AZERBAIJAN: ENGAGEMENT ON WOMEN'S ISSUES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000024 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, DRL, EUR/PGI- Jim Kuykendall E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV KDEM KWMN AJ SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: ENGAGEMENT ON WOMEN'S ISSUES REF: 09 STATE 124579 BAKU 00000024 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) This cable answers reftel questions on USG engagement on women's issues in Azerbaijan. ¶2. (SBU) Provide details on current women's issues programs which highlight Post's work with civil society, NGOs, local governments, international or regional organizations, and other relevant interlocutors. Women's political participation -------------- Under USAID's sponsorship, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) has partnered with the Organization for the Protection of Women's Rights (OPWR),Azerbaijan's leading independent women's civic group, and a recent recipient of NDI's Bren Simon award, a grant in recognition of OPWR's contribution to enhancing women's participation in politics. With the award, OPWR will be initiating a leadership program for women activists in the regions. NDI has worked with OPWR on programs to educate women about their political rights, including encouraging them to vote, work on campaigns, and become candidates themselves. More recently, NDI has worked with women's departments of political parties on surveying and targeting women voters. NDI has helped parties to use low-profile activities, such as door-to-door surveys or promoting charitable activities, to reach previously apolitical women in a non-threatening way. Over the course of NDI's programming, the Institute has worked with hundreds of women activists in the regions and in Baku. The Embassy's Democracy Commission has also supported projects aimed at women candidates. In 2009 the Commission provided $14,887 to "Solidarity Among Women" in support of an NGO's efforts to encourage more women to run for municipal council positions. Development of Women Lawyers -------------- Azerbaijan has one of the lowest rates of female legal professionals in the NIS, and support to women lawyers is greatly needed. USAID and the American Bar Association (ABA) conceived a gender-specific bar association to help create solutions that are unique to the professional challenges and barriers facing women, and to provide a forum for women to lobby for their rights. On May 14, 2007, the Women's Bar Association (WBA) was officially launched. Currently, the WBA has 270 members with an ever-increasing amount of interest. In March 2009, the Women's Bar Association was awarded a $96,000 grant through the USAID - Department of State jointly sponsored One Woman Initiative (OWI). In Azerbaijan, the OWI grant will fund WBA's "Woman to Woman" program which provides women with access to legal advice and training on issues related to domestic violence, trafficking of women, early marriage, and gender equality. The one-year project specifically targets four regions of Azerbaijan - Balaken, Guba, Lankaran, and Mingachevir. The grant funds a training program for approximately 400 women to gain greater awareness on women's rights. By the end of the project, 12 community leaders will be identified and trained to act as WBA liaisons in targeted regions and a number of educational materials on women's issues will be produced and distributed. As early marriage has become an issue of concern, especially in rural Azerbaijan, the Embassy's Democracy Commission in 2008 provided support to the Legal Help Public Union's "Let's Unite Against Early Marriages!" project, which included seminars for school children and community discussions in the Southern Azerbaijan region. Trafficking in Persons -------------- This key issue was addressed via the American Bar Association's series of focused trainings on the subject under the INL/DOJ Office of Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT) program. In total 161 members of the judicial sector were trained in trafficking issues during the 2009 fiscal year. The ABA also published and distributed informational materials regarding Trafficking in Persons to vulnerable target populations, including children and young women. In addition, TIP was addressed via INL/DOJ's funding and partnering with IOM on a $100,000 project to enhance national capacity building on shelter and hotline management for TIP victims. This project supported a series of trainings shelter staff, the project held a regional seminar on models for support and social reintegration. Women's Health -------------- USG activities also aim to increase gender equity through the USAID Family Planning and Reproductive Health programs. In FY09 health BAKU 00000024 002.2 OF 002 care providers, male and female, trained with USG funds acquired knowledge and skills in family planning counseling for women, men and couples. This activity also ensures increased equal access to modern family planning methods by working with pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies. The Primary Health Care-centered model inherently targets women and children, who account for the majority of users in Azerbaijan. USG supports activities aimed to improve women's access to quality health care. This activity contributed to the development of clinical protocols that target women's health. The large gender gap in life expectancy and early male mortality, however, has prompted USG to also focus on gender equity by including non-communicable diseases as a priority to address a leading cause of early male mortality. ¶3. (SBU) Provide a list of best practices and success stories on these issues, identified through both current and past programs. Trafficking in Persons -------------- The IOM shelter and hotline advisor, funded by the USG, discovered in her training work that NGOs were doing impressive work on anti-trafficking issues, but that there was need for coordination among these various organizations. Therefore, in addition to her training work, the advisor organized dozens of these NGOs into an anti-trafficking network and helped them develop methods of cooperation. The network now has its own website and works together on activities. This experience shows the importance of training and coordinating NGOs in Azerbaijan, especially in areas where work with the government is difficult. ¶4. (SBU) Identify areas where additional U.S. action and/or cooperation on women's issues could be useful. -- Awareness raising on domestic violence and funding for an NGO-run shelter for battered women, as one does not exist in Azerbaijan at the moment. -- High-level diplomatic advocacy for passage of a law on domestic violence, which is currently in the draft stage at parliament. -- Further awareness raising on the dangers of human trafficking, particularly in the rural areas of Azerbaijan. --Further training of women political candidates in advance of the November 2010 parliamentary elections.