TURKMENISTAN: INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000099 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 1130 ¶B. ASHGABAT 1346 ¶C. ASHGABAT 1391 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (U) SUMMARY: On January 16, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivered a positive reply to USAID's October 29 proposal for cooperation with the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights. Areas for cooperation included information exchange, the provision of legal and technical expertise, and support for increased access to information. Almost all of the specific joint activities proposed by USAID were accepted, aside from co-funding and selected community-level activities (most likely since the Institute has limited funds and no regional branches). As a next step, USAID will meet with Institute staff to discuss specific joint activities during 2008. END SUMMARY. PROPOSAL FOLLOWED CONSTRUCTIVE MEETING WITH DIRECTOR ¶3. (U) Following a productive meeting on October 18 between Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (IDHR) Director Shirin Ahmedova and USAID/CAR Office Director for Democracy and Media Kim Delaney (Ref. A),USAID submitted a proposal to the IDHR on October 29 that outlined possible areas for cooperation. The offer included access to legal information and legal analyses, support for local government bodies, cooperation with local government officials at the community level, and the promotion of internet access and professional use of information communication technology. In addition, USAID outlined possible joint activities related to information exchange, the provision of legal and technical expertise, support for increased access to information, and possible grant funding. RECENT DELEGATIONS TOLD TO EXPECT POSITIVE RESPONSE ¶4. (U) Both Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) Barks-Ruggles and USAID Regional Mission Director Bill Frej were told by government officials that cooperation with USAID was desirable. IDHR Director Ahmedova told DAS Barks-Ruggles on December 7 (Ref. B) that she had just submitted her feedback on USAID's proposal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that she was "very positive" about the expected cooperation. First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Wepa Hajiyev told Frej on December 13 (Ref. C) that the proposal was in line with the Institute's priorities and reflected the current situation in Turkmenistan. Hajiyev said that the next step was to discuss implementation questions in follow-up meetings after transmission of this message through formal channels. ¶5. (U) The Institute's response, drawn directly from USAID's October 29 letter to Ahmedova following Delaney's visit, indicated that it was possible to identify joint activities in the following areas: -- Providing comparative information on international legislation in areas of interest; -- Promoting internet access and professional use of information communication technology; -- Disseminating international best practices and standards in the governance area through conferences, workshops, roundtables and publications; -- Organizing in-country workshops and roundtables with the Government, Mejlis, and local experts on relevant topics; -- Supporting participation in regional, and international events to share practices and allow for increased information exchange; -- Supporting professional exchanges, study tours and technical visits to other countries to review practices on a range of governance issues; -- Recruiting regional and international experts for policy workshops to provide concrete examples of reform successes and challenges in other countries of the region; -- Providing regional or international expert technical assistance on legislative drafting techniques and related to specific technical ASHGABAT 00000099 002 OF 002 areas of draft legislation; -- Developing brochures and other publications related to laws and regulations; -- Supporting the production of an online legal database; -- Organizing an international seminar in cooperation with USAID's partner International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL); and -- Providing reference materials for use by Institute specialists. ¶6. (U) The only areas proposed in USAID's October 29 letter that the Institute did not name as areas for joint activity in its reply were: -- Expanding internet access at the community level; -- Supporting legal hotlines and free legal consultations for specific communities; -- Providing co-financing for community and youth initiatives that support local rural development; -- Support community resource centers to increase access to information and provide a location for hosting community events; and -- Providing training through local, regional or international individuals or organizations for community groups, local governments, and other relevant entities. ¶7. (U) COMMENT: The acceptance of most of USAID's proposal is a significant breakthrough in a U.S. relationship with the Institute. Its director, Ms. Ahmedova, has voiced her enthusiasm for joint activities to recent high-level delegations on several occasions, and her ability to gain formal intergovernmental approval for cooperation is another sign of her broad mandate to work with a variety of international organizations in this sphere. Further, it reflects President Berdimuhamedov's publicly stated goal of moving Turkmenistan toward international standards of democracy and humanrights. For next steps, USAID will meet with Institute staff to identify specific activities that can be incorporated into the Institute's 2008 workplan. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND