying to obtain high-speed internet access through the EU/NATO/Supreme Council for Science and Technology's Virtual Silk Highway project, but never acknowledged that the Institute has no access at all. END NOTE.) She said that Dr. Hanno Schaumburg, the German project director for the Virtual Silk Highway, had previously offered to connect the Institute, but she expressed hope that this issue might be resolved during his next visit in March 2008. DESIRE TO INCREASE WORKING CONTACTS ¶12. (SBU) Many of Ahmedova's ideas for reforms are broadly consistent with a number of USAID's existing programs, but the Institute had limited knowledge about them since cooperation with this entity was difficult under President Niyazov. Ahmedova agreed that increased contacts was a positive way to improve working relations, and agreed to consider the suggestion to form "working groups" composed of USAID and its implementing partners. ¶13. (SBU) COMMENT: This was a positive, productive working meeting that highlighted Ahmedova's business-like approach to cooperation. In spite of her extensive work load, she was well-briefed and expressed a clear vision for joint activities. That she was able to "call Meredov" and organize a direct meeting with USAID without MFA participation highlights her access and comfort in dealing with other top government officials. Furthermore, her desire to reform the citizen's complaint commission was a welcome surprise that demonstrated her ability to think more broadly without being directed. She must be the prototype government official that President Berdimuhamedov has in mind when he criticizes others for failing to act without being led by the hand. This sure ain't Niyazov's Turkmenistan anymore! END COMMENT. HOAGLAND