europe and Eurasia - United States Department of State · europe and eurasia | 115 dures. The...

europe and Eurasia

“We appreciate greatly the United States’ support throughout all these years and the aid and support they have extended to our country.”

– Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, January 25, 2004

europe and eurasia | 111

The past year has shown mixed results in advancing human rights and democracy across Europe andEurasia. The most positive overall development has been an increasingly activist and resilient civilsociety throughout the region, often in the face of serious repression. Where elections have beenmanipulated, the press has been harassed or individuals have had their rights abused, people havebravely stood up to protest and to demand change.

In Georgia, when it became clear that the Government was manipulating vote counting, peacefuldemonstrations with broad popular support led to the resignation of President Shevardnadze and a newelection that represented a significant improvement. Such democratic success stories are unfortunatelyrare, however. Azerbaijan’s flawed presidential election led to violence, as opposition-led protestswere soon suppressed by authorities who then used the excesses of some demonstrators as pretext for awave of politically motivated arrests. Elsewhere in the region there were elections or constitutionalreferendums marred by procedural and substantive irregularities that violated democratic norms,including in Armenia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. In Russia, there were signifi-cant flaws and misuse of state-controlled media in the run-up to the Duma elections, as well asChechnya’s presidential election. However, in every case, in ever-increasing numbers, the citizens ofthese countries were able to observe election proceedings and document their flaws in expectation ofholding their governments accountable. With important elections coming up in Belarus, Ukraine andthroughout Central Asia, the United States is urging governments to take adequate measures to ensurethe entire election process, including campaigns, meets Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope (OSCE) standards, and it continues to work with civil society groups to improve the prospectsfor free and fair elections. Elections in Serbia and Croatia this year were judged by the OSCE to meetinternational standards.

Many countries continued to make legislative and structural changes that brought them closer to meet-ing international standards and joining Euro-Atlantic organizations. The Government of Turkey, forexample, passed extensive reforms in areas such as torture, religious freedom, freedom of expressionand association, and the role of the military in a democracy. However, some reforms have not yet beenimplemented. Property law implementation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is nearing completion andmore than one million refugees and displaced persons have returned home. The international commu-nity, including the OSCE, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the UnitedNations, has played a major role in promoting progress through its assistance activities and policies.Many governments in the region resisted further democratic change, however, and there was backslid-ing on previous gains in a number of countries.

Other challenges remain. The continued involvement of the international community continues to becrucial to overcoming post-conflict issues, the development of democracy and rule of law, and respectfor human rights and fundamental freedoms. Reports of continued violence and human rights abusesin Chechnya remind that there are those in the federal and local security forces – and among the sepa-ratists – who are still resorting to unacceptable methods of resolving a conflict that ought to be dealtwith by political means. Significant rule of law reform from the Balkans to Central Asia is needed to

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ensure equal protection under the law for all citizens and to combat corruption and organized crime.Turkmenistan’s authoritarian regime continues its highly repressive and capricious policies.

Torture remains a problem in much of Eurasia. The United States is particularly concerned about con-tinued reports of deaths in detention in Uzbekistan. The United States is waiting to see progress thereon recommendations made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, including the introduction ofhabeas corpus. While there has been some progress in the Balkans, several key indicted war criminalsremain at large. Media freedom remains a concern throughout much of the Eurasian region.Government efforts to restrict media freedom procedurally, e.g., through denying licenses, exertingpressure on broadcasting or newspaper management and distribution channels, or by harassing journal-ists is a problem throughout the region, as are “hostile takeovers” of independent media outlets.Violence and repression against religious minorities must be addressed in Georgia, Uzbekistan andTurkmenistan, and religious freedom also is limited in several other Eurasian countries and Belarus.

The U.S. strategy for promoting democracy and human rights employs a combination of consistent,high-level diplomacy and assistance programs. The combination of diplomatic and programmaticefforts was particularly effective in promoting a positive resolution to the post-election crisis inGeorgia. The United States continues to fund a range of country-specific and regional projects sup-porting free media, civil society, including human rights groups and independent labor unions, reli-gious freedom, democratic elections, political party development, good governance, the rule of law andanti-trafficking measures. The United States uses bilateral and multilateral channels, primarily theOSCE but also the UN Commission on Human Rights, both to support positive developments and tohighlight instances of abuse.


INDEPENDENT PRINTING PRESSIN THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

The Kyrgyz Republic’s only independentprinting press began operations onNovember 14, 2003, in a ceremony attendedby Assistant Secretary of State for Europeanand Eurasian Affairs Beth Jones, AssistantSecretary of State for Democracy, HumanRights and Labor Lorne Craner and KyrgyzForeign Minister Askar Aitmatov. Fundedby the United States and implemented byFreedom House, the printing press enablesmedia outlets for the first time to publishwithout fear of being denied access to thestate-run printing press or having to engagein self-censorship. Citizens in the KyrgyzRepublic and elsewhere in Central Asia are

able to read non-government controlled media reports and opposition points of view that would other-wise be inaccessible to them.

Culminating an 18-month effort, the printing press is the result of diligent work by Freedom House andthe U.S. Embassy, with the participation of many other organizations. The Eurasia Foundation assistedin the founding and registration of the Media Support Center (MSC), the Kyrgyz non-profit foundationthat operates the press. The MSC is governed by an international board of directors, including U.S.Senator John McCain as chairman, former U.S. National Security Advisor Anthony Lake and other dis-tinguished individuals from the United States, Europe and Central Asia. The Open Society Institutefinanced the purchase of state-of-the-art computer-to-plate pre-print equipment and the Government ofNorway contributed financially to the project. In the end, it was the U.S. Air Force stationed at ManasAir Base in Bishkek that provided the transportation for the printing press to its final destination inBishkek.

By early 2004, the press is already printing 28 independent newspapers; in December alone the pressrun totaled nearly 300,000 copies. The MSC also sponsors training programs for journalists. From atechnological perspective, the combination of modern pre-press technology and full-color printing willstrengthen all publications’ abilities to compete in the marketplace. Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Aitmatovhailed the press as a step forward for needed freedom of the press in his country. More touching wasthe independent journalist at the opening ceremony who also spoke, saying he had “dreamed of thisday,” calling the opening of the press a “truly epochal event.” Thanking the United States, he pledgedthat his fellow journalists and publishers would do their part to strengthen democracy in the KyrgyzRepublic.

Above: Foreign Minister Askar Aitmatov, Assistant Secretary Lorne Craner, Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Jones, ExecutiveDirector of Freedom House Jennifer Windsor, Ambassador Steve Young and Presidential Advisor Bolot Djanuzakov at theinauguration of the Kygyz printing press.


ALBANIA

Albania is a republic with a multiparty democra-cy, led by Prime Minister Fatos Nano andPresident Alfred Moisiu. The Government’shuman rights record remained poor in some areas,although there were improvements in others.Albania’s progress on promoting the rule of lawand respect for human rights was hindered tovarying degrees by corruption, weak institutionalcapacity and a lack of democratic tradition.

The U.S. strategy focuses on improving electionadministration and credibility, expanding citizeninvolvement in public affairs, strengthening leg-islative and civil institutions, including independ-ent media, and improving the Government’scapacity to fight crime and curb corruption. Some key successes included improved local gov-ernment elections, passage of a landmark assetdeclaration law and a comprehensive anti-moneylaundering law, the airing of several documentary-style television series exposing corruption,increased convictions of senior officials andpolice on charges of abuse of office, and a furthercurtailment in human trafficking. Citizens’ advo-cacy groups also played a greater role in speakingout against government corruption and misman-agement.

Corruption and weak rule of law remained amongthe greatest obstacles to improving human rightsand democracy in Albania. These issues factoredprominently in embassy officials’ public remarksand private meetings with government officials.Visiting U.S. officials also stressed these issueswith their Albanian interlocutors at every opportu-nity, including during the separate visits ofSecretary of State Powell and U.S. Agency forInternational Development Administrator AndrewNatsios in May, and Defense Secretary DonaldRumsfeld in June. Washington-based officialsalso regularly raised these concerns with visitingAlbanian officials. In April the Embassy hosted aconference on promoting government transparen-cy and accountability, bringing to Tirana represen-tatives from the U.S. House of Representatives

Ethics Committee, the General AccountingOffice, Common Cause and the Oregon StateElection Commission to meet with Albanianpoliticians, civil servants and citizens’ advocates.

The United States provided funding to anti-cor-ruption initiatives, including the AlbanianCoalition Against Corruption, an umbrella organi-zation representing 210 non-governmental organ-izations (NGOs) and individuals involved in thefight against corruption. The United States alsosupported the Citizen’s Advocacy Office, anNGO offering legal assistance to private citizensin corruption cases. The result was an unprece-dented level of cooperation between theGovernment and civil society on the issue of cor-ruption and increased scrutiny and accountabilityrelated to central and local government activities.

In the area of law enforcement, the U.S.Department of Justice (DOJ) InternationalCriminal Investigative Training AssistanceProgram supported the creation of the Office ofInternal Control (OIC) in the Albanian StatePolice. The OIC is charged with investigatinginternal corruption and building a more profes-sional police force. DOJ maintained a full-timeadvisor with that office. OIC investigations ledto a significant increase in arrests, dismissals andother disciplinary actions against police officersfor corruption and abuse of office, including asenior police official at Mother Teresa Airportinvolved in migrant smuggling. Total discipli-nary actions in 2003 exceeded 1,200. DOJ assist-ed in the creation and training of the OrganizedCrime Task Force, which brings together an elitegroup of police and prosecutors to fight organizedcrime and corruption.

As a result of U.S. training programs for judgesand other legal officials, the climate for success-ful prosecutions of previously “untouchable”criminals improved, with several cases broughtagainst notorious organized crime figures. Anumber of judges were dismissed on corruptionafter the successful implementation of a judicialcode of conduct and a code of disciplinary proce-


dures. The United States was a strong proponentof Witness Protection legislation, which is cur-rently nearing passage in Parliament, to improvethe success of prosecutions for trafficking, cor-ruption and other crimes. The United Stateschaired the International Consortium, an informalmechanism for the many international donorswho are involved in legal reform in Albania, tocoordinate and streamline their efforts.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope (OSCE) and other international observersjudged Albania’s local elections, held in October2003, to be the fairest and most transparent in thecountry’s democratic history, although adminis-trative problems remained and there were a fewisolated incidents of irregularities and violence.The progress was due in large part to importantreform of Albania’s electoral code, achieved withsignificant OSCE assistance and U.S. politicalsupport. The number of Albanians serving aselection monitors with NGOs more than doubledin 2003 from the last election in 2001 (from1,000 to 2,200 people). Assisted by the Embassy,local organizations established a Forum of LocalMonitors, produced a standardized monitoringform and conducted educational campaigns andtelevised campaign issue debates. Embassy per-

sonnel also served as election monitors underOSCE auspices.

In 2003 the Peace Corps resumed operations inAlbania, after a six-year absence. Peace Corpsvolunteers worked with municipal governmentsand local communities throughout Albania tomake government more responsible and account-able to civil society, spreading democracy at thegrassroots.

To help the Albanian media continue to progressfrom its origins as a state-controlled machine, theUnited States funded training programs on-siteand in the United States, in order to raise thelevel of professionalism among reporting, editori-al and management staff. U.S. officials, particu-larly the Ambassador, also stressed the need toensure media freedom in public remarks and pri-vate conversations with government officials.

The Embassy has actively vetted all JointCombined Exchanges of Training and bilateralexchange exercises with the Albanian militarythrough the human rights vetting process.Through the International Military Education andTraining (IMET) program, 32 officers receivedmilitary training and training in human rights,

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democracy and civics in the United States. Inaddition, the Expanded-IMET program sponsoredseveral educational events bringing U.S. officialsto Albania. For example, the Embassy arrangedfor the Defense Institute International to assist theAlbanian Ministry of Defense’s legal experts inestablishing and implementing a modern code ofmilitary justice that complements civilian law.

U.S. programs also sought to promote religiousfreedom in Albania. Funding for local communi-ty developments that build ties between the coun-try’s four main religious groups – Sunni Muslims,Bektashi Muslims, Albanian Orthodox andRoman Catholics – helped maintain and fostereven greater tolerance and cooperation amongmembers of different faiths. A U.S.-supportedCivic and Faith-Based Education Project waslaunched to develop ways to introduce the teach-ing of civics into religious school curricula.

The United States remains committed to eradicat-ing trafficking in persons, and U.S. officials con-tinue to actively engage the Government in fight-ing trafficking in persons, including through acountry-specific strategy tailored to helpingauthorities meet the minimum standards asdefined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.In 2003 the United States funded the AlbanianCitizens’ Advocacy Office, which provided legalservices to victims of trafficking as well as legaleducation to citizens and local governments.U.S.-assisted programs addressed the reintegra-tion of victims, including the strengthening ofwomen’s legal rights as they relate to trafficking,domestic violence and the new Albanian FamilyCode. A systematic national referral mechanismto test models for sustainable reintegration andshelter mechanisms for victims of trafficking wasalso developed. A U.S.-funded bilateral initiativeis focused on reducing the trafficking of AlbanianChildren to Greece and Italy.

With $70,000 in U.S. assistance, theGovernment’s National Reintegration Centerexpanded its mandate in 2003 beyond third-coun-try nationals to provide assistance to Albanian

trafficking victims, including children, andmigrant workers. The Government formed theChild Trafficking Working Group to develop andpursue strategies specifically focused on combat-ing child trafficking.

ARMENIA

The Government’s human rights record remainedpoor; although there were some improvements ina few areas, serious problems remained.Armenia’s Government held presidential and par-liamentary elections in 2003. President RobertKocharian was re-elected in a controversial votethat was marred by numerous serious irregulari-ties; as a result, the election did not meet interna-tional standards. Some members of the securityservices committed human rights abuses. Therewere reports of arbitrary arrest and detention, andlengthy pretrial detention remained a problem.Prison reform efforts were under way, but prisonconditions remained generally poor. Judges weresubject to pressure from the executive branch andsome were corrupt. There were some limits onfreedom of the media, assembly, association andreligion. Societal violence against women was aproblem. Trafficking in persons was a problemthat the Government took some steps to address.

The U.S. human rights and democracy strategycontinues to focus on fundamental issues, includ-ing the need for elections that meet internationalstandards, the development of a vibrant civil soci-

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ety, respect for human rights and the rule of law,reform of the judiciary, respect for freedom of themedia, assembly and religion, increased govern-ment transparency, and anti-trafficking efforts.U.S. assistance to support this strategy in FiscalYear (FY) 2003 totaled approximately $22.4 mil-lion, of which about $12.2 million was allocatedfor U.S.-based training and exchange programs.

U.S. officials routinely meet with Armenian gov-ernment officials, parliamentary opposition lead-ers, religious minorities and human rightsactivists regarding these issues. The Embassyhosted several representational events and round-tables during the year to raise awareness andencourage dialogue in support of these aims.

To promote democratic presidential and parlia-mentary elections, the United States repeatedlyurged the Armenian Government to adapt specificreforms. The United States also funded activitiesto promote democratic elections, which includedwork with citizens groups to strengthen theintegrity of voters lists and protect voter rights,political party training, training and deploymentof domestic election monitors and deployment ofa high level delegation of international electionobservers in parliamentary elections. Followinglast year’s flawed elections, the United Statesjoined the OSCE in raising the importance ofaccountability for election fraud.

U.S. programs to support the work of Armeniannon-governmental organizations (NGOs), includ-ing the Embassy’s Democracy Commission pro-gram, remained an effective means for the UnitedStates to advance its democracy and human rightsagenda. With U.S. funding for projects and insti-tutional support, local NGOs pursued initiativesto promote human rights, media freedom, demo-cratic development and civil society.

International Visitor (IV) programs also focusedon human rights and civil society development.One IV program in December 2003 focusing onprison reform and other human rights issues sentArmenian human rights activists and government

officials to the United States. One of the partici-pants was subsequently appointed Armenia’s firstHuman Rights Ombudsman. Other IV programsfocused on developing women’s leadership andincreasing government transparency.

Through U.S. programs focused on increasing cit-izen participation and awareness, 220 town hallmeetings were held throughout Armenia in whichlocal citizens raised their concerns with commu-nity leaders. Other programs included a civicseducation curriculum that was implemented inArmenian schools and work with the NationalAssembly that increased the public’s ability toaccess information regarding the legislature andits actions.

The United States continues to place high priorityon judicial reform. After revising its approach inFY 2003 due in part to the judiciary’s actions dur-ing the presidential elections, the United Statescontinued to promote the rule of law, focusing onproviding legal education and strengthening thecapacity of lawyers. Judicial assistance is limitedto promoting the independence and integrity ofjudges, including the development of a judicialcode of ethics. After several years of little move-ment and effort on the part of Armenian judgestoward promoting their own independence, aworking group of judges, with U.S. assistance,developed an agenda of reforms needed for anindependent judiciary. The United States is close-ly monitoring the progress of the working group.

The United States has been engaged with theGovernment as it develops an anti-corruptionstrategy. Embassy officials are providing com-mentary to the Government on the draft strategy.

To support media freedom, U.S. programs,including the Embassy’s Democracy CommissionSmall Grants program and the IV program, pro-vided training designed to strengthen the profes-sionalism of reporting and financial viability ofArmenia’s independent media outlets and techni-cal assistance for reform to create an enablinglegal framework for the media.


Military-to-military contacts focused on promo-tion of fundamental human rights and on humani-tarian outreach including medical assistance andpeacekeeper exercises. To foster more profes-sional security forces and reduce human rightsabuses, the Embassy used a grant to support thetraining of key police officials and officials fromthe Procurator’s office. In compliance with theLeahy amendment, the Embassy coordinatedinteragency human rights’ vetting of military unitsproposed for U.S. training and/or support, andhuman rights training was integrated into all U.S.-supported military exercises and operational train-ing conducted in the country.

The United States continued to highlight the issueof religious freedom. The Embassy disseminatedmore information than in previous years on reli-gious freedom issues (including hard copies andInternet links to the State Department’sInternational Religious Freedom Report) to gov-ernment contacts, the NGO community, andhuman rights libraries in rural areas throughoutArmenia. The Embassy supported successfulpublic roundtables on religious freedom and reli-gious minorities through Democracy Commissiongrants. High-level meetings with religious leadersbased in Armenia and with visiting leaders fromreligions with communities in Armenia focusedon ways to promote tolerance and more effective-ly include religious minorities in discussion ofhuman rights in Armenia. The Embassy hostedrepresentational events that included the full spec-trum of Armenia’s religious communities on theoccasion of an inter-faith leadership visit in Fall2003. This event was hailed as one of the mostsuccessful gatherings of religious leaders in anon-government and secular setting.

Combating trafficking in persons continues to beon the U.S. agenda. The Embassy has stronglysupported the Government’s InteragencyCommission to Address Issues Related to HumanTrafficking, and provided input on the draftNational Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking.The United States funded a victims’ assistance

program that provided services to eight victims oftrafficking in 2003, and a program for journalistsand government officials on awareness cam-paigns and investigative reporting. The secondprogram resulted in a marked increase in mediacoverage of trafficking and improved governmentcooperation with journalists reporting on traffick-ing in persons. An IV program also focused onanti-trafficking.

AZERBAIJAN

Azerbaijan’s human rights record remained poor,and the Government continued to commit numer-ous serious abuses. In October 2003, PresidentIlham Aliyev was elected in a controversial elec-tion marred by numerous serious irregularities; asa result, the election did not meet internationalstandards. Members of the security forces con-tinued to commit numerous serious abuses,including excessive use of force with demonstra-tors and torturing and beating persons in custody.Arbitrary arrest and detention continued and afterthe election, authorities conducted a wave ofpolitically motivated detentions and arrests.More than 100 remained in detention as of March1, 2004. Prison conditions remained harsh andlife threatening. Lengthy pre-trial detention wasa problem, and fair and expeditious trials wereproblematic due to a judiciary dominated by theexecutive branch and subject to corruption. TheGovernment continued to restrict some freedomof speech and the press, as well as freedom ofassembly and association and some religiousfreedom, and continued to hold a number ofpolitical prisoners. Trafficking in persons was aproblem.

The U.S. human rights and democracy strategyfor Azerbaijan addresses a wide range of criticalissues, including respect for human rights, demo-cratic processes, civil society, the rule of law,fundamental freedoms and anti-trafficking efforts.U.S. assistance in support of this strategy inFiscal Year 2003 totaled approximately $16.1million, of which about $7.6 million was allocat-ed in U.S.-based training and exchanges.


In support of the U.S. strategy, State Departmentand embassy officials regularly meet with a rangeof human rights and democracy activists, repre-sentatives of pro-reform political parties and reli-gious minorities, as well as with government offi-cials. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State LynnPascoe, Members of Congress and Congressionalstaff traveled to Azerbaijan in 2003 and early2004 to reinforce support for U.S. objectives.

Following post-election violence, DeputySecretary Richard Armitage telephoned IlhamAliyev to urge the Government not to crack downon the opposition. The Department Spokesmanstated, “We are … extremely concerned with thepost-election violence and what appears to be awave of politically motivated arrests.” TheAmbassador and Deputy Assistant Secretary ofState Pascoe also raised concerns with seniorgovernment officials. Both privately and pub-licly, the United States urged the Governmenteither to release the detainees or transparentlycharge and try them in accordance with interna-tional standards. Embassy officials visited someof the detainees, including Imam IlgarIbrahimoglu of the Juma Mosque community, tomonitor their condition. The Embassy also moni-tored the trials.

Recent elections have not met international stan-dards. The United States has focused sustainedeffort on addressing this deficiency. In 2003,much of the U.S. human rights and democracyeffort focused on promoting democratic electionsin advance of the October 15 presidential elec-tion. Early in the year, U.S. officials, includingthe Ambassador, continued a dialogue that hadbegun after the 2002 constitutional referendumwith senior government authorities on necessaryreforms. The U.S also provided non-partisantraining to political parties on political partybuilding and election monitoring. The UnitedStates worked to improve election administrationby funding programs that provided technicalassistance to the Central Election Commission(CEC), training for members of precinct and

regional election commissions and a series ofvoter education programs.

With U.S. funding, non-partisan domestic andinternational observers were trained and deployedfor the parliamentary by-elections and theOctober presidential election. U.S. funds alsopaid for procurement of transparent ballot boxes.In preparation for the presidential election, theEmbassy established an Election Strategy Team,including non-governmental organization (NGO)representation, to coordinate the internationalcommunity’s efforts to promote an election thatwould meet standards set by the Organization forSecurity and Cooperation in Europe. Senior U.S.officials including Secretary of State Powell,Deputy Secretary Armitage and the Ambassador,urged senior Azerbaijani officials to adopt specif-

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ic reforms to strengthen the fairness and trans-parency of the election in three areas: the con-duct of the campaign, the administration of votingprocedures on election day and, most importantly,the integrity of the vote-counting process. TheEmbassy’s public affairs section funded and coor-dinated the creation and distribution of anti-fraudposters to all 5,000 polling places. DemocracyCommission grants to local NGOs helped toencourage the development of democratic institu-tions in Azerbaijan. For example, grants enabledlocal NGOs to host seminars on democracy.

The Embassy fielded approximately 30 observersto monitor parliamentary by-elections in Marchand approximately 100 observers to monitor thepresidential election on October 15. TheEmbassy also funded the deployment of another180 observers to monitor the vote tabulationprocess at the regional election commissions dur-ing the presidential election. When serious irreg-ularities marred the conduct of both elections, theUnited States raised concerns with seniorAzerbaijani officials. The United States alsourged the CEC to invalidate the results in thosepolling stations where there were serious irregu-larities. The CEC subsequently cancelled election

results in 694 polling stations; however, it did notdo so in many other precincts where serious vio-lations occurred. In the State Department’sOctober 21 statement, the United States conclud-ed that “Azerbaijan’s leadership missed an impor-tant opportunity to advance democratization byholding a credible election.” The United Statesalso called for an investigation of both the elec-tion violations and the post-election violence.

The United States also used the media to encour-age citizens’ participation in the democraticprocess. Through the International Foundationfor Election Systems and Internews, the UnitedStates funded public service announcementsinstructing voters on their rights. The Embassy’sPublic Affairs section also funded the nationalbroadcast of the Emmy-winning documentary onthe American electoral process, “Vote for Me,” inAzeri.

A strong civil society is integral to democracy,and the United States continues to support thedevelopment of civil society in Azerbaijan. Forexample, in 2003 and early 2004 the UnitedStates continued a two-year program designed tostrengthen the ability of 36 NGOs to effectively

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represent the interests of a well-defined con-stituency. Democracy Commission grants havesupported a variety of projects ranging fromresource centers for NGO development to publi-cation of NGO newsletters. Embassy officershave traveled throughout Azerbaijan to supportNGO activities. The Embassy also works closelywith the Government to help improve coopera-tion between the Government and NGOs.

To promote the rule of law, U.S.-funded pro-grams worked to strengthen the professionaldevelopment of judges and lawyers and to assistthem in developing codes of ethics, assist a futurebar association in developing and administering abar exam, expand programs for law students,assist women in gaining better access to justice,and conduct a legal literacy program for the gen-eral public. A U.S. Resident Legal Advisor isworking to improve legislation and to increasethe professionalism and skills of the judiciary andprocuracy. A U.S. program implementer and theResident Legal Advisor are also working with theGovernment and private lawyers to amend thecurrent Law on Advocates and to develop anindependent bar association.

Another focus of U.S. efforts was the develop-ment of a free and responsible media. TheAmbassador, embassy officials and visiting U.S.officials repeatedly urged the Government torespect media freedom. U.S. funding supportedthe professional development of journalists andadvocacy for media rights. U.S. programsenabled the production of three weekly televisionprograms, and provided extensive ongoing tech-nical and programming support to several inde-pendent television stations and newspapers. U.S.Democracy Commission grants supported news-paper production and provided training for jour-nalists in how to avoid and defend themselvesagainst libel charges.

In support of freedom of assembly, U.S. officialsrepeatedly encouraged Azerbaijan officials toauthorize peaceful demonstrations by opposition

parties. Embassy officials also attended severalof these gatherings.

The United States has worked actively to encour-age respect for religious freedom. The Embassyand officials in Washington maintained close con-nections with local religious communities andmade contact with some communities outsideBaku. U.S. officials met frequently with govern-ment officials to stress the importance of respect-ing religious freedom. Intervention by theAmbassador helped a local expatriate churchobtain its registration. The Ambassador and otherU.S. officials met frequently with governmentofficials to urge them to not evict the independentJuma Mosque community from the historic JumaMosque.

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The United States also has used programs toencourage religious tolerance and respect for reli-gious freedom. The Embassy organized a verysuccessful visit by Dr. Hibba Abudigeiri ofGeorge Washington University to Azerbaijan,where she spoke about Islam in America, genderand Islam, and democracy and Islam. The StateDepartment hosted an International Visitor pro-gram for several Muslim leaders. The Embassyactively spread the message about religious toler-ance and Islam in America throughout the year,including at an Iftaar dinner hosted by theAmbassador in November.

In compliance with the Leahy amendment, theEmbassy coordinated interagency human rights’vetting of military units proposed for U.S. train-ing and/or support, and human rights training wasintegrated into all U.S.-supported military exercis-

es and operational training conducted in thecountry.

Trafficking in persons is a problem. The UnitedStates promoted anti-trafficking measures andeffective preventive mechanisms in meetingswith government officials and through programsthat included an anti-trafficking awareness cam-paign conducted by NGOs. The United Statespartially funded a trafficking research study bythe International Organization for Migration.U.S. officials visited the region to discuss theissue, and Azerbaijani officials were invited onInternational Visitor programs on trafficking andto the Department’s anti-trafficking conference inWashington.

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BELARUS

Belarus is a republic with a directly elected presi-dent and a bicameral parliament. PresidentAlexander Lukashenko, first elected in 1994,amended the Constitution in 1996 through a seri-ously flawed referendum and extended his termin office in 2001 through an election that theOrganization for Security and Cooperation inEurope (OSCE) described as neither free nor fair.Local elections in March and November 2003were neither free nor fair. Parliamentary elec-tions are scheduled for Fall 2004. The judiciaryis not independent.

In 2003 and early 2004, the Lukashenko govern-ment’s human rights record remained very poorand worsened in some areas; although there wereimprovements in a few areas, it continued tocommit numerous abuses. The Governmenteffectively continued to deny citizens the right tochange their government. Security forces contin-ued to harass and detain political opponents, jour-nalists, human rights activists and trade unionists.Police abuse and occasional torture of prisonersand detainees continued. The authorities contin-ued to refuse to undertake serious efforts toaccount for the disappearances of well-knownopposition political figures in previous years or toaddress credible reports regarding the regime’srole in those disappearances. In addition to com-mitting widespread human and civil rights viola-tions, the regime embarked on an apparently cal-culated campaign to close independent mediaoutlets and non-governmental organizations(NGOs). Journalists critical of the Governmentwere administratively punished (usually fined) onlibel charges. The Government also increased itsrepression of independent trade unions, prompt-ing an International Labor Organization (ILO)Commission of Inquiry to investigate serious vio-lations of workers’ rights. The authorities contin-ued to restrict religious freedom by threatening,fining and arresting those engaged in unsanc-tioned religious activity. Government intimida-tion of opposition parties and civil society groups

severely hindered the development of a transpar-ent and democratic political process. Traffickingin persons remained a problem.

The U.S. strategy to promote democracy andhuman rights in Belarus consists of applyingpolitical and economic restrictions, maintainingbilateral and multilateral diplomatic pressure, andselective engagement, monitoring and reportingon abuses. The United States funded $8.9 millionin programs to bolster independent media, politi-cal parties, civil society and trade unions, pro-mote free and fair elections and the rule of law,and protect human rights. U.S. officials abovethe assistant secretary level do not meet withBelarusian authorities. The United States refusesto provide any bilateral assistance to theGovernment except humanitarian assistance andexchange programs with educational institutions.The United States closely cooperated with theOSCE in Belarus, and pressed hard for theGovernment to maintain an OSCE presence inthe country. In concert with the European Union,the United States instituted visa restrictions onsenior Belarusian officials that convinced theGovernment to agree to a new OSCE office inMinsk. Embassy staff actively monitored thedeteriorating human rights situation in Belarusand met with local organizations active in pro-moting human rights and democracy. TheEmbassy also established a notification networkwith Western embassies and international organi-zations to coordinate monitoring efforts.

The Embassy continued to press the BelarusianGovernment to conduct an independent andimpartial investigation into the disappearances ofseveral opposition activists. In January 2003, theUnited States offered to provide assistance forsuch an investigation. U.S. officials, includingDeputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage,National Security Council officials and Membersof Congress, met with family members of the dis-appeared who actively seek justice for their fami-ly members. The United States sponsored a reso-lution that passed at the 2003 UN Commission onHuman Rights calling for an independent, credi-


ble investigation into the disappearances. TheUnited States will sponsor a similar resolution in2004.

In response to the Belarus authorities’ ongoingcampaign of intimidation and harassment directedagainst civil society, independent media and thepolitical opposition, a joint delegation of U.S. andEuropean Union representatives met with theForeign Minister of Belarus in March 2004 todemand an immediate halt to this campaign andto urge the Government to take the necessarysteps to ensure a free and fair electoral process forOctober parliamentary elections. The delegationalso reaffirmed its immediate willingness to initi-ate serious discussions with the Government onhow to improve bilateral relations. The UnitedStates will continue to monitor the situation veryclosely and respond appropriately to the actionsof the Government of Belarus.

With specific regard to elections, the UnitedStates consistently urged the Government to holdfree and fair elections and to invite an OSCEelection-monitoring mission well in advance ofelections. In May 2003, the United States spon-sored a conference on election reform that,despite the Government’s unwillingness to partici-pate, attracted international experts and localpolitical party and NGO representatives. U.S.funding supported political process training, tech-nical assistance and cross-border exchanges forpro-democracy groups, focusing on internal partygovernance, strategic planning, membershiprecruitment and retention, and message formula-tion. Despite intense government pressure, in theMarch 2003 elections, 53 opposition candidateswho received U.S.-funded training won seats ontheir local city councils. On the national level,five political parties that received U.S.-supportedtraining formed a coalition with a common candi-date list, electoral strategy and positive, democrat-ic platform. This coalition now offers Belarusiansa promising alternative in the 2004 elections.

The Embassy closely monitored theGovernment’s calculated attacks on civil society

and opposition political parties. In July, theGovernment refused to reregister IREX – a U.S.NGO providing assistance to independent mediaorganizations. The Embassy released a pressstatement protesting this action. Embassy staffregularly observed the trials of NGOs and mediaoutlets throughout Belarus that were targeted bythe Government for closure on flimsy pretexts.In April, former Ambassador Michael Kozak metwith jailed newspaper editor Viktor Ivashkevich.The United States made statements at the OSCEPermanent Council calling on Belarus to ceaseits repression of civil society and independentmedia and supporting the OSCE’s efforts toassist Belarus in meeting its OSCE commit-ments.

Bolstering civil society and independent mediaand promoting the rule of law are key U.S. goals.The Embassy’s Democracy Commission pro-gram awarded grants to strengthen independentmass media and civil society.

The United States also supports journalism andmanagement training, legal defense and on-sitebusiness consultations to strengthen independentprint and broadcast media outlets and increasetheir capacity to provide objective, fact-basedinformation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2003, U.S.-sup-ported public clubs offered local forums to shareinformation and resolve local issues. One publicclub generated widespread community supportand convinced local authorities to co-finance alocal clean water project. In 2004, the number ofclubs rose to 18 throughout the country. To pro-mote the rule of law, the United States providedlegal and advocacy training for lawyers, activistsand NGOs and supported the network of LegalAdvice Centers.

Training, exchange and educational reform pro-grams are another component of the U.S. democ-racy and human rights promotion strategy. InFY 2003, some 200 Belarusian citizens partici-pated in professional or academic training pro-grams. Traveling to the United States,Belarusian participants received short-term train-


ing in business, journalism, public health and sec-ondary school administration and took part inInternational Visitor (IV) programs focusing onNGO management, elections, grassroots democ-racy, foreign policy and human rights. FiftyBelarusian students participated in the FutureLeaders Exchange program, attending U.S. highschools and living with American families forone academic year.

Embassy staff also monitored the Government’shostile actions against those promoting academicfreedom. U.S. officials facilitated contactbetween Belarusian diaspora groups in the UnitedStates and the rector of a Belarusian languagelyceum that was closed by the Government; otherU.S. officials and European governments soughtsupport for the school. In early 2004, theAmbassador joined an 11-country diplomaticprotest over the Minister of Education’s demandthat the rector of the privately run EuropeanHumanities University resign and later issued apress statement describing the meeting.

The United States continued to support NGOsadvocating for the rights of youth and women.Program graduates organized more than 50 com-munity events in 2003 and spearheaded newyouth groups that raise awareness aboutHIV/AIDS and work with at-risk youth.

As the Government implemented a new, highlyrestrictive law on religion, the Embassy inten-sively monitored violations of internationalnorms and urged government officials to respectreligious freedom. Embassy officials expandedtheir contacts among the religious community toinclude many smaller groups that have been gov-ernment targets. The Embassy also assisted inarranging meetings between representatives ofreligious groups and high-level U.S. delegationsvisiting Belarus. Embassy staff participated inoutreach programs with groups of American citi-zens visiting Belarus to discuss religious freedomissues. The Embassy also arranged for represen-tatives of several traditional and nontraditional

faiths to participate in an IV exchange program tothe United States in March 2004.

The Embassy closely monitored incidents of anti-Semitism that occurred throughout Belarus. OnMay 31, 2003, the Embassy issued a public state-ment condemning the vandalism of Holocaustmemorials and Jewish cemeteries in severalBelarusian cities. Embassy officials, includingthe Ambassador, along with American and inter-national NGOs, regularly raised with theGovernment the concerns of international Jewishgroups over the expansion of a sports stadiumbuilt on a Jewish cemetery in Grodno; this actionled to agreement on the renovation and the appro-priate treatment of unearthed remains.

In response to workers’ rights violations, theUnited States ended Belarus trade benefits in2000 under the Generalized System ofPreferences and supported an ILO Commissionof Inquiry in 2003. The Embassy maintainedclose contact with local independent labor leadersand the ILO, which is continuing to implement aU.S.-funded program promoting labor rights andindependent trade unions. In 2003, eight laborleaders participated in an IV program to learnabout American trade unions.

In 2003, the Embassy helped organize severalanti-trafficking roundtables that included govern-ment, NGO, diplomatic mission and internationalorganization representatives. The Embassyworked closely with the International Office forMigration’s (IOM) Minsk office and local organi-zations to monitor the Government’s anti-traffick-ing efforts. The Chairperson of the YoungWomen’s Christian Association, a prominent anti-trafficking advocate, participated in an IV pro-gram in the United States. The Embassy alsoworked with IOM on a U.S.-funded program toraise public awareness and protect trafficking vic-tims. The United States funded and developed awomen’s economic empowerment project tocombat trafficking in persons.


BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Since the signing of the 1995 General FrameworkAgreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina(the Dayton Accords), human rights abuses havediminished. Still, serious problems remained andthe Government’s human rights record remainedpoor. Police brutality continued, but policeaccountability for individual abuses improved.Dominant political parties and authorities contin-ued to influence the judiciary and to pressure andharass the media. Entity governments and privategroups continued to restrict religious practice byminorities in majority areas; religious discrimina-tion remained a problem. Trafficking in womenand girls continued to be a serious issue.

U.S. efforts to improve human rights in Bosniaand Herzegovina (BiH) focused on strengtheningthe rule of law and building institutions at thestate level to strengthen the effectiveness of lawenforcement and the application of justice. Thisstrategy yielded some notable successes, such asthe creation of a State Court and StateProsecutor’s office, which is empowered to hearcases involving organized crime and trafficking.Bosnia and Herzegovina established a nascentnational law enforcement agency known as theState Information and Protection Agency, adoptednew state and entity-level criminal procedurecodes, and initiated a vetting process for everyjudge and prosecutor in the country. A new reli-gion law was adopted and there were importantdevelopments in combating trafficking in persons(TIP). After the 2002 national elections, theEmbassy worked with the international communi-ty to vet appointments to key ministerial posi-tions, allowing the international community toreject nominees clearly unsuitable for these posts,including on human rights grounds.

The United States continued to support effortsleading to reconciliation and justice in Bosnia andHerzegovina. U.S. assistance to the InternationalCommission on Missing Persons enabled the use

of cutting-edge DNA technology to help identifysome of the estimated 20,000 to 30,000 personsmissing from the 1992-95 conflict. Some 1,536remains were recovered in 2003. The Embassyalso provided strong political support for the con-struction of the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorialand Cemetery Project. The Ambassador attendedthree burial ceremonies in which nearly 1,000victims of the massacre were buried, and formerU.S. President Bill Clinton spoke at the formalopening ceremony for the Memorial onSeptember 20, 2003. The United States also con-tinues to support minority returns in Bosniathrough U.S. assistance activities.

Under Secretary of State for Political AffairsMarc Grossman visited Bosnia and Herzegovinain November 2003 to encourage further reform inBosnia and to press home the message ofBosnian responsibility in locating and apprehend-ing indicted war criminals. The same messagewas conveyed to Bosnian authorities, particularlyin the Republika Srpska, during the course ofseveral visits by Ambassador at Large for WarCrimes Issues Pierre Prosper. Other key high-level U.S. visitors in 2003 included DeputySecretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz andAssistant Secretary of State for Political-MilitaryAffairs Lincoln Bloomfield, who raised humanrights and democracy issues while focusing pri-marily on defense reform and non-proliferationissues. In addition, Presidency member DraganCovic, Council of Ministers Chairman AdnanTerzic and Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic paidofficial visits to Washington on separate occa-sions in 2003; discussions on human rights, dem-ocratic freedoms and combating trafficking allfeatured heavily in their meetings with U.S. offi-cials.

In order to strengthen the rule of law in Bosniaand combat human rights abuses, the UnitedStates funds programs aimed at training police,prosecutors, judges and relevant authorities incriminal procedure, administrative structure andcriminal justice data management. The UnitedStates provided $1.5 million to the U.S.


Department of Justice International CriminalInvestigative Training Assistance Program (ICI-TAP) to build local capacity in entity-levelMinistries of Interior (responsible for policingactivities), helping them implement policies tocombat organized crime and terrorism andstrengthening their managerial, long-range plan-ning and personnel evaluation capabilities. TheUnited States contributed an additional $1 millionto ICITAP’s Criminal Justice System DataManagement project to expand nationwide a suc-cessful pilot project allowing prosecutors to moreefficiently track casework. In addition, theUnited States provided approximately $7 millionfor associated rule of law programs, includingcriminal procedure code field training to judgesand prosecutors, support for a Resident LegalAdvisor and prosecutorial development programs,assistance to judicial and prosecutorial trainingcenters, and seconding U.S. personnel to the StateCourt and State Prosecutor’s offices.

The United States was also vitally involved in thedevelopment of Bosnia’s judicial sector, provid-ing $2 million to the Independent JudicialCommission and the High Judicial andProsecutorial Councils, which are responsible forappointing and disciplining judges and prosecu-

tors to all courts (both state and entity-level).The United States also provided $300,000 for awitness protection program for individuals whotestified against war criminals at The Hague. Theprogram helped extremely vulnerable individualsand their families relocate to safe municipalitiesin Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The United States also deeply engaged in devel-oping civil law and provided $1.7 million throughits Administrative Law and Procedural Systems(ALPS) program to eliminate barriers that aver-age citizens continue to experience in theunwieldy Bosnian administrative system. TheALPS project successfully worked with four tar-get municipalities to amend their statutes andrules of procedure, allowing for increased publicparticipation in decision-making. The ALPSproject also established the first administrativelaw clinic in Bosnia and Herzegovina, within theSarajevo Law School. The Embassy, through theU.S. Agency for International Development(USAID) funding support for the American BarAssociation, helped unify the ethnically splin-tered Federation Bar Association and forged animproved professional partnership between thetwo entity-level (Federation and RepublikaSrpska) bar associations.

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At the municipal level, U.S. small grant mecha-nisms supported the efforts of municipalities andnon-governmental organizations (NGOs) to devel-op grass roots democratic activity, strengtheningcitizen participation in civil society. The UnitedStates provided $270,000 in grants for projectsthat included helping minority refugee popula-tions gain access to information and public servic-es, as well as form economic cooperatives, creat-ing public councils to oversee and act as a“check” on local government performance, andstrengthening the ability of women to organizeand advocate their interests effectively at locallevels. The $700,000 “New Practices” programinitiated in 2003 built upon best practices inmunicipal governance and encouraged local gov-ernments to promote democratic reform, trans-parency and refugee returns. The programincreased municipalities’ consultation with civicgroups and supported community improvementsundertaken in partnerships between local govern-ments and NGOs.

Educational programs formed an important part ofthe Embassy’s civil society initiatives. USAIDsponsored a second cycle of the NationalDemocratic Institute’s Parliamentary InternshipProgram, giving 58 talented interns an opportuni-ty to serve in Bosnia’s state and entity-level par-liaments. The program increased the parliaments’staff resources and allowed young Bosnians togain leadership skills and experience. The UnitedStates also played a direct role in fosteringdemocracy education in Bosnia’s schools throughthe Civitas civic education project. Civitas hasdeveloped a democracy and human rights coursethat is now taught in every secondary school inthe country (and is the only course in Bosnia andHerzegovina taught with the same materials inevery school). In 2003, the United States provid-ed more than $300,000 to Civitas to institute aformal civic education teacher certification pro-gram, building on prior in-service Civitas trainingfor thousands of teachers across Bosnia andHerzegovina. A pilot university-level programalso was developed.

Independent and self-sustaining press remained aU.S. priority. The United States sponsored a con-ference organized by the Bosnia and HerzegovinaPress Council on professional standards and self-regulation in journalism. The United States alsoassisted two Sarajevo newsweeklies in relocatingtheir printing operations, ending their dependenceon a facility owned by a large and increasinglynationalist daily paper that had been known toexploit control of local printing capacity to exertpressure on competing print media. Throughsuch support, the United States has encouragedindependent voices in the media and discouragedpolitical pressures and threats to individual jour-nalists.

Embassy democratization efforts also extended tothe military. Under the U.S.-funded ExpandedInternational Military Education and Trainingprogram, mobile training teams were brought toBosnia and Herzegovina in 2003 to present semi-nars on civil-military relations. BiH officialsattended courses in the United States as well,focusing on civilian control of the military.These programs underscored the military’s demo-cratic role in Western societies and pointed tonecessary reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The United States also works to assist Bosnia andHerzegovina in prohibiting discrimination onsuch grounds as sex, race, disability or religion.Using U.S. funding, the Centers for CivicInitiatives (CCI) in 2003 launched a nationalcampaign under the slogan “We Are All Equal,”aimed at improving the lives of disabled persons.This campaign ultimately led BiH authorities toadopt the UN Charter on Standard Rules andopened the door to enhancing the rights of dis-abled people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The United States continues to view combatingthe TIP problem in Bosnia as a key priority.Important developments include the creation of astate level National Coordinator’s Office for Anti-TIP activities and a variety of efforts aimed atfighting complicity and corruption. In March, inthe first trafficking case to be prosecuted under


the new BiH-level Criminal Code, three traffick-ers were sentenced to up to nine years in prison.The men were part of a regional trafficking ringthat forced women into prostitution across theBalkans. U.S. engagement on this issue, in par-ticular the Embassy’s efforts to focus governmentactions through a country-specific strategy tai-lored to the minimum standards of the TraffickingVictims Protection Act, was a driving force inhelping to elevate Bosnia and Herzegovina fromTier III to Tier II status in the State Department’s2003 Trafficking in Persons Report.

In addition to rule of law work supporting policeand prosecutorial development to fight organizedcrime and trafficking, the Embassy has supporteda number of workshops, conferences and intern-ships for journalists who report on trafficking inpersons. The Embassy funded a comprehensivestudy on human trafficking in Bosnia andHerzegovina, increasing public awareness of thisissue and providing accurate data on the scope ofthe trafficking problem in Bosnia andHerzegovina. The United States continued toprovide training and support for an interagencylaw enforcement task force investigating traffick-ing and illegal migration, and provided assistanceto trafficking victims through a grant to theInternational Organization for Migration, whichruns a shelter based in Sarajevo. U.S. officialsalso consistently stress the importance of combat-ing TIP in meetings with senior BiH officials,including the Presidency, Prime Minister,Minister of Security and State Border Service,and the Entity Prime Ministers and Ministries ofInterior, as well as other police officials.

GEORGIA

Georgia’s Government is headed by PresidentMikheil Saakashvili, who was elected on January4, 2004 in an election that brought Georgia closerto meeting international standards. Parliamentaryelections held on November 2, 2003 were marredby massive fraud and manipulation of results bygovernment-controlled election commissions.

Peaceful popular protests of the fraud led to theresignation of President Eduard Shevardnadzeand the annulment of the proportional results.The Government’s human rights record remainedpoor although there were some improvements ina few areas. Numerous non-governmental organ-izations (NGOs) blamed the Government for sev-eral deaths in custody due to physical abuse, tor-ture or inhumane and life-threatening prison con-ditions. NGOs reported that police brutality con-tinued. Security forces continued to torture, beatand otherwise abuse detainees. Corruption in lawenforcement agencies remained pervasive.Arbitrary arrest and detention remained problemsas did lack of accountability. Reforms to create amore independent judiciary and ensure dueprocess were undermined by failure to pay judgesin a timely manner. Lengthy delays in trials andprolonged pretrial detention remained problems.The press generally was free; however, occasion-ally security forces and other authorities intimi-dated and used violence against journalists.Security forces refrained from violently dispers-ing demonstrations in November. Governmentofficials infringed upon freedom of religion andcontinued to tolerate discrimination, harassmentand violence against some religious minorities.Trafficking in persons remained a problem.

Previous elections in Georgia had been marred byserious irregularities that limited citizens’ right tochange their government. As a result, the U.S.human rights and democracy strategy consistedof providing assistance designed to increase par-ticipation and transparency in the electionprocess; combating police abuses, discriminationand harassment directed against religious minori-ties, corruption and trafficking in persons, sup-porting civil society, fostering judicial reform,and promoting independent media. U.S. assis-tance to support these efforts in Fiscal Year 2003totaled approximately $20.4 million, of whichabout $8.3 million was allocated for U.S.-basedtraining and exchange programs.

In support of the U.S. strategy, U.S. officials reg-ularly highlight publicly the need for improve-


ments in human rights conditions. TheAmbassador and other embassy officers work pri-vately with Georgian officials, NGOs and otherdomestic and international organizations to identi-fy and highlight areas of particular concern andencourage reform. Secretary of State Powell, for-mer Secretary of State James Baker, AssistantSecretary of State for European and EurasianAffairs Beth Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary ofState Lynn Pascoe, Members of Congress andCongressional staff reinforced support for U.S.objectives in Georgia in 2003 and early 2004.

To promote democracy and increase participationand transparency in the November parliamentaryelections, the United States provided funding forcampaign and coalition-building training for polit-ical parties, training for election commissionmembers, training and deployment of domesticelection monitors; computerization of the voterslist, voter marking; and a parallel vote tabulation(PVT). At the request of the United States, for-mer Secretary of State Baker brokered a dealbetween the Government and the opposition onelection commission composition to increaseopposition representation. The Ambassador main-tained public and private pressure on theGovernment to meet democratic standardsthroughout the election process, to includeprotesting against violence and the incarcerationof NGO election activists. U.S. assistance, espe-cially the PVT, was instrumental in proving thatthe official results had been manipulated and didnot reflect the will of the people. During the sub-sequent peaceful popular demonstrations, theAmbassador publicly and privately urged theGovernment and the opposition to avoid violenceand to guarantee citizens’ rights of assembly andexpression. The demonstrations remained peace-ful and eventually led to PresidentShevardnadze’s resignation. Following the elec-tion, the Embassy secured the release of a domes-tic election observer arrested on Election Day forallegedly interfering in the voting process – anarrest that many NGOs considered to be political-ly motivated.

Following President Shevardnadze’s resignation,the United States provided assistance for theJanuary presidential election, including additionaltraining for new election commission members, aget-out-the-vote campaign, exit polling and votermarking. The Embassy’s direct interventionhelped secure the participation in the election ofthe Autonomous Republic of Ajara, a region ofGeorgia that had threatened to boycott.Following the presidential election, the UnitedStates immediately turned to preparing a diplo-matic and assistance strategy for the repeat par-liamentary elections scheduled for March 28.

The United States continues to provide strongsupport to leading NGOs that promote humanrights, religious freedom, anti-corruption andissue-based advocacy throughout the country.Coalitions of leading NGOs now lobby for legalreform and serve as “watchdogs” both at the localand national levels. NGO mentoring partnershipshave successfully strengthened many nascentorganizations, helping them to become moreeffective at the local level.

Upholding the media’s independence remained astrong theme of U.S. assistance. Support forfledgling television stations, training media pro-fessionals in key aspects of journalism, assistingmedia outlets to become financially viable busi-nesses and providing assistance during majorlegal disputes continued throughout 2003.Moreover, Georgia’s first independent media rat-ings system was launched, which will enablemedia outlets to fairly and openly compete foradvertising funds in an increasing marketplace.During both the parliamentary and presidentialelections, the United States supported debates onkey issues in both print and broadcast media.

The United States pursued a vigorous policy pro-moting the rights of minority faiths and combat-ing religious violence. Embassy officials attend-ed the trial of religious extremist BasiliMkalavishvili and protested the lack of securityin the courtroom and failure to follow judicialprocedure. Embassy officials also intervened


when followers of Basili disrupted an ecumenicalservice, and spoke to the congregation at arescheduled event. The Ambassador attended aservice at a Baptist Church that was destroyed ina suspicious fire, a move that encouraged seniorgovernment officials to join him. Embassy offi-cers also defended the right of the Jehovah’sWitnesses’ to conduct services and import litera-ture – efforts that ultimately resulted in a sharpdecrease in harassment. Senior State Departmentofficials met with high-level government officialsboth in Washington and in Tbilisi to discuss vio-lence against religious minorities. TheDepartment sent an officer to Tbilisi to discussthis problem with government officials, religiousleaders and human rights groups.

Rule of law efforts have focused on strengtheningjudicial integrity, implementation of theAdministrative Code with its Freedom ofInformation (FOI) provisions to curb opportuni-ties for corruption, and creating capacity inGeorgian NGOs to monitor the performance oflocal government. Judges known for integrity setup a hotline for citizens to complain about sus-pected corruption. The judiciary’s willingness toenforce the FOI provisions has led to citizens’gaining information on municipal government,including budgeting and expenditures that hadnot previously been available.

To combat police human rights abuses, theEmbassy worked closely with the Ministry ofInternal Affairs (MIA), Ministry of Justice andNGOs to monitor conditions and report abuses.The United States, through its NGO partners,provided training to the Prosecutor’s office. TheUnited States also funded human rights aware-ness training for the police and detention facilitypersonnel. Embassy officials visited prisons anddetention facilities and met with prisoners thatalleged torture. In compliance with the Leahyamendment, all Georgian participants in U.S.security service training programs are subject tostrict human rights vetting through the DefenseAttaché’s Office in coordination with otherembassy offices.

U.S. efforts on anti-corruption stress law enforce-ment as well as government transparency andaccountability. The United States also supportsNGO “watchdogs,” which monitor local govern-ments, using hotlines, citizen complaints, FOIlawsuits and budget and procurement analysis tospot problems and publicize corruption cases.Grants proved very effective in getting localbranches of national agencies and local govern-ments to be more open and more responsive tocitizen participation. Several international NGOsfunded by the United States also formed a coali-tion to monitor the former administration’snational anti-corruption campaign; the coalitionsubmitted its own shadow report on Georgiancorruption problems.

Trafficking in persons remains a problem inGeorgia and the United States took significantsteps to assist the Government to confront it. TheEmbassy worked with the Georgian NationalSecurity Council to help define an anti-traffickingstrategy, resulting in a public awareness cam-paign, the opening of a trafficking hotline and thecreation of a trafficking unit in the MIA.Embassy efforts also facilitated the passage ofcriminal code amendments designed to fight traf-ficking.

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In support of all these efforts, the Embassy sentvarious government officials and non-governmen-tal representatives on International Visitor pro-grams in 2003 on topics such as journalism,democracy, religious tolerance and trafficking.

Also in support of all these efforts, the Embassy’sDemocracy Commission awarded small grants to15 Georgian NGOs and media outlets to addresschallenges in public administration and policy,civil society and mass media. Examples of suc-cessful projects in 2003 include a grant toIndependent TV Lomsia in the ethnically diverseSamtskhe-Javakheti region to expand the localnews production broadcasting area, grants to threeInternet and resource centers, including one inAbkhazia to support the free flow of and access toinformation, a grant to the Union of AzerbaijaniWomen to offer Georgian classes to local publicleaders and promote their integration into theGeorgian community, and a grant to the GeorgianInstitute of Public Affairs to translate twoAmerican textbooks for inclusion in its LocalGovernment Program curriculum.

KAZAKHSTAN

During 2003 and early 2004, the Government’shuman rights record remained poor, and it contin-ued to commit numerous abuses. TheGovernment severely limited citizens’ right tochange their government and democratic institu-tions remained weak. Members of the securityforces, including police, tortured, beat and other-wise mistreated detainees on some occasions.Some officials were punished for these abuses,including the first convictions under the 2002amendment to the criminal code on torture.Prison conditions remained harsh; however, theGovernment took an active role in efforts toimprove prison conditions and the treatment ofprisoners. The Government continued to use arbi-trary arrest and detention and to selectively prose-cute political opponents, and prolonged detentionwas a problem as well. Amendments to severallaws governing the authority of prosecutors fur-ther eroded judicial independence. The

Government restricted freedom of the press,assembly and association and limited democraticexpression by imposing restrictions on the regis-tration of political parties. Freedom of religionimproved during the year. National and regionalofficials worked to correct incidents when localauthorities harassed nontraditional religiousgroups or their members; as a consequence, suchincidents declined significantly during the year.Violence against women, including domestic vio-lence, was a serious problem. Discriminationagainst women, persons with disabilities and eth-nic minorities remained problems. TheGovernment discriminated in favor of ethnicKazakhs. Child labor persisted in agriculturalareas. Trafficking in persons, primarily teenagegirls, was a problem that the Government tooksteps to address. Opposition leader Galymzhan Zhakiyanovremained imprisoned at year’s end and local gov-ernment elections in September and October2003 were marred by irregularities; most analystsagreed that electoral legislation did not complywith Organization for Security and Cooperationin Europe (OSCE) standards and therefore disad-vantaged opposition candidates. Observersreported that after the Government eliminatedmost media outlets that were willing to directlycriticize the President in 2002 through a varietyof means, including criminal and administrativecharges, physical attacks and vandalism, theseevents continued to have a chilling effect on jour-nalists, most of whom practiced self-censorship.After a difficult 2002, a year in which oppositionpoliticians were imprisoned and independentmedia outlets harassed, the United States focusedits human rights and democracy strategy onreversing the tide and resuming progress.

The United States maintained diplomatic pressureon the Government throughout 2003, culminatingin a letter from Secretary of State Powell toPresident Nursultan Nazarbayev noting U.S. con-cerns about flawed draft election and media lawsas well as the continuing imprisonment of Mr.Zhakiyanov and Sergey Duvanov. The Secretaryalso raised these issues during the July visit to the


United States of Foreign Minister KasymzhomartTokayev. Throughout the year, the United Statesurged the Government to give a fair hearing toindependent journalist Duvanov whose criminaltrial early in the year was deemed procedurallyflawed by international experts. The UnitedStates also maintained forceful advocacy onbehalf of Mr. Zhakiyanov and Mukhtar Ablyazov,opposition politicians both convicted in 2002.The Ambassador, embassy officers and every sen-ior level U.S. official to visit Kazakhstan, includ-ing Assistant Secretary of State for European andEurasian Affairs Beth Jones and AssistantSecretary of State for Democracy, Human Rightsand Labor Lorne Craner, raised these cases andbroader democracy issues with the Governmentand urged that just solutions be found. In addi-tion to applying diplomatic pressure, the UnitedStates provided visible signs of support byarranging a U.S. non-governmental organization(NGO) visit to the imprisoned journalist, and byconvincing the Government to allow an embassyofficer to visit Mr. Zhakiyanov in his remote pen-itentiary. By the end of January 2004, Mr.Ablyazov had received a pardon and Mr.Duvanov was released on a parole-like arrange-ment allowing him to resume his work.

U.S. diplomatic work during the year was closelytied with democracy assistance programs, which

totaled approximately $13.9 million in FiscalYear 2003. Of this total, $6.4 million was allo-cated for U.S.-based training and exchange pro-grams. A key focus of diplomatic and assistanceefforts was laying the foundation for improvingthe conduct of parliamentary elections in 2004.The U.S. assistance came partly in the form of aseries of small grants by the Embassy’sDemocracy Commission. One of these grantswent to support regional discussions among civicleaders on electoral reform. The United Statesalso provided support to local NGOs that moni-tored elections and conducted exit polling duringlocal elections in September and October. TheseNGOs are developing skills that allow them toprovide independent electoral reform consulta-tions as well as pre-election monitoring. AnotherDemocracy Commission grantee launched a newKazakh- and Russian-language television seriesaimed at voter education. The United States sup-ported the National Democratic Institute’s (NDI)efforts to train the only nationwide organizationof independent election monitors; this local NGOwill continue to work with Parliament to push forkey changes to the draft election law. The UnitedStates also fielded its own team to monitor thelocal elections. These efforts have strengthenedU.S. calls for a new electoral law that meetsinternational standards.

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The United States lobbied vigorously for electoralreform and worked closely with the OSCE in pro-viding recommendations to government officialsdrafting a new electoral law. In late January2004, a joint session of Parliament nearly unani-mously approved a set of principles theGovernment proposed for the new election code.The OSCE had previously determined that theGovernment’s draft law contained serious short-comings and did not meet international standards.A joint parliamentary working group continuedthrough February to debate amendments to thelaw’s text; a third joint session of Parliament willdebate further on March 15. The United Stateswill continue to push for improvements to bringthe law into compliance with OSCE standards.

The United States remained active on a full arrayof human rights concerns. With funding from theBureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor,Freedom House launched in November a trainingprogram for human rights defenders that willbuild capacity of human rights activists to moni-tor and document the human rights situation inKazakhstan. U.S. efforts to promote civil societyas the basis for not only free and fair elections in2004, but also for long-term democratic stability,remained strong in 2003. The combined effortsof U.S. diplomatic lobbying, NDI’s spearheadingof an NGO advocacy campaign, and the engage-ment of the U.S.-funded network of NGO part-ners led to a government decision in Fall 2003 towithdraw a controversial law that would haveunduly regulated NGOs. Furthermore, U.S. civilsociety programs provided training and legal sup-port to NGOs and mobilized communities tosolve local problems. This year the networkexpanded to eight NGO resource centers with theaddition of a center in Atyrau.

The United States continued its work with theyounger generation by supporting a variety ofeducational programs. To encourage student par-ticipation in a democratic society, the UnitedStates supports a civics education program thatincludes textbook and complementary studentactivities. The United States also funds legal edu-

cation activities geared toward changing the wayyoung legal professionals learn and practice law.

Political parties will play a crucial role in the2004 elections. The United States continued tosponsor programs to strengthen political partiesto foster a competitive electoral environment.The joint efforts of the International RepublicanInstitute and NDI, supported by U.S. funds, areimproving the capacity of political parties to rep-resent citizens, better articulate their platforms,and compete with one another, thereby broaden-ing the spectrum of political forces inKazakhstan. The United States sponsored thevisit of opposition political party leaders to theUnited States to deepen their understanding ofdemocratic processes. The United States alsosponsored a training session for local governmen-tal (Maslikhat) candidates.

The United States continued to press theKazakhstan Government to honor its commit-ment, enshrined in its Constitution and OSCEmembership, to respect free speech. This camepartly in the form of vigorous U.S. lobbying toprevent the imposition of new restrictions on themedia. U.S.-funded organizations participated inthe government-sponsored working group on pro-posed new media legislation and offered impor-tant suggestions to improve the draft law. Whilea draft law that contains several articles restric-tive of freedom of speech was passed in lateDecember 2003 by the lower house ofParliament, lobbying continues by U.S.-fundedmedia and civic organizations in the hopes thatthis law will either be positively changed in theupper house, vetoed by the President, or ruledunconstitutional. A broad range of journalistorganizations, including one run by PresidentNazarbayev’s daughter, has called for the law tobe withdrawn.

The United States maintained crucial support fororganizations that seek to develop and strengthenthe capacity of journalists and independent mediaoutlets, including training on their rights andresponsibilities in covering elections. The United


States also funds Adil Soz, a local NGO, to moni-tor the infringement of rights of journalists andmedia outlets. The United States sponsored sev-eral programs for independent media, including aDemocracy Commission grant for an advocacyorganization to launch a new newspaper, a grantto a nationwide television channel to run a seriesof programs on human rights and democracy inthe Kazakh language, a Citizen’s Exchange pro-gram to train journalists and programs bringingseveral speakers to Kazakhstan to discuss the roleof an independent media.

The United States worked closely with UN HighCommission for Refugees to assist theGovernment in upholding its commitment to theChechen refugees in Kazakhstan. As a result, theGovernment’s policy to deport Chechens wasreversed. The United States also supportedrefugee communities by providing a grant to theRed Crescent/Red Cross to expand its medicalassistance for the most vulnerable and neglectedgroups.

U.S. efforts to promote religious tolerance in thepast several years produced a major step forwardin 2003. Not only did President Nazarbayev ini-tiate a series of high-profile conferences tostrengthen dialogue among religious faiths, theGovernment also increasingly tended to its ownnon-traditional religious communities. On sever-al occasions, the United States brought cases ofheavy-handed harassment of religious groups bylocal officials to the attention of national authori-ties in Astana. In each instance the harassmentstopped. Increasingly, the Government has inter-vened in such cases without pressure by theUnited States or others and, as a consequence,such harassment has declined significantly. TheUnited States also encouraged the President’sreligious tolerance initiative by working withgroups from the United States that attended thePeace and Harmony Conference held in Almatyin February 2003 and by helping to promote thegoals of the conference. President Bush sent hisgreetings to that event, and to the Congress ofWorld Religions held in Astana in September

2003. The United States also sponsored a month-long program to have 20 regional Muslim leaderstravel to the United States in an effort to help fos-ter understanding of religious diversity among thelarge population of Muslims in Kazakhstan’ssouth, as well as other programs to promote mod-erate interpretations of Islam and showcaseMuslim life in America.

The Embassy greatly expanded its cooperationwith the Government of Kazakhstan to fightagainst trafficking in persons (TIP). The UnitedStates pressed for the appointment of a nationalTIP Coordinator, a robust national plan to combatTIP and the development of a large-scale publicawareness campaign. The Government made sig-nificant progress in each of these areas. WithU.S. assistance, local NGOs are working to edu-cate the public on the dangers and impact ofhuman trafficking, help law enforcement agenciesinvestigate trafficking crimes and provide a hostof services to trafficking victims. TheGovernment began producing its own TIP publicservice announcements. The United States hasworked to educate and train the media about theimportance of reporting cases of trafficking.

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

During 2003 and early 2004 the KyrgyzGovernment’s human rights record remained poorand worsened in some areas; although there wereimprovements in some areas, it continued to com-mit numerous abuses. The Government severelylimited citizens’ right to change their governmentand democratic institutions remained weak.Members of the security forces at times beat andotherwise mistreated persons. Prison conditionsremained very poor, but improved slightly duringthe year. Although impunity remained a problem,numerous law enforcement authorities were dis-missed or prosecuted for abuses or misconduct.There were many cases of arbitrary arrest ordetention. Executive branch domination of thejudiciary limited citizens’ right to due process,and its interference affected verdicts involvingprominent opposition figures. The Government


restricted freedom of speech and of the press,although it allowed an independent printing pressand television station to begin operations. TheGovernment used bureaucratic means to harassand pressure the independent media, some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and theopposition, although a government Ombudsman’sOffice actively worked to advocate individualrights. Particularly problematic was a highlyflawed constitutional referendum in February2003 that strengthened control by the Presidentand weakened the Parliament and theConstitutional Court.

With parliamentary and presidential electionsscheduled for 2005, the U.S. strategy to promotedemocracy and human rights was increasinglyfocused on creating a conducive environment fortransparent, free and fair elections by strengthen-ing democratic institutions, increasing observanceof human rights, supporting civil society organi-zations and promoting the development of inde-pendent media.

To promote democracy, the United States main-tains close contact with independent journalists,human rights activists and opposition politicianswhile encouraging dialogue between theGovernment, the opposition and civil society.The Ambassador and visiting senior U.S. officialsmet frequently with reform-minded parliamentari-ans and human rights activists to solicit theirviews. During a November 2003 visit to Bishkek,Assistant Secretary of State for European andEurasian Affairs Beth Jones, Assistant Secretaryof State for Democracy, Human Rights and LaborLorne Craner and the Ambassador held discus-sions with local NGO and civil society represen-tatives. They met with Kyrgyz President AskarAkayev and other senior officials to discuss con-cerns about human rights issues and the 2005elections. In June 2003 and February 2004, high-level U.S. officials discussed with ForeignMinister Askar Aitmatov the need for continuedprogress in democratization in order to broadenU.S.-Kyrgyz bilateral relations.

The Embassy criticized, both publicly and pri-vately, the Government’s highly flawed constitu-tional referendum in February 2003. Violationsincluded manipulation of the ballot count, forgedvoting results and incidences of individuals vot-ing multiple times or without documents. Inaddition, there were many occasions where elec-tion officials prevented independent observersfrom monitoring the election process. Followingthe referendum, the United States also raised con-cerns with Kyrgyz officials about harassment ofindependent and opposition observers who criti-cized the referendum. In late February, U.S. offi-cials visited Edil Baysalov, chair of the Coalitionfor Democracy and Civil Society, when he washeld in a military hospital for medical testingdespite several prior waivers from military serv-ice. With U.S. funding, Baysalov’s organizationwas active in deploying independent monitorsduring the constitutional referendum.

Throughout the year, the United States workedclosely with the Organization for Security andCooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Office forDemocratic Institutions and Human Rights, theNational Democratic Institute and theInternational Foundation for Election Systems toprovide Kyrgyz officials with concrete ways inwhich election legislation could be improved andbrought into compliance with internationalnorms. In December 2003, the KyrgyzParliament adopted a new election code, whichPresident Akayev signed into law in January2004. The election code, which the OSCE deter-mined does “not establish a legal framework thatprovides for democratic elections,” will nonethe-less play a crucial role in how parliamentary andpresidential elections in 2005 are conducted. Inlate 2003, U.S. officials met extensively with pro-government and opposition legislators as well assenior government officials, including PresidentAkayev, urging them to adhere to internationalstandards in the coming election. PresidentAkayev has given his pledge to step down fromthe presidency and to ensure a peaceful transition.


The United States was highly engaged on rule oflaw issues, such as arbitrary arrest and excessiveuse of force. U.S. officials continued to raise theneed for due process in the case of imprisonedopposition leader Felix Kulov as well as the needfor accountability in the 2002 police killing ofunarmed protesters in Aksy. In May, U.S. offi-cials met with a group of women whose relativeswere killed or injured in the March 2002 inci-dents. The women initiated a hunger strike anddemanded that President Akayev punish officialsresponsible for the protesters’ deaths. U.S. offi-cials also raised with Kyrgyz authorities the caseof Galena Kaisarova, a prominent Bishkek attor-ney threatened with the loss of her license basedon statements she made while defending herclient in court.

The United States participated in planning anOSCE-sponsored community-policing projectaimed at improving civil-police relations and pro-viding training to Kyrgyz law enforcement agen-cies on proper crowd control tactics. Throughout2003, the United States worked closely with theGovernment and the OSCE to ensure that localNGOs would have a significant opportunity toprovide input during the implementation of theproject.

In Fiscal Year 2003, U.S. democracy assistanceprograms in the Kyrgyz Republic totaled approxi-mately $14.2 million in technical assistance andgrants in the areas of civil society, rule of law andmedia to strengthen democratic practices amongcitizens and institutions. Of this total, $4.4 mil-lion was allocated for U.S.-based training andexchange programs.

A U.S.-funded program to support human rightsdefenders worked closely with grassrootsactivists and youth leaders on training in humanrights monitoring and advocacy. U.S. implement-ing partners also trained citizens on techniquesfor organizing advocacy campaigns to achievesustainable solutions to local and national prob-lems. Local NGOs supported by U.S. programssuccessfully lobbied for changes to the tax codeto allow grants and humanitarian aid to be tax-exempt. The number of high schools using acivics textbook developed by U.S. implementingpartners increased to 324 from 170 the yearbefore, reaching almost 20,000 students acrossthe country. U.S. implementing partners workedwith reform-minded parliamentarians and pro-moted public hearings as a way to elicit citizens’views on new legislation. The U.S.-funded localgovernance program helped to draft a new law

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that, starting in 2005, will change the financing oflocal government and allow for more local controlof revenue. A growing network of U.S.-fundedInformation Centers for Democracy provided citi-zens with access to independent media and infra-structure to host “town-hall” meetings to discusscurrent political issues.

U.S. officials intervened with Kyrgyz governmentofficials on numerous occasions in support offreedom of the press. During his visit toWashington June 2003, senior U.S. officialsreminded Foreign Minister Aitmatov of theimportance of freedom of media for democraticdevelopment. In his meetings with senior Kyrgyzofficials, the Ambassador objected to a spate of“honor and dignity” lawsuits brought againstindependent media outlets that were stifling free-dom of the press in the Kyrgyz Republic. Sincemid-2003 there has been a reduction in the num-ber of these cases.

A notable success was the November opening ofthe U.S.-funded independent printing press, thefirst of its kind in the Kyrgyz Republic. AssistantSecretaries Jones and Craner and the Ambassadorattended the opening ceremony for the press, anevent that marked the culmination of two years ofeffort by the Embassy and the Bureau ofDemocracy, Human Rights and Labor. Since itsinauguration, the press has already been printing17 independent newspapers, enabling media out-lets for the first time to publish without fear ofbeing denied access to the state-run printing press.The Media Support Center, the umbrella founda-tion that operates the press, also sponsored train-ing programs for journalists. Other U.S. pro-grams include supporting independent print andbroadcast media by conducting training seminars,providing technical and legal assistance, and pro-ducing and facilitating the exchange of news pro-grams and information for independent outletsand journalists.

The United States used public diplomacy funds tosponsor International Visitor programs focused on

the issues of religious tolerance, ethics, lawenforcement, human rights, promoting independ-ent media and developing young leaders. Theprograms brought together individuals represent-ing the Government, NGOs, religious communi-ties and academia to foster cooperation betweenthese groups.

The U.S.-sponsored Democracy Commissionfunded 61 grants to local NGOs in support ofindependent media outlets, information dissemi-nation, combating human trafficking, journalismtraining, academic integrity, human rights,democracy, and civic and legal education. Forexample, one Democracy Commission granteeorganized courses on multicultural tolerance,comparative religious studies and prevention ofradical Islam at the Islamic University of theKyrgyz Republic. Other programs included aleadership summer camp for high school studentsfrom across the country. Also, student groups at11 Kyrgyz universities received grants to combatcorruption within the education system.

Remaining engaged on the issue of religious free-dom, the United States maintained regular con-tacts with representatives of various religiouscommunities and several Kyrgyz religious leadersvisited the United States on the InternationalVisitor Program. The Ambassador hosted anannual Iftaar dinner for Muslim leaders andaddressed a crowd of worshipers in the Bishkekmain square on the feast of Eid marking the endof Ramadan. U.S officials met frequently withleaders of the country’s largest Protestant church,who complained of government harassment, andraised the church’s concerns with officials at theState Commission on Religious Affairs. As aresult of U.S. efforts, the church has now beenable to register but continues to experience diffi-culties, which the United States is monitoring.

On numerous occasions, U.S. officials lobbied forthe Kyrgyz Republic to employ more effectiveefforts to combat international trafficking in per-sons. Anti-trafficking was an important compo-nent of the U.S. “Information Initiative.” In par-


tial response to U.S. efforts, the Kyrgyz Republicadopted laws making trafficking a crime inAugust 2003. These efforts also contributed to asharp increase in the number of prosecutions fortrafficking and associated crimes in 2003. TheUnited States launched a new two-year programto combat trafficking in persons by strengtheningthe capacity of local NGOs to conduct publicinformation campaigns and provide assistance tovictims. In November 2003, the Kyrgyz NGOSezim used U.S. funding to open a shelter inBishkek for victims of trafficking.

MACEDONIA, FORMERYUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF

Macedonia is a multi-ethnic, multi-party parlia-mentary democracy. The current multi-ethniccoalition Government is led by Prime MinisterBranko Crvenkovski. In February 2004,President Boris Trajkovski was killed in a planecrash; the first round of presidential elections forhis successor will be held April 14, 2004. In animprovement from 2002, the Government gener-ally respected the human rights of its citizens,although serious problems remained. Impunityfor state agents, a corrupt and inefficient judiciaryand trafficking in persons were problems. Thepolice’s human rights record improved during theyear, and the state acted to combat trafficking inwomen. The U.S. Ambassador and EU SpecialRepresentative, in their capacities as co-facilita-tors of the 2001 Framework Agreement (FWA),which brought the 2001 insurgency to an end,monitored and encouraged implementation of theagreement. Legislative implementation of theagreement, scheduled to be completed in 2004,strengthens minorities’ civil rights.

The U.S. human rights and democracy strategyfor Macedonia focused foremost on encouragingthe Government of Macedonia to continue toimplement the FWA. U.S. efforts to encouragethe state to improve its current human rights per-formance were largely successful. The UnitedStates continued to press for a resolution of casesinvolving state agents of the prior government

credibly accused of committing human rightscrimes during 2001 and 2002. The U.S. assis-tance strategy addressed a wide range of criticalissues, such as respect for the rule of law, supportfor democratic processes, civil society, free andindependent media, judicial and police reform,religious freedom and anti-trafficking efforts.

The Ambassador and embassy officials, often incoordination with other representatives of theinternational community, frequently engaged indirect human rights advocacy. In early 2003, theAmbassador met with government officials toencourage them to implement the Amnesty Lawin good faith, and to cooperate with theInternational Criminal Tribunal for the formerYugoslavia regarding alleged war crimes casesstemming from the 2001 conflict. Subsequently,the Government decided to remove from officeChief Public Prosecutor Stavre Jikov, who hadobstructed prosecution of state agents.

The United States continues to emphasize thatinternational norms, as well as Macedonia’s aspi-rations to join the North Atlantic TreatyOrganization (NATO) and the European Union(EU), require that the country bring human rightsabusers to account. On numerous occasions, theEmbassy pressed the Government to bring to jus-tice the perpetrators of the 2002 Rostanski Lozijamassacre, in which police in the former govern-ment murdered seven South Asian itinerant work-ers and planted weapons and National LiberationArmy uniforms on their persons in a blatantattempt to incriminate them. Despite constantpressure by the United States and other interna-tional actors, the state has yet to open judicialproceedings against the perpetrators or their polit-ical masters.

In March 2003, after a mine killed two PolishNATO soldiers, the Ambassador traveled toLipkovo, a northern Macedonian village, to senda clear message that the United States would nottolerate violent extremism in the region. Hepressed the Government to investigate and prose-cute the perpetrators. In May 2003, the


Ambassador, in coordination with governmentofficials, met with ethnic Albanians in Vejce, anorthern Macedonian village near the Kosovoborder, to defuse an armed standoff and persuadethe local residents to allow ethnic Macedonianfamily members to place flowers at the site whereeight ethnic Macedonian security force memberswere killed in 2001. A dignified, positive out-come resulted.

The United States continued to work with theGovernment to ensure FWA-mandated legislationpassed parliament. Many of these legislativeactions relate to the devolution of power to localgovernments and strengthened civil rights forminorities. The Embassy emphasized the impor-tance of efficient and transparent local govern-ment as critical to consolidating Macedonia’sdemocracy. The United States allocated morethan $2.7 million in 2003 to the Government’sdecentralization efforts.

The United States promoted the right to a fair,speedy and transparent trial as basic elements of adefendant’s right to due process in all of its pro-gram activities, which include investigating andprosecuting human and narcotics trafficking,money-laundering and other serious crimes, assis-tance in penal code reform and day-to-day coop-eration with the Macedonian judiciary. TheUnited States contributed more than $3 million inassistance to improve the effectiveness of thecourts, the quality of judicial decision-making,judicial access for under-served groups andminorities, and the work of public prosecutors.

Police reform, focusing on expanding minorityrepresentation and improving human rights per-formance, is a central requirement of the FWAand an important factor in ensuring the country’sfuture stability. The U.S. Department of JusticeInternational Criminal Investigative TrainingAssistance Program (ICITAP) is supporting acommunity policing model. ICITAP providesguidance to the Ministry of Interior’s ProfessionalStandards Unit, which is responsible for rules ofconduct, internal investigations and policy devel-

opment. ICITAP trained police and communitymembers in leadership development, formingcommunity action teams, using citizen-advisorygroups and developing a police academy. ICI-TAP works in close coordination with theOrganization for Security and Cooperation inEurope and the EU’s new police advisory mis-sion, Proxima, inaugurated on December 15,2003.

To advance the protection of human rights, theEmbassy awarded grants totaling approximately$275,000 for projects to improve basic humanrights, empower minorities, promote a free andindependent press, strengthen the rule of law andother themes that support equality and basic free-doms. The American Corner in Bitola,Macedonia’s third largest city, regularly hostsprograms to increase public awareness of humanand civil rights. The Embassy disseminates U.S.government material on human rights to key con-tacts in the media, non-governmental organiza-tions (NGOs) and others. Video productsexplaining human rights were distributed to anddisplayed by local broadcasters. The Ambassadorserved as the host of an annual embassy initiativerecognizing the contributions of women to socie-ty. Training programs for journalists that aredesigned to inculcate the practices of an inde-pendent media and their role as societal watchdogcontinued.

The United States worked with 90 communitygroups in coordination with municipal govern-ments to use community meetings to identifylocal communities’ most urgent needs and provid-ed $650,000 in grants, primarily to under-servedcommunities, to support HIV/AIDS prevention,conflict reduction, youth employment and com-munity development.

The International Republican Institute (IRI), with$600,000 in U.S. grants, focused on efforts tostrengthen political parties’ organization, improvetheir communication with the public and increaseyouth and women’s participation in politics. Inpreparation for the fall 2004 local elections, IRI


is working to prepare women and youth to runfor office and manage election campaigns. IRIalso conducted regular opinion polls, and workedwith political parties on how to use the results tobetter address the public’s concerns. The UnitedStates allocated $1.3 million to parliamentaryassistance and legislative strengthening, of which$900,000 was used by the National DemocraticInstitute (NDI) to work with members of parlia-ment from all parties, including minority mem-bers, to ensure that the interests and rights of citi-zens are well represented in the legislature. NDIhelped members of parliament conduct publichearings to ensure that citizens’ interests andrights are appropriately accounted for in draftlegislation. NDI also helped 70 members ofParliament establish 40 constituency officesaround the country, with the aim of making par-liamentarians more accessible to their con-stituents, and supported a parliamentary internprogram.

The Ambassador and other embassy officers reg-ularly met with Macedonian religious groups.The Embassy closely monitors an ongoing dis-pute between the Macedonian and SerbianOrthodox Churches over the MacedonianChurch’s 1967 declaration of independence fromthe Serbian Church and associated freedom ofreligion concerns. In August 2003, PrincipalDeputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europeanand Eurasian Affairs Charles Ries and embassyofficials attended the Dialogue AmongCivilizations Conference, which brought togethernumerous heads of State as well as representa-tives of religious groups.

To help improve workers’ rights, the UnitedStates provided $500,000 to allow the AmericanCenter for International Labor Solidarity(ACILS) to implement a labor union educationand outreach program. ACILS’ education andexchange programs on privatization, collectivebargaining and social dialogue helped tradeunions develop effective strategies for engagingemployer representatives, including alternativesto strikes that were in fact utilized. ACILS was

also successful in encouraging the ethnic integra-tion of trade unions and in keeping integratedtrade unions intact despite inter-ethnic tensionsstemming from the 2001 conflict.

Initiatives to help combat Macedonia’s humantrafficking problem through training, educationand public awareness campaigns were conductedthroughout the year. ICITAP hosted an ongoingseries of training programs intended to strengthencollaboration among prosecutors, police andinvestigative judges, as well as improve prosecu-torial and police techniques to combat trafficking.Coordination and support of activities and pro-grams sponsored by the international community,which was actively engaged in anti-traffickingissues, was an integral part of the Embassy’soverall efforts. U.S. representatives participatedin the National Commission for Prevention andSuppression of Trafficking in Persons.

The Embassy conducted an exchange program todemonstrate how the United States combats traf-ficking, disseminated State Department reports

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and other relevant documents and targeted smallgrants at NGOs to raise public awareness abouthuman trafficking. The United States allocated$595,000 to anti-trafficking activities, including avariety of activities with NGOs, media educationcampaigns and police training. NGO activitiesinclude development of television programs andbrochures, focus groups and town hall meetings,especially in eastern Macedonia and rural areas,to raise low-income women’s awareness of theissue. A network of organizations will be formedthroughout the country to provide services andcounseling to victims, potential victims and theirfamilies. The Embassy also sponsored a HumanTrafficking Reporting Awards program in 2003 toencourage local media to investigate and reporton issues related to trafficking.

Advocacy by the Ambassador and embassy offi-cials on anti-trafficking issues was instrumental inthe recapture and sentencing of a notoriousMacedonian trafficker, Dilaver Bojku, and inanother case where six traffickers received prisonsentences for a trafficking incident in which threevictims were killed. As a result of U.S. and inter-national community involvement, there has beenan overall increase in both the number of traffick-ing related convictions and length of prison sen-tences.

MOLDOVA

The Constitution of Moldova provides for a mul-tiparty representative government with powerdivided among a president, cabinet, parliamentand judiciary. In 2001, parliamentary electionsresulted in a new communist parliamentarymajority and government. The elections weregenerally free and fair; however, authorities in theseparatist Transnistria region interfered with theability of residents there to vote. In 2001, theParliament elected Communist Party leaderVladimir Voronin president. Although local elec-tions in May and June 2003 generally met inter-national standards, observers raised concernsabout intimidation and arrests of some oppositioncandidates, pressure on independent media and

use of the state media to broadcast biased infor-mation. The Constitution provides for an inde-pendent judiciary; however, judges were report-edly subject to outside influence and corruption.

The Government generally respected the humanrights of its citizens; however, there were prob-lems in some areas, and the human rights recordof the Transnistrian authorities was poor.Citizens generally had the right to change theirgovernment, although this right was severelyrestricted in Transnistria. Authorities reportedlytortured and beat some persons, particularlydetainees and Roma. Prison conditions remainedharsh. Security forces were widely believed tomonitor political figures, use unauthorized wire-taps and at times conduct illegal searches. Therewere some restrictions on freedom of the press,including defamation and calumny laws thatencouraged self-censorship, and the Governmentcontinued to restrict access to independent media.During the year, the Government adopted newlimits on freedom of association. A few religiousgroups continued to encounter difficulties inobtaining official registration. Societal violenceand discrimination against women, children andRoma persisted. There were some limits onworkers’ rights. Trafficking in women and girlsremained a very serious problem.

The Transnistrian authorities reportedly continuedto use torture and arbitrary arrest and detention.Prison conditions in Transnistria remained harsh,and three ethnic Moldovan members of the Ilascugroup remained in prison despite charges byinternational groups that their trials were biasedand unfair. Human rights groups were not per-mitted to visit prisoners in Transnistria.Transnistrian authorities harassed independentmedia, restricted freedom of association and ofreligion, and discriminated against Romanian-speakers.

The U.S. strategy to promote human rights anddemocracy in Moldova focuses on strengtheningthe rule of law, good governance and civil socie-ty, promoting free and fair elections and combat-


ing trafficking in persons. In Fiscal Year 2003,U.S. democracy assistance programs in Moldovatotaled more than $8.4 million in technical assis-tance and grants. Of this total, $4.2 million wasallocated for U.S.-based training and exchangeprograms.

The United States supported several efforts topromote the rule of law in Moldova. TheResident Legal Advisor (RLA) worked with theGovernment to combat corruption and humantrafficking, and increase the effectiveness of lawenforcement assistance programs. To combatcorruption, the RLA’s initiatives included a seriesof training seminars and roundtables addressingcriminal procedure and prosecutor-investigatorteamwork, efforts to institute codes of conduct,conflict of interest rules and independent auditswithin law enforcement bodies, and efforts todraft, enact and implement anti-corruption lawsand policies. The U.S-funded Criminal Law pro-gram conducted training for judges on humanrights and training for the defense bar on advoca-cy skills.

Other rule of law programs provided training andassistance on advocating human rights issues(including freedom of speech, association andreligion, minority rights, labor law and familylaw), building legal associations and developinginstitutional capacity. The advocacy program inparticular helped citizens gain a better under-standing of the legal system.

To improve local governance, the United Statesworked with more than 50 communities toimprove fiscal management skills and capacities,increase transparency and citizen participation incommunity decision making and improve strate-gic planning for local governments and municipalassociations.

The United States undertook a number of activi-ties specifically related to local elections in 2003,including training local observers and electionofficials, fielding international observers, organiz-ing a get-out-the-vote campaign and making

repeated diplomatic interventions with Moldovanofficials on the importance of free and fair elec-tions. These efforts, combined with those ofother international donors, helped prevent moreserious problems from occurring.

Several initiatives were undertaken to strengthencivil society. U.S. programs helped to fosterlocal political leadership and support a non-gov-ernmental organization (NGO) resource centerthat worked to improve the accountability andmanagerial capacity of reform-oriented civil soci-ety groups. The Embassy-administeredDemocracy Commission program supported aninformation Internet portal called Moldova Azi,an independent newspaper that publishes a week-ly youth supplement promoting democratic val-ues and freedoms among youth in Transnistria,and a center working on children’s rights.

The United States promoted media freedom inseveral ways. In 2003, the Ambassador raisedconcerns over licensing issues for independentmedia with high-level Moldovan officials. Manymedia outlets and media-related NGOs receivedU.S. financial support to implement differentprojects that promote freedom of speech andaccess to a full range of opinions. The UnitedStates supported the Institute of SocialTechnologies in producing 50 radio programspromoting democratic principles and humanrights that aired on National Radio, Sanatatearadio in Edinet in producing a program for youth,“Jurnal de Chisinau” in developing and printing acolumn on small business, Flor TV in Floresti inproducing a program promoting freedom ofspeech and free access to information, theUngheni newspaper Unghiul in publishing itsyouth supplement “Junior” and Cuvintul Libernewspaper in Leova in publishing articles onwomen’s issues.

In addition, the Embassy sponsored severalexchange programs, some of which are targetedat journalists. During 2003, ten Moldovan jour-nalists traveled to St. Louis and spent three weeksdiscussing strategies and methods of investigative


journalism with their American counterparts. TheEmbassy has also sent Moldovan journalists tothe United States each year for the past severalyears to participate in a program called TelevisionCooperation. Through this program, teams ofMoldovan journalists have the opportunity towork with an American producer and create pro-grams about American life and Americanapproaches to various issues for broadcast inMoldova. Last year, a team from Euro TV trav-eled to the United States and produced a series ofprograms on local elections in the United States.

The United States also brought American mediaexperts to Moldova to participate in seminars andconferences with Moldovan media professionalsand students. During 2003, an American profes-sor taught Moldovan journalism students basicprinciples of news reporting, interviewing andnewspaper design and layout during a summercamp, a former U.S. news anchor participated in asimilar camp for more advanced students andyoung professionals on fundamentals of broadcastmedia and an American professor presented acourse at Moldova State University on mediaethics. The United States also continued to sup-port a three-year partnership between MoldovaState University, the Department ofCommunications, the Independent JournalismCenter and Missouri School of Journalism toimprove journalism education in Moldova.

The Expanded International Military Educationand Training program promoted respect forhuman rights in the Moldovan military by provid-ing a seminar on civil-military relations, emer-gency response training for military and civilianphysicians, a seminar on “Legal Aspects ofDeployment on Peacekeeping Missions” for theMoldovan military contingent sent to Iraq and acourse for military officers on “Military andPeacekeeping Operations in Accordance withRule of Law.” The Defense Department also sup-ported 18 military, civilian and law enforcementofficials in Marshall Center courses focusing ondemocracy, civil-military relations and regional

security issues. To ensure that the United Statestrains individuals who have not violated humanrights, the United States uses a vetting procedurein accordance with the Leahy amendment.

In an effort to highlight U.S. concern for religiousfreedom, the Ambassador met with leaders ofmost major religious groups in 2003. TheEmbassy raised concerns about some religiousgroups’ persistent registration difficulties to theGovernment’s State Service on Religions. InDecember 2003, the Embassy forwarded copiesof Holocaust-related documents turned over bythe Government to the Holocaust MemorialMuseum in Washington, D.C.

The Ambassador and other U.S. officials repeat-edly emphasized the importance of combatingtrafficking in persons. The RLA provided techni-cal assistance for judges, prosecutors and investi-gators on trafficking in persons, including train-ing that emphasized education, sensitivity andskills development, supported the creation ofanti-trafficking units, case review teams, andworking groups, with the goal of having a unit ineach of Moldova’s administrative regions provid-ed assistance to improve law enforcement coop-eration between transit and destination countriesand provided legislative drafting assistance.

The United States continued to support the workof the Center for the Prevention of Trafficking inWomen to provide legal assistance and counsel-ing, legal representation and help processingidentity papers and other lost documents for vic-tims. Through the Center, the United States alsopromoted and developed specialized legal knowl-edge and practices for applying anti-traffickinglaws and norms, and monitored activities relatedto strengthening the judiciary’s capacity to reducetrafficking. Funding for an information cam-paign, implemented by the InternationalOrganization for Migration, targeted potential andactual victims of trafficking and relevantMoldovan authorities, seeking to prevent traffick-ing by increasing public awareness of a new toll-


free hotline number and strengthening govern-mental institutions’ and society’s understandingof trafficking. In November 2003, the Embassysupported the Association of Electronic Media todistribute TV footage of a national conference oncombating trafficking to local television stationsin rural areas.

RUSSIA

Although the Russian Government generallyrespected human rights in some areas, its humanrights record worsened in a few areas in 2003.Its record remained poor in Chechnya, wherethere were credible reports of serious violations,including numerous reports of unlawful killings,and of abuses of civilians by both federal securityforces and the Kadyrov regime as well as byChechen fighters. Parliamentary elections inDecember 2003 failed to meet international stan-dards. The Organization for Security andCooperation in Europe (OSCE) issued a pressrelease calling the March presidential election“generally well administered” but “lacking ele-ments of a genuine democratic contest,” citingthe “dearth of meaningful debate” and the bias instate-controlled television in particular.Throughout 2003 and early 2004, Russian gov-ernment pressure weakened freedom of expres-sion and the media, and independent non-govern-mental organizations (NGOs) and their supporterscame under increased pressure. Credible reportscontinued that law enforcement personnelengaged in violence and other brutal or humiliat-ing behavior, often with impunity. Although seri-ously impaired by corruption and undue influencefrom the executive branch, the judiciary showedsome increasing independence. A series ofalleged espionage cases caused continued con-cerns regarding the lack of due process and theinfluence of the Federal Security Service in courtcases. Authorities harassed and imposed restric-tions on some religious groups. Ethnic minori-ties, including Roma and persons from theCaucasus and Central Asia, experienced wide-spread governmental and societal discrimination,including violence. Limits on workers’ rights

increased, as did reports of forced labor and childlabor. Trafficking in persons remained a seriousproblem.

The U.S. human rights strategy in Russia is topromote awareness and respect for the entirerange of human rights, an open, transparent andrepresentative democratic political system,including a vibrant civil society, fundamentalfreedoms; development of a fair and impartialjudiciary and access to diverse and independentmedia. U.S. assistance in support of these goalsin Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 totaled approximately$79.2 million, of which about $48 million wasallocated for U.S.-based training and exchanges.

In his September 2003 meeting with PresidentVladimir Putin at Camp David, President Bushraised a broad range of bilateral issues includingdemocracy and human rights concerns such asChechnya. In a January trip to Moscow,Secretary of State Powell raised democracy andhuman rights concerns, including Chechnya,media freedom and rule of law. In an op-ed inthe prominent newspaper Izvestiya, he acknowl-edged that the civic institutions of a democraticsociety take time to develop, but welcomed thefuture prospect that Russia would achieve stabledemocratic institutions, noting that “without basicprinciples shared in common, our relationshipwill not achieve its potential.”

Senior U.S. officials, including the Ambassador,made human rights a major public diplomacytheme, urging improvements in human rightsconditions and focusing on specific cases. TheAmbassador and other embassy staff also com-municated U.S. concerns privately to Russiannational and regional officials and worked withNGOs to support a more favorable human rightsclimate.

The gravest threat to human rights in Russia con-tinued to be the conflict in Chechnya. During thejoint press conference of Presidents Bush andPutin following their September meeting at CampDavid, President Bush stated, “Terrorists must be


opposed wherever they spread chaos and destruc-tion, including Chechnya. A lasting solution tothat conflict will require an end to terror, respectfor human rights and a political settlement thatleads to free and fair elections.” Senior U.S. offi-cials, including Secretary Powell and theAmbassador, regularly expressed concern andcontinued their dialogue on the conduct of theRussian military in Chechnya with high-levelRussian political and military leaders and withRussian and American NGOs. In public and pri-vate forums, U.S. officials, including AssistantSecretary of State for European and EurasianAffairs Beth Jones, used testimony beforeCongress, regular meetings with the RussianPresident’s aide for Chechnya, media interviewsand public speeches to highlight the issue. Theystressed both publicly and privately that the con-flict in Chechnya requires a political, not military,solution, that Russian forces in Chechnya shouldend human rights abuses, and that the RussianGovernment should hold those found responsibleaccountable when violations occur. The UnitedStates also called on the Chechen leadership toend terrorist acts and violence against civilians,repudiate terrorism in word and deed and cut allties to Chechen and international terrorists. Theday after the October presidential election inChechnya, the State Department Spokesman stat-ed, “Unfortunately, the presidential election thattook place yesterday and the political process thatled up to it fell short of the potential for produc-ing a positive democratic outcome.”

The United States voted for the European Union’sresolution on Chechnya at the 2003 UNCommission on Human Rights. The UnitedStates used OSCE forums to convey human rightsand humanitarian concerns about Chechnya.Secretary Powell drew attention to human rightsabuses in Chechnya during his address to theOSCE’s Ministerial Meeting in December. U.S.funding supported efforts by Russians to promoteaccountability for human rights abuses inChechnya. U.S. officials repeatedly urged that allreturns of internally displaced persons (IDPs) toChechnya be purely voluntary and that IDPs in

tent camps who wish to remain in Ingushetiya begiven the choice of moving to alternative shelter.The United States supported legal assistance toindigent people, including through an NGO thatassisted nearly 5,000 IDPs in the North Caucasusin FY 2003. Also in FY 2003, the United Statesgave a total of $22.5 million to internationalhumanitarian assistance programs addressing awide range of IDP needs in the North Caucasus,and the United States continues to provide suchassistance.

Throughout 2003, U.S. partners trained electoraland party officials as well as independent pollwatchers for the December 2003 Duma electionsand continued such activities in early 2004 forthe March presidential election. Special trainingfor election reporting was also organized for massmedia representatives in the regions. With U.S.funding, one Russian NGO organized, in 30regions, the first independent domestic electionobservation mission. The United States support-ed and closely coordinated with program imple-menters who provided training and developmentactivities for Russian political parties and citizensgroups. Following the Duma elections, the StateDepartment Spokesman expressed concern withthe conduct of the elections, stating, “It’s clear tous… that administrative resources were widelyused to assist pro-Kremlin parties.”

A strong civil society is integral to democracy.To assist Russia’s civil society, the United Statessupports nearly 2,000 NGOs through resourcecenters, direct grants and technical assistance.The United States continued to support Russianhuman rights activists’ efforts to raise awarenessand respect for human rights and broaden net-works of NGOs across the country. For example,in 2003 one U.S.-supported project continued tofund the training of human rights activists in theuse of data and other social marketing techniquesto mount public awareness campaigns abouthuman rights in the regions. Strengthening civilsociety also was a key theme in public diplomacywork, which included holding meetings withactivists – including a meeting by Secretary


Powell during his January 2004 trip to Moscow –and highlighting the U.S. stance in the Russianmedia.

To foster respect for the rule of law, the UnitedStates provided expert advice to legislators,judges, court administrators, prosecutors, defenseattorneys and law enforcement officials to facili-tate the development and functioning of an inde-pendent judiciary and a fair, impartial justice sys-tem. The United States continued to monitor andassist in the implementation of the new CriminalProcedure Code, which is turning the rightspromised by Russia’s Constitution into practice,expanding the use of jury trials for certain crimesand establishing adversarial proceedings, includ-ing new procedures that place the defense on amore equal footing with the state. The UnitedStates worked with several judiciary organs tostrengthen judicial governance, court administra-tion and ethics. Other U.S. programs fosteredlegal education reforms such as legal clinics,work on gender-related issues, rights of the phys-ically and mentally challenged, labor rights andmigrant rights and advocacy skills of individualsand organizations. The Russian Leadership/OpenWorld Program continued to expand ties betweenthe Russian judiciary, procuracy, defense lawexperts and their U.S. counterparts.

Continued government pressure on the independ-ent media raised major concern. TheAmbassador and other senior U.S. officials oftenraised the issue with Russian officials and main-tained a dialogue with Russian editors, journalistsand media advocates through day-to-day contactsand periodic roundtable meetings on media free-dom. In 2003, U.S. programs provided trainingand exchange opportunities to professional jour-nalists and students and expanded public accessInternet sites. For instance, one U.S. partnertrained more than 1,000 participants from 200regional television stations in management, jour-nalism, sales and production skills. The UnitedStates also funded the production and distributionof materials covering media independence, jour-

nalists’ rights and responsibilities and freedom ofspeech to television and radio stations in eighttarget regions of Russia. It supported improvedlegal literacy of regional television companies,adoption of a legal and policy framework foropen and democratic Internet development inRussia, and improved legal literacy and protec-tion of regional newspapers.

Senior U.S. officials, including the Ambassador,maintained a dialogue on freedom of religion andbelief, and on religious and ethnic tolerance, withRussian government officials, religious denomi-nations and NGOs. The Ambassador and theDeputy Chief of Mission hosted a series of lunch-es and receptions and encouraged Russian offi-cials to meet with visiting delegations on reli-gious issues. When the U.S. Commission onInternational Religious Freedom visited Russia inJanuary 2003, the Embassy lent active support,securing ministerial-level meetings and facilitat-ing public and media outreach opportunities.

The United States continued to monitor crucialcourt cases and visa issues affecting religiousworkers across Russia. A Department officialtraveled to Moscow to raise religious freedomconcerns with government officials and met withothers, especially those involved in crucial courtcases and visa issues. The Embassy establishedthe Tolerance Grants Initiative under theDemocracy Commission and provided ten grantsto NGOs working to improve interethnic andinter-religious tolerance. U.S. assistance to threeregional tolerance councils brought together thegeneral public, law enforcement officials, localNGOs and local governments to combat intoler-ant attitudes toward various ethnic and religiousgroups. International Visitor programs focusedon Islam in America and on Tolerance andDiversity for Russian Muslim leaders. InDecember 2003, the Ambassador hosted a round-table on human rights in Russia.

Gender issues remained a central element of U.S.human rights strategy. An inter-embassy working


group coordinated Embassy efforts on women’sissues. A U.S. gender-law program trained legalspecialists to handle domestic violence cases andother gender-related issues. Its implementingpartner worked to change how law enforcementbodies respond to domestic violence complaints.The U.S.-supported Women’s Consortium draftedand successfully promoted equal rights legislationpassed on the first reading by the legislature in2003.

The United States also continued working to pro-mote the rights of the disabled and children. AU.S.-assisted NGO project promoted access toeducation for disabled students. As a result of aU.S. partner’s efforts, the Nizhny Novgorod andSamara governments earmarked funds to buildaccess ramps and provide services to help inte-grate disabled students at more than 20 schools.The Nizhny Novgorod Resource Center, with helpfrom the University of Oklahoma, strengthenedlocal resources to prevent juvenile delinquency inthe Nizhny Novgorod region. Their teams oftrained experts were able to reach 336 at-risk chil-dren and adolescents in 2003.

A key aspect of promoting human rights andinternational norms is to train military officialsand legislators responsible for defense issues.The U.S.-funded Expanded International MilitaryEducation and Training program provided trainingfor Russian legislative staffers in civil-militaryrelations and for a legal scholar in jury trials. Toensure the United States trains individuals whohave not violated human rights, the United Statesuses a vetting procedure in accordance with theLeahy amendment, which also serves as thebenchmark for the U.S. military’s EuropeanCommand.

Workers’ rights and trafficking remained priorityissues. In 2003, the United States urged Russianofficials to permit the AFL-CIO’s long-servingrepresentative in Moscow, Irene Stevenson, toreturn to Russia after she was denied reentry intoRussia in December 2002. The United Statessupported public interest law centers, trade union

legal departments and individual lawyers com-mitted to social and labor rights. Public interestlaw clinics provided 8,800 legal consultations andrepresented workers in more than 1,000 courthearings. Trade union educational programsincluded seminars on the new labor code andcivil procedures code.

With U.S. help, organizations devoted to prevent-ing trafficking in Russia engaged in public out-reach, service provision and promotion of legisla-tion. The United States also supported the effortsof the Russian Government to combat the prob-lem by providing expertise in drafting anti-traf-ficking legislation, training and equipment toform Russian anti-trafficking taskforces and othertypes of assistance. These efforts bore fruit in2003, when President Putin identified human traf-ficking as a top law enforcement priority andsponsored U.S.-suggested amendments to theRussian Criminal Code. These amendmentsincluded provisions criminalizing human traffick-ing and the use of forced labor. With U.S. assis-tance, NGOs in five regions worked with localgovernments and the public to raise awarenessabout trafficking and the need for legal and gov-ernmental responses, while providing counselingto more than 2,000 women. They also supporteda training network to provide at-risk women withopportunities for professional development.

TAJIKISTAN

Tajikistan is ruled by an authoritarian regime thathas established some nominally democratic insti-tutions, including a Constitution adopted in 1994.The politically motivated violence and kidnap-pings of the post-civil war period have ceased.Citizens’ right to change their governmentremained restricted. A June 2003 referendum on56 constitutional amendments, including grantingthe president the possibility of two more terms,was passed with little opportunity for debateamid widespread irregularities. TheGovernment’s human rights record remained poorand worsened in a few areas; although there wereimprovements in a few areas, it continued to


commit numerous, serious abuses. Police andsecurity forces occasionally tortured, beat andabused detainees and other persons with impuni-ty. The Government arrested and detained fewerpersons arbitrarily and for political reasons thanin the past, but it continued to restrict freedom ofassociation and assembly by exercising strict con-trol over political organizations and delaying reg-istration of political parties. The Governmentinstituted new restrictive laws on free speech andmedia and harassed several independent newspa-pers. The Government continued to require reg-istration of religious institutions and monitor thecontent of mosque sermons, although to a lesserextent than in previous years. The judiciary wassubject to political and other pressures, and trialdelays were common. Trafficking in personsremained a serious problem.

The U.S. human rights and democracy strategyfocuses on building government and civil societycapacity, promoting the rule of law and free andfair elections and combating trafficking in per-sons. The United States took advantage of theever-improving security situation and rapidlyexpanding U.S. presence by increasing engage-ment with all levels of the Tajik Government and

international and local non-governmental organi-zations (NGOs).

In Fiscal Year 2003, U.S. democracy assistance inTajikistan totaled more than $7.5 million in tech-nical assistance and grants in the areas of humanrights, civil society, rule of law and media tostrengthen democratic practices among citizensand institutions. Of this total, $1.9 million wasallocated for U.S.-based training and exchangeprograms.

In support of human rights, the United Statesfunded two regional programs in 2003: oneestablishing a network of 28 human rights advo-cates in the Fergana Valley that was instrumentalin the adoption of amendments to the criminalcode by Tajikistan’s overseeing commission andawarded community grants, and another assessingand building the capacity of human rights NGOs.In November, embassy personnel began attendinga bimonthly UN human rights thematic group toshare information and ideas and to raise concerns.

To strengthen the rule of law, the United Statesfunded programs to train lawyers, judges and lawstudents, provide judges with civil law volumes,disseminate legal information and support the

IFE

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development of professional associations thatadvocate for legal reforms. Presently, U.S.-spon-sored training programs are the only source forupdated legislative information in remote areas.In addition, the Embassy’s DemocracyCommission program funded several Tajik NGOsthat disseminated legal information to women,youths, the elderly and persons with disabilities.

To promote free and fair elections, embassy offi-cials observed and reported on the flawed 2003constitutional referendum. Embassy staff metrepeatedly with the election committee head andthe deputy chairman of the lower house of parlia-ment, held consultations with other diplomaticmissions and, along with other high-level U.S.officials, consistently raised the need for free andfair elections with all levels of the TajikGovernment and in press statements. In prepara-tion for elections in 2005, the United States isurging the Government to adopt the Organizationfor Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)-vetted election law amendments that were submit-ted by two of the political parties in Parliament.The United States collaborates with the OSCEand UN offices as well as local and internationalNGOs to build local election monitoring capacity,and regularly participates in election strategyworking groups with other embassies and interna-tional organizations.

On March 2, 2004, the Ambassador delivered alandmark speech on democracy at Tajik StateUniversity before a large audience of invited gov-ernment officials, journalists, NGO representa-tives, students and the diplomatic corps. Thespeech was a clear marker of international expec-tations for democratic norms in the run-up toearly-2005 parliamentary elections. The StateDepartment also highlights these themes promi-nently during ongoing contacts with the Embassyof Tajikistan and with high-ranking Tajik officialswhen they visit Washington. For example, whenSecretary of State Powell met with the TajikForeign Minister in Washington, D.C., in March2004, he highlighted the importance of Tajikistanholding democratic elections that meet interna-

tional standards.

To strengthen civil society and encourage politi-cal pluralism, the United States lends public anddiplomatic support to political parties and toNGOs that promote civil society development.Embassy staff met with representatives fromheretofore-unregistered parties to encourage themto submit their registration documents and attend-ed party-sponsored press conferences denouncingthe Government’s delay tactics. Through itsassistance program, the United States supports anational network of NGO resource centers, trainsNGOs and awards grants to advocate legalreform, mobilize communities to solve localproblems and hold their government officialsaccountable. Through the DemocracyCommission, the Embassy funded Tajik NGOsthat promoted civil society capacity and providedlegal education specifically for women. TheUnited States also funds a civics textbook pro-gram. The textbook is for 9th graders, and acompanion text is under development for 10thgraders.

In support of media freedom, the United Statesfunds training for young journalists to produce aweekly television program promoting youth par-ticipation and Media Resource Centers thatdevelop the capacity of independent media out-lets in the Fergana Valley and provide smallgrants. The United States provides support to 14independent local television stations scatteredthroughout the country. In 2003, these stationscontinued to broadcast two weekly supported byU.S. Agency for International Development infor-mation programs – “The Pulse of Life” and“Open Asia.” Two government-controlled televi-sion stations in the capital are now broadcastingthese programs as well. Independent media facedincreasing pressure at the end of 2003 and early2004. Embassy officials met numerous timeswith editors of opposition papers under govern-ment scrutiny. In early January, the Embassyconvened diplomatic missions to discuss mediarestrictions, which resulted in a statement fromthe European Union presidency at the OSCE and


a statement by the U.S. Mission to the OSCEcalling on the Government to respect its OSCEcommitments to media freedom. U.S. officials inDushanbe and Washington, D.C., the Ambassadorand other embassy officials consistently raise thisissue with the Tajik Government.

The U.S.-funded Expanded International MilitaryEducation and Training program provided train-ing to military and civilian personnel that fostersa better understanding of civilian control of themilitary, rule of law and human rights. TheEmbassy Defense Attaché’s Office sent more than80 participants to Marshall Center-sponsored pro-grams and other exchange programs that promot-ed human rights and democracy. In compliancewith the Leahy amendment, Tajik participants inany U.S.-sponsored training or exchanges areregularly vetted for human rights abuses.

Many programs and human rights promotionefforts are specifically designed to help women.After the 1992-97 Tajik civil war, many womenbecame the head of household. This trend isexacerbated by mass male economic migration toRussia. The Embassy funded micro-finance pro-grams for women. The Democracy Commissionfunded projects that addressed the rights andneeds of women and children, ranging fromincreasing their legal knowledge to creating ateen crisis hotline.

To promote religious freedom, embassy staff con-sistently advocated religious tolerance and regu-larly investigated transgressions. TheAmbassador hosted an Iftaar dinner in the newresidence to foster tolerance. When twoJehovah’s Witnesses were arrested for holding anunregistered religious meeting, embassy staff metwith the head of the State Committee on Religionand helped broker a resolution. Embassy staffalso investigated reports of anti-Semitism whenthe sole Dushanbe synagogue was slated to betorn down to make room for a civic improvementproject. The United States determined that anti-Semitism was not involved, and the Ambassadorhas met with the Tajik Jewish community in NewYork to seek their assistance to build a new syna-

gogue in Dushanbe if the city government pur-sues its urban renewal project.

To combat trafficking in persons, the Embassysupported the training of law enforcement offi-cials and the establishment, in conjunction withthe International Organization for Migration, ofinformation centers for workers. The Embassy isdeveloping a strategy to educate women abouttrafficking.

TURKEY

Turkey is a constitutional republic with a multi-party parliamentary system and a president withlimited powers elected by the single-chamber par-liament. In 2000, Parliament elected AhmetNecdet Sezer as President for a seven-year termand in March 2003, Justice and DevelopmentParty Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan becamePrime Minister. The Government generallyrespected the human rights of its citizens. Therewere improvements in a number of areas, butproblems remained including military influenceover the political process and reported incidentsof torture. Erdogan’s government has passed aseries of reforms to address these problems. AnOctober 2001 constitutional amendment revisedthe military-civilian balance of the NationalSecurity Council (NSC) in favor of a 9-5 civilianmajority. Subsequent reforms allowed for a civil-ian to serve as the NSC’s Secretary General andreduced the number of regular NSC meetings toevery other month. The Government passedextensive human rights reform packages that cov-ered a broadening of laws on torture, impunity,access to attorneys, fair trials and freedom ofspeech. Erdogan’s government also adopted a“zero tolerance” policy on torture. Although allof the reforms have not been fully implemented,the Government has committed publicly to doingso by the end of 2004.

The United States focused on a broad range ofhuman rights fields, including police and judicialpractices, freedom from torture, religious free-dom, freedom of expression, government ethics,


trafficking in persons and the right of return forinternally displaced persons (IDPs). U.S. officialsregularly raise human rights issues with visitingTurkish government delegations, and did so mostrecently during Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’svisit to the United States in January 2004 andTurkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek’s visit inDecember 2003. Secretary Powell also wrote aletter to Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gulon February 19 stressing the need for Turkey tocontinue to work on its human rights record andto implement the recent political reforms. U.S.officials also stay in contact with European Union(EU) officials to discuss Turkey’s efforts to fulfillthe Copenhagen political criteria. Embassy offi-cials routinely meet with representatives of vari-ous political, religious, social, cultural and ethnicgroups to discuss human rights conditions andrelations between these groups and theGovernment. Officials also meet regularly withmembers of the bureaucracy, legislature, execu-tive branch and judiciary to encourage broadreforms, including reforms needed to meet EUaccession criteria.

The Embassy has emphasized the importance ofprosecuting, convicting and sentencing to appro-priate jail terms police who commit torture. OnApril 4, 2003, a Turkish appeals court upheld theconviction all ten police defendants in the high-profile Manisa torture case and sentenced them toprison terms ranging from five to 11 years.(According to the Prosecution Law, their actualtime behind bars is expected to range from twoyears to four years, four months.) In addition,Parliament passed legislation lengthening thestatute of limitations for torture and prohibitingcourts from suspending or postponing sentencesin torture cases. The United States contributed$895,000 to the Center for the Victims ofTorture’s New Tactics in Human Rights projectwhich brings together human rights activists toshare strategies and experience, and will culmi-nate in an international conference in Ankara nextyear.

In compliance with the Leahy amendment, the

Defense Attaché’s Office worked closely with theMinistry of Defense to vet military units for U.S.training. The Government formally signed a U.S.government memorandum of intent (MOI) foranti-terrorist training for law enforcement offi-cials. To date, $8.5 million in course offeringshave been provided to Turkish law enforcementauthorities. Under the MOI, which both the U.S.and Turkish Governments have been following inprinciple for almost a decade in the absence of aformal agreement, the United States will providetraining organized through the Embassy while theGovernment screens training candidates forhuman rights violations.

Together with the Young Businessmen’sAssociation of Turkey, the Embassy held a semi-nar on Ethics and Government with StateDepartment-sponsored speaker David Apol,Associate General Counsel in the U.S. Office ofGovernment Ethics. The seminar was designedto raise public awareness of ethics issues andbuild support for the establishment in Turkey ofan office to implement a government ethics pro-gram.

The State Department funded an AmericanCouncil of Young Political Leaders delegationvisit to Turkey for programs in Ankara andIstanbul in conjunction with the ARI Movement,a non-governmental organization (NGO) devotedto democracy building. The Embassy helpedsend two U.S. academics to the InternationalPolitical Science Association Meeting at BogaziciUniversity in Istanbul who spoke on “U.S.Political Systems, Elections and PoliticalParties.” The Embassy’s Political Counseloraddressed the topic of Turkish political, economicand social reform before a major Turkish foreignpolicy association in Istanbul.

The Embassy worked closely with NGOs to helpstrengthen civil society in Turkey. Because animportant issue for Turkish NGOs was their legalstatus vis-à-vis the Government, the United Statessupported a conference on the NGO LegalFramework organized by the Third Sector


Foundation of Turkey (TUSEV) to strengthenadvocacy for creating a regulatory frameworkfriendly to civil society. Douglas Rutzen,President of the Washington D.C.-basedInternational Center for Non-Profit Law, spoke atthe conference and a series of meetings to helpTUSEV demonstrate to the Government that itsrelationship with NGOs could be mutually bene-ficial.

The International Visitor (IV) program continuesto provide opportunities for professionals in allfields to be introduced to the United States andAmerican counterparts. Two-thirds of the 2003IV participants joined projects related to democ-racy and human rights. Projects on CivicEducation, Municipal Government in the UnitedStates, Human Rights and Legislation, and NGOsand Municipalities were designed to give Turkishcontacts a focused look at democratic practicesand human rights issues.

The Institute for the Study and Development ofLegal Systems (ISDLS) and the U.S. Departmentof Justice continued activities from U.S. grantstotaling $512,000 to engage U.S. judges andprosecutors and their Turkish counterparts in dis-cussions of freedom of expressions and elimina-tion of torture and to promote sustained profes-sional relations. ISDLS brought Justice MustafaBumin, President of the Turkish ConstitutionalCourt, to the United States for consultations.

The Ambassador and other high-level embassyofficials meet regularly with Justice Ministry offi-cials to improve judicial treatment of Turkey’sobligations under the Hague Convention on CivilAspects of International Child Abduction andensure that child abduction cases move as swiftlyas possible through the court system.

The Embassy has also stressed the need to allowfree religious expression for all faiths, includingall Protestant denominations, Jehovah’s Witnessesand Baha’i Faith, which are not recognized by theGovernment. Turkish authorities rescinded inDecember an order to expropriate a property

sacred to Baha’is in Edirne. The United States, atthe highest levels, continues to urge the TurkishGovernment to re-open the EcumenicalPatriarchate’s Halki seminary on the island ofHeybeli. Embassy and other U.S. officials con-tinue to engage with the Directorate of ReligiousAffairs in dialogue on religion.

Embassy officials worked with the Governmentto take greater measures to combat trafficking inpersons (TIP). As a result, the Governmentlaunched a number of initiatives in 2003, earninga promotion from Tier III to Tier II in the StateDepartment’s TIP report. The Mission continuesto urge the Government to follow up on these ini-tiatives.

TURKMENISTAN

Turkmenistan is a one-party state dominated byPresident Saparmurat Niyazov, who retains hisauthoritarian monopoly on political power and onthe Democratic Party, which remained the solelegally recognized political party in the country.Niyazov has been president since independencein 1991, and legally may remain in office until2010. In August 2003, Niyazov was elected to alife term as Chairman of the People’s Council,giving him a substantial say in the selection ofany presidential successor. Government effortscontinued to focus on fostering centralized statecontrol and the glorification of the president. Theunicameral parliament has no genuinely inde-pendent authority; in August, the Peoples’Council replaced it as the supreme legislativebody. President Niyazov controlled the judicialsystem.

The Government of Turkmenistan’s poor humanrights record worsened, and it continued to com-mit numerous serious abuses. The human rightssituation deteriorated markedly after an armedattack on President Niyazov’s motorcade onNovember 25, 2002. There were widespread,credible reports of human rights abuses commit-ted by officials in the course of investigating the


attack, including credible reports of torture anddetention of hundreds of suspects’ relatives. TheOrganization for Security and Cooperation inEurope (OSCE) and the UN Commission onHuman Rights (UNCHR) called for fact-findingmissions by international envoys to investigatethose reports; the Government refused to facilitatesuch visits. Throughout 2003 and early 2004, theGovernment grew increasingly repressive inresponse to perceived threats to the regime. Inearly 2003, the Government made ill-definedcrimes against the state punishable with lifeimprisonment and imposed an exit visa regime onits citizens, making it extremely difficult forTurkmen citizens to travel abroad. The exit visarequirement was formally lifted in January 2004.In November 2003, the Government enacted dra-conian laws on public organizations and religiousgroups that severely curtail freedom of associa-tion and religion by imposing criminal penaltiesfor unregistered activities. The Governmentseverely restricts freedom of speech and does notpermit freedom of the press. There were nodomestic human rights groups because of restric-tions on freedom of speech and association.

The United States implemented a three-prongedapproach to promote democracy and humanrights. First, the United States urged theGovernment to respect human rights and advancedemocracy by raising these issues in high-levelbilateral meetings and multilateral institutions, byiterating its concerns in public statements and byinvoking the possibility of Jackson-Vanik sanc-tions if the Government did not lift exit visarequirements. Second, the United States regularlyadvocated on behalf of individual cases of abuse,coordinating closely with other diplomatic mis-sions and international organizations. Third, theUnited States has supported programs designed tostrengthen civil society.

The United States and nine other OSCE membersinvoked the “Moscow Mechanism” (for only thesecond time in the organization’s history) whichcalled for a special Rapporteur on Turkmenistan’shuman rights abuses after the November 2002

attack. The United States has supported unsuc-cessful efforts by the International Committee ofthe Red Cross to gain access to prisonersdetained following that attack. In April 2003,UNCHR members, including the United States,successfully passed a resolution condemning theGovernment for human rights abuses and callingon the Government to adopt measures called forby the OSCE Moscow Mechanism Rapporteur.In November 2003, the United States and theEuropean Union (EU) jointly introduced a UNGeneral Assembly (UNGA) resolution condemn-ing the Government’s human rights abuses. TheGovernment recently stated that it is willing tobegin a dialogue with the governments that spon-sored the UNGA resolution. The United Statesand the EU are again sponsoring a resolution onthe human rights situation in Turkmenistan at theUNCHR in 2004.

In response to the imposition of the exit visaregime, the United States determined thatTurkmenistan did not meet the requirements forfreedom of emigration under the Jackson-VanikAmendment to the Trade Act of 1994. TheGovernment’s assurance that the exit regime visawould be temporary prompted President Bush togrant a temporary waiver of mandatory sanctions.The United States notified the Government that itwas risking Jackson-Vanik sanctions, and inJanuary 2004 the Government formally lifted theexit visa regime although implementation of thisdecision remains incomplete.

To implement the second prong of the strategy,the United States advocated on behalf of individ-ual cases of human rights abuse. In 2003, theEmbassy helped coordinate international condem-nation of the Government’s decision to detaincivil society leader Farid Tukhbatullin, directlycontributing to his release in April 2003. TheEmbassy coordinated with other diplomatic mis-sions to protest the forcible abduction, beatingand resettlement of a 77-year old man, whose“crime” was being the father of an individualaccused of criminal acts by the Government. TheEmbassy consistently monitored and actively


advocated on behalf of a reporter for Radio FreeEurope/Radio Liberty who has frequently beenharassed. In one case, U.S. intervention helpedsecure his quick release after he was abducted,blindfolded, injected with an unknown substanceand threatened with 15 years in prison.

In response to a resurgence of harassment of reli-gious minority groups and a repressive new lawon religion, Turkmenistan is currently in dangerof being designated a “Country of ParticularConcern” by the United States under theInternational Religious Freedom Act of 1998.Embassy advocacy on behalf of a beleagueredreligious minority group helped save one congre-gation member’s job.

The Embassy continued to advocate better treat-ment of relatives of those implicated in theNovember 2002 attack, urging the Government ofTurkmenistan to cease systematically harassingthem. The Ambassador sent a letter to theForeign Minister of Turkmenistan in advance ofthe annual Presidential Amnesty, urging theGovernment to release political prisonerMukhammet Aimuradov and individuals impris-oned for refusing to perform compulsory militaryservice due to their religious beliefs. The U.S.Embassies in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan suc-cessfully urged the UN High Commission forRefugees (UNHCR) to follow up on a caseinvolving the forcible resettlement of UNHCR-registered refugees. The Embassy is a principalpoint of contact and advocacy for individualcases of abuse.

The third prong of the strategy is to fund pro-grams that strengthen civil society. In Fiscal Year(FY) 2003, U.S. democracy assistance programsin Turkmenistan totaled approximately $4.7 mil-lion, of which, $2.8 million was allocated forU.S.-based training and exchange programs.

In 2003, the Embassy awarded 24 DemocracyCommission grants focusing on civic education,Internet access and the free flow of information,community self-help, and women’s and human

rights issues. The U.S.-funded civil societydevelopment program focuses on grassroots com-munity development and advocacy. In FY 2003,37 capacity-building training events were con-ducted for more than 550 participants under thisprogram. Civil society support centers have alsobeen opened in four of the country’s five admin-istrative regions to provide community-basedresources offering management and advocacytraining programs to strengthen non-governmen-tal organizations.

In 2003, the United States gave more than 150future leaders the opportunity to study andreceive training in the United States throughexchange programs. Three new AmericanCorners and two Internet Access TrainingProgram sites were opened last year, providing acritical link to the outside world by offeringaccess to nonofficial sources of information. TheEmbassy also awarded three- and four-year schol-arships to 21 Turkmen college students to attendthe American University of Central Asia in theKyrgyz Republic.

In 2003, U.S. funding to combat trafficking inpersons supported the International Organizationfor Migration’s work with the State BorderService on a Ministry of Justice-approved pro-gram attempting to ascertain the extent and pat-terns of trafficking in persons in Turkmenistan.Funding also supports an anti-trafficking publiceducation campaign and training for the BorderService to combat trafficking.

UKRAINE

Ukraine is a mixed parliamentary and presidentialrepublic governed by a directly elected president,a prime minister who heads a cabinet of ministersand a unicameral parliament (Rada). Flawed par-liamentary and local elections in 2002 and 2003restricted citizens’ right to change their govern-ment. Eleventh-hour, procedurally flawed consti-tutional amendment proposals in December 2003and February 2004 raised concerns aboutUkraine’s commitment to democracy. The


Government’s human rights record remainedpoor; although there were some improvements ina few areas, serious problems remained.Members of the security forces committed humanrights abuses including torture and custodialdeaths with impunity. Arbitrary arrest and deten-tion, sometimes from what appeared to be politi-cal motivation, remained a problem. Authoritiescontinued to interfere with news media by harass-ing and intimidating journalists, censoring materi-al and pressuring them to apply self-censorship.The Government failed to render justice for mur-dered journalists Heorhiy Gongadze and IhorAleksandrov. In the latter part of 2003 and inearly 2004, the Government intensified its repres-sion of civil society, especially members of theopposition and independent media, curtailing civiland political liberties and violating human rights.The Constitution provides for an independentjudiciary; however, courts were subject to politi-cal interference and corruption and trial delayswere common. Trafficking in women and girlsremained a serious problem.

The U.S. human rights and democracy strategyfor Ukraine focuses on creating the conditions forfree and fair October 2004 presidential elections.This includes strengthening the rule of law, inde-pendent media and respect for civil liberties, andimproving monitoring and advocacy capacity ofhuman rights organizations. Combating traffick-ing in persons is also a key goal. To this end, theUnited States engaged in diplomatic efforts andsupported a variety of assistance programs.

Diplomatically, the Ambassador, embassy officersand senior U.S. officials regularly met with rele-vant officials in Kiev, including President LeonidKuchma, and the regions, and Under Secretary ofState for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky metwith high-level Ukrainian officials in Washington,D.C., to stress that membership in the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization and other Euro-Atlantic institutions hinges on respect for democ-racy and human rights. This message was rein-forced in March 2004 when Deputy Secretary ofState Richard Armitage met with President

Kuchma, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych,Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko andopposition leaders Viktor Yushchenko and YuliaTymoshenko in Kiev. Deputy Secretary Armitagestressed the importance of Ukraine holding free,fair, open and democratic presidential campaignsand elections in October 2004 in order forUkraine to achieve its stated goal of joiningEuro-Atlantic institutions and for U.S.-Ukrainerelations to deepen. In particular, the UnitedStates has called for an end to harassment ofindependent media and the abuse of administra-tive resources, especially tax inspections targetingcertain businesses associated with the opposition,and to attempts to amend the Constitution duringthe pre-electoral period. Under SecretaryDobriansky regularly met with high-levelUkrainian officials and urged them to respecthuman rights and uphold democratic practicesespecially in the run-up to the October 2004 elec-tions.

U.S. officials continuously work with membersof the international community through multilat-eral institutions such as the Organization forSecurity and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) andthe United Nations to press the Government touphold its international human rights commit-ments.

Programmatically, the United States providesfinancial and technical assistance to non-govern-mental organizations (NGOs) and technical assis-tance to governmental bodies. In Fiscal Year2003, U.S. democracy assistance to Ukrainetotaled $55 million, about $26.5 million of whichwas allocated for U.S.-based training andexchange programs. Embassy officials alsoextensively monitor and report on democracy andhuman rights issues and regularly coordinateassistance strategies with donors and members ofthe international community.

In order to strengthen the rule of law, the UnitedStates funded efforts to increase the independenceand efficiency of the judiciary. Key componentsinclude establishing the first National


Independent Judges Association, which providesjudges with a forum to share information andresources and a mechanism to strengthen thejudiciary as a counterweight to the executivebranch, training judges and developing andimplementing a computerized court administra-tion program that increased pilot courts’ process-ing capacity by nearly 100 percent and reducedcorruption. In 2003, a U.S.-funded anti-corrup-tion program provided more than 7,000 legal con-sultations and represented citizens in more than1,000 cases against government officials.

Through the Democracy Commission SmallGrants Program and the Media DevelopmentFund, the Embassy helped establish a network ofNGOs that advocates human rights and mediafreedoms, providing 42 grants to organizationsthat monitor and report on human rights abuses,monitor elections and help develop the NGO sec-tor. In September, the grantees held their secondannual human rights and media freedom confer-ence to discuss the results of their monitoring.Ambassador Herbst made his first speech on the

importance of human rights at the SeptemberDemocracy Commission conference, garneringpress attention for the event and for the U.S.stand on these issues.

The United States continues to employ a varietyof means to promote the conditions for free andfair elections in Ukraine. The United States con-sistently emphasizes to Ukrainian officials theimportance of holding elections that fully meetOSCE standards. High-level U.S. officials andpublic figures also traveled to Ukraine in 2003 todeliver this message and will do so again in 2004.The State Department issued a statement decry-ing the establishment of a parliamentary commis-sion to investigate foreign and foreign-fundedNGOs involved in election-related activities. TheUnited States and the Council of Europe voicedobjections to last minute, procedurally flawedconstitutional amendment proposals resulting inthe withdrawal of the most controversial compo-nent. The United States also pressed theGovernment to appoint balanced electoral com-missions resulting in the confirmation of two

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opposition members. Election-related programsfocus on reforming key institutions, bolsteringadministrative capacity, coordinating domesticand international efforts, improving monitoring,increasing civic education, and strengtheningindependent media.

U.S. assistance aims to help Ukraine improve andcomply with its electoral legislation and regulato-ry framework. The goal is to create the necessaryinstitutions for democratic elections at everylevel. The program also aims to strengthen theprofessionalism, competence and independence ofelection commission members, civil servants,judges and all officials involved in administering,supervising and adjudicating elections.

The Ambassador initiated a series of roundtableswith the international community and NGOsinvolved in elections, political analysis and mediaissues to identify the steps necessary for a freeand fair campaign and election and to facilitatecoordination of election-related projects andresources. In addition, the Embassy helpedorganize a working group of more than 20embassies to monitor the campaign and electionsto ensure that any irregularities are recorded.

The United States is working extensively withNGOs, parliamentarians and election administra-tors at the national and local levels on long andshort-term election monitoring, voter educationand the development of sound election laws andadministration. With U.S. support, the Committeeof Voters of Ukraine conducted the first civic,long-term pre-election monitoring for the 2002parliamentary elections, as well as for by-elec-tions in 2003. The results were widely dissemi-nated and published on the Internet. Another pro-gram will focus on increasing the effectiveness ofcivic organizations observing and monitoringelections for compliance with international stan-dards. Additionally, the program will improvepublic access to information helping voters tomake informed choices and raise voters’ and can-didates’ awareness of their electoral rights andresponsibilities.

The United States continues to promote mediafreedom in a variety of ways. In response toGovernment attempts to restrict media freedom,the United States worked with other members ofthe international community, including theOSCE, to press the Government to uphold itsinternational commitments to media freedom.The United States consistently emphasizes thefundamental right of journalists to report in anobjective manner without fear of reprisal. SeniorU.S. officials continue to urge the Government toconduct full and transparent investigations ofmurdered journalists Heorhiy Gongadze and IhorAleksandrov and to hold those responsibleaccountable.

The United States also supports free and inde-pendent media in Ukraine by providing a widerange of support to Ukrainian journalists, mediaorganizations and other NGOs, with the aim ofimproving the financial sustainability of outletsand supporting the production of balanced news.Projects focus on improving the legal, administra-tive and fiscal environment for Ukrainian media,expanding Internet use, improving professionaljournalist standards, providing legal assistanceand increasing the operating capacity of inde-pendent media. Sixty-three percent of the jour-nalists who received legal assistance under theseprograms won their cases. Training for journal-ists and technical assistance to 16 media outletshelped improve media quality and quantity.Consequently, fledgling media associations haveemerged as strong free speech advocates.

The United States provided extensive grants andtraining to civil society organizations (CSOs) inan effort to foster civic activism and promotefreedom of association. During 2003, the UnitedStates funded grants to CSOs in more than 15oblasts to support advocacy and legislativereform, private enterprise development, improvedpublic administration and training. These CSOshelped develop a national network of pro bonoadvocacy centers and student legal clinics thatdefend a broad spectrum of citizens’ rights. Morethan 4,000 clients received assistance by the end


of 2003. Senior U.S. officials repeatedly pressedthe Government to register the InternationalRepublican Institute and National DemocraticInstitute so they could carry out projects support-ing political party development; they were regis-tered in September 2003.

To help eliminate human rights abuses committedby security forces, the Embassy continues towork with the Ukrainian military, primarilyfocusing efforts on the rules of land warfare,rules of engagement formulation and the legalbasis for conflict. The Defense Institute forInternational Legal Studies will continue to sendtwo mobile training teams to provide instructionon human rights issues. To ensure that theUnited States trains individuals who have notviolated human rights, the United States uses avetting procedure in accordance with the Leahyamendment.

Religious freedom continues to improve, butsome registration difficulties and property restitu-tion issues remain. The United States activelyworks with the Government to protect religioussites neglected or mistreated during the Sovietera. The United States also actively encouraged

the Government to return religious properties andedifices to their rightful owners. The UnitedStates requested that the Government registerreligious groups who have requested registrationand permit religious groups, including minorityand non-native faiths, to practice freely.

The United States supports the labor movementin its efforts to obtain full government recogni-tion as well as freedom to associate and bargaincollectively. The Embassy supported NGO-administered seminars, maintained ongoing con-tact with union representatives and regularlyreported on workers’ rights issues. The U.S.Department of Labor funds a number of technicalassistance programs in Ukraine to promote basicrights of workers.

Eliminating trafficking in persons and assistingvictims are priorities. The United States hostedinternational conferences in Ukraine to raiseawareness about trafficking. The United Statesfunds a number of well-respected organizationsthat assist trafficking victims and works to pre-vent trafficking through educational programsand information hotlines. More than 52,000 peo-ple have consulted the various hotlines to date.

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Partly due to U.S. efforts, the Governmentincreased its collaboration with anti-traffickingNGOs. The Ukrainian Ombudsman publiclypraised the United States for its consistent, ener-getic support of anti-trafficking efforts.

UZBEKISTAN

Uzbekistan is an authoritarian country with limit-ed civil and political rights. During 2003 andearly 2004 the Government’s human rights recordremained very poor, and it continued to commitnumerous serious abuses. Torture is endemic,prison conditions are extremely harsh, and inde-pendent journalists, opposition politicians andhuman rights activists are subject to harassment.There were at least four suspicious deaths in cus-tody, possibly due to physical mistreatment on thepart of the security forces in 2003. At year’s end,the number of persons in prison for political orreligious reasons, primarily individuals theGovernment believed were associated withextremist Islamic political groups, was estimatedto be between 5,300 and 5,800. President IslamKarimov was elected to a second term of office in2000 in an election that was widely considered tobe neither free nor fair. Following a January 2002referendum, which multilateral organizations andforeign embassies refused to observe because theydid not believe the foundations for free and fairelections existed, President Karimov’s term wasextended from five to seven years. Parliamentaryelections are scheduled for 2004, but to date, noopposition parties have been registered.

The United States would like to see theGovernment of Uzbekistan achieve greater insti-tutional progress, particularly in the area of demo-cratic reform. The U.S. approach – intensive dis-cussions on human rights and democratization atall levels of government, direct government-to-government human rights training and legalreform assistance, support to local non-govern-mental organizations (NGOs) and active collabo-ration with Uzbek human rights activists – hasproduced positive results for civil society. U.S.engagement both in Washington, D.C., and in

Tashkent has been key in producing these results.Although no independent political parties wereregistered by year’s end, with the assistance ofthe U.S.-funded National Democratic Institute(NDI) and International Republican Institute(IRI), opposition parties were able to conductgrass-roots activities and convene organizingcongresses. Local human rights advocacy andmonitoring groups operate in cooperation withinternational human rights organizations such asU.S.-funded Freedom House. Following the visitof the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, theGovernment drafted an Action Plan to implementthe Special Rapporteur’ s recommendations. TheInternational Committee of the Red Cross contin-ues to enjoy satisfactory access to Uzbekistan’sprisons. Working with Embassy Tashkent andlocal NGOs, the Government has been intensive-ly engaged in combating trafficking in persons.

The U.S. strategy has been to engage withUzbekistan on two levels. The first includeswork with NGOs and committed individuals toexpand civil society, develop the foundations of afree press and create space for human rightsactivism and independent political expression.The United States has also devoted considerableattention on exchanges and training, with a viewto providing the next generation with the toolsnecessary to move Uzbekistan’s politics and soci-ety out of the shadow of its Soviet past. In FiscalYear 2003, U.S. democracy assistance programsin Uzbekistan totaled $15.9 million, of which$6.3 million was allocated for U.S.-based trainingand exchange programs.

The second level of the U.S. strategy focuses onengaging in a vigorous bilateral dialogue with theGovernment on a host of issues, from democrati-zation to religious tolerance, from legal and peni-tentiary reform to advocacy on behalf of specificprisoners of conscience. Assistant Secretary ofState for European and Eurasian Affairs BethJones and Assistant Secretary of State forDemocracy, Human Rights and Labor LorneCraner visited Uzbekistan in November to high-light U.S. human rights and democracy concerns.


The following month, for the first time, PresidentBush did not certify Uzbekistan as makingprogress under the Nunn-Lugar CooperativeThreat Reduction program human rights criteria.At approximately the same time, the Governmentof Uzbekistan issued a Cabinet decree that wouldhave placed restrictive and burdensome registra-tion and reporting requirements on U.S. imple-menting partners. After extensive discussions atthe highest levels, including during a Februaryvisit by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld,the Government agreed in early March to abideby the terms of the 1994 Bilateral Agreementwhich will enable U.S. NGOs and grantees tocontinue their activities unrestricted.

The continuing prevalence of torture was consis-tently at the top of the human rights agenda. In2003, four suspicious deaths in custody drewinternational attention. The Ambassador and hisstaff raised these and other cases continually withtheir counterparts at all levels of government, asdid a stream of visitors, ranging from high-levelState Department officials to influential Membersof Congress. At the urging of embassy and StateDepartment officials, the General Prosecutor ispursuing charges against law-enforcement offi-cers associated with one death and has reopenedits investigation into another. The United Statesworks with victims’ family members, localhuman rights activists and international NGOssuch as Human Rights Watch to actively investi-gate allegations of torture and raise them withofficials in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs,Justice, National Security Service and InternalAffairs (MVD).

In addressing the problem of torture, the UnitedStates has placed great emphasis on the findingsof UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Theo VanBoven. Van Boven’s final report, issued inFebruary 2003, concluded that “torture or similarill-treatment is systematic” and issued a series ofrecommendations. The United States encouragedthe Government to take these seriously, and inMay, an inter-ministerial working group was con-vened to develop a response. The product, a draft

Action Plan to combat torture, was released at theend of August at a meeting of foreign embassiesand local and international human rights NGOsand was to be finalized in November. Althoughthe document has not yet been formally adopted,the United States is working with theGovernment to enact some of the plan’s impor-tant provisions. In cooperation with the U.S.-funded American Bar Association’s CentralEuropean and Eurasian Law Initiative(ABA/CEELI), for example, the Governmentintroduced new legislation in its criminal codedealing with torture. Draft habeas corpus legisla-tion written with ABA/CEELI support, which theGovernment has pledged to introduce in theSpring 2004 parliamentary session, is currentlyunder review. The United States is also urgingUzbekistan to finalize the Draft Action Plan andto appoint a high-level official to be responsiblefor a swifter implementation.

Because much of the most serious abuse occursin detention, the United States has focused con-siderable attention on training police and prisonofficers. The Departments of State and Justicehave provided courses on greater professionaliza-tion of law enforcement personnel. A U.S.-fund-ed Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope (OSCE) initiative instructs prison offi-cials on international standards of human rightspractice and trains local NGOs on the basics ofprison monitoring. As mandated by the Leahyamendment, all Uzbek participants in U.S. securi-ty service training programs are subject to stricthuman rights vetting.

The United States has also invested considerableattention and resources to increasing awarenessof human rights issues in Uzbek society and toexpanding the capacity of the local human rightscommunity. In 2003, the United States inaugu-rated a three-year program to develop civil socie-ty in Uzbekistan by supporting a national net-work of seven NGO resource centers. A relatedcivic advocacy support program helps NGOsbecome more involved in public policy issues. Inan effort to cultivate new groups, the Embassy’s


Democracy Commission awarded grants to inde-pendent NGOs that are in the vanguard of devel-oping civil society in Uzbekistan. Largelythrough these micro-grants a number of humanrights activists have been able to do valuablereporting and advocacy work in the regions.

Freedom House and ABA/CEELI are key compo-nents of U.S. strategy. Funded jointly through theU.S. Agency for International Development andthe State Department’s Bureau of Democracy,Human Rights and Labor, Freedom House offersa secure environment for human rights activists tonetwork and organize, and its resource center pro-vides essential access to information and Internettechnology. Freedom House’s extremely populartraining programs are giving a new generation ofhuman rights defenders the tools they need to beeffective, while its small grants and legal defenseprograms provide important support. FreedomHouse opened a branch in the Fergana Valley inJune. Under ABA/CEELI’s supervision, theUnited States has funded a human rights law clin-ic at the Tashkent State Law Institute, designed totrain young lawyers in human rights law by giv-ing them practical experience on providing con-

sultations. A second clinic is being organized atNamangan State University. Graduates of theclinics are forming a law firm specializing inhuman rights cases, with U.S. funds andABA/CEELI guidance.

Under the Strategic Partnership and CooperationFramework Agreement, the Government commit-ted itself to moving toward a multi-party democ-racy. Despite consistent calls from the UnitedStates for political reform, the record has beenmixed, and there has not been the type ofprogress the Agreement envisages. No opposi-tion party was registered by year’s end, andopposition politicians, Erk Party members espe-cially, are still subject to harassment. The U.S.message on political reform has been clearlyarticulated to the highest levels of the UzbekGovernment by U.S. officials in Tashkent andWashington, D.C.

The U.S.-funded NDI and IRI worked activelywith Uzbekistan’s opposition parties, providingguidance on grassroots organizing, press rela-tions, and the drafting of party platforms. NDIand IRI training programs helped the Party of

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Agrarians and Entrepreneurs, the Free FarmersParty and Birlik to organize and develop theskills necessary to hold regional and nationalcongresses and to submit registration applica-tions. While the Government continues to denythese parties registration, these political activities,unprecedented in Uzbekistan, reached thousandsof people throughout the country, providing aninvaluable education in how party politics worksat the local level. U.S. efforts have resulted inmore citizens being willing to risk harassmentand engage in political expression than has beenseen in years.

Fundamental to democratic governance is the ruleof law. Drawing from successes in Turkey, theEmbassy’s Resident Legal Advisor initiated aprogram that identified key members of theUzbek judiciary and Prosecutor’s Office for aseries of exchanges; U.S. participants includedfederal judges and prosecutors. U.S. granteeshave conducted numerous seminars and studytours designed to strengthen the independence ofthe judiciary and to promote judicial ethics. In aneffort to expand access to competent legal assis-tance, ABA/CEELI operates Public DefenderCenters in Nukus and Fergana and will be open-ing another three in 2004. Another U.S.-support-ed project, the Women’s Integrated LegalLiteracy Project, has reached more than 35,000people on the subject of women’s legal rights.

Official censorship of the press ended on May 8,2002. Nevertheless, self-censorship remains aconcern because new legislation holds editors andpublishers responsible for the content of articlesthat appear in their publications. Still, over thepast year, some journalists have attempted topush the envelope, and a number of criticalpieces have appeared in print and on the airaddressing such themes as corruption, traffickingin persons and deteriorating economic conditions.

Broadening access to objective information andsupporting the efforts of those journalists willingto test the limits continues to be a priority. U.S.-funded training programs have helped expose

promising print and broadcast journalists to mod-ern, independent journalistic practices. In spiteof government harassment, the U.S.-fundedInstitute for War and Peace Reporting has con-ducted trainings designed to expand coverage ofhuman rights issues in Uzbekistan. The UnitedStates also supports several independent televi-sion stations nationwide through training, produc-tion assistance and equipment grants. While gov-ernment-dominated television continues to bedevoid of serious news, a U.S.-funded productionprogram has been instrumental in increasing thenumber of talk shows on political, social and eco-nomic issues that are broadcast by these stations.U.S. programs support an independent radio sta-tion in Tashkent that produces quality news andinformation. The U.S. Internet Access TrainingProgram (IATP) opened two additional sites inKokand and Chirchik, bringing the total to 18throughout Uzbekistan. Internet access providesmany Uzbeks their first exposure to uncensorednews and information, and in many areas outsideof Tashkent, IATP represents practically the onlypublicly available Internet source.

Uzbek government policy severely restricted reli-gious freedom. A continuing campaign againstpolitical groups that the Government suspects areinvolved in extremist Islamic activity, primarilythe banned Hizb ut-Tahrir, has tended to constrainreligious practice. Some observant Muslims, par-ticularly young men, hesitate to display outwardsigns of piety for fear of being identified asextremist. Unwieldy registration requirementsmade it difficult for many evangelical churches tofunction. Religious activity in non-registeredmosques or churches is a criminal offense; prose-lytism is illegal, as is private religious instruction.The United States is engaged actively in monitor-ing religious freedom issues and maintains activecontact with imams, educators and independentreligious leaders. The Ambassador and his staffregularly raise issues of religious freedom withtheir counterparts in the Uzbek Government,including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, theMinistry of Justice, the Muslim Board and theCommittee on Religious Affairs (CRA).


A number of U.S. exchange and educational pro-grams are specifically designed to promote reli-gious tolerance and to expand religious freedom;the Chair of the CRA, for example, recently visit-ed the United States. The CommunityConnections program has brought local Islamicleaders to the United States, exposing them to thediversity of religious practice in America. Athree-year Comparative Religious StudiesProgram, funded by the United States, arrangesexchanges of experts and professors from fivelocal universities, a major goal of which is thedevelopment of school curricula that foster reli-gious tolerance. In all of these programs, the cen-tral premise is that religious tolerance and politi-cal security do not conflict, but rather are compli-mentary goals.

Trafficking in persons remained a problem, butwith U.S. assistance, the Government began totake serious steps to combat it in 2003. Workingtogether, the United States, local NGOs and theUzbek Government developed a number of inno-vative campaigns designed to educate the public,prevent trafficking and ensure prosecution of traf-

fickers. The key NGO in this effort was fundedby a U.S. Democracy Commission grant.Throughout the year, the United States supportedtrainings designed to teach Uzbek consular offi-cials techniques to assist trafficking victims.Additional training programs focused on enhanc-ing the ability of law enforcement and the Officeof the General Prosecutor to combat traffickingrings. In September, the United States sponsoredan OSCE event in which key Uzbek officialsfrom the General Prosecutor’s office, MVD andthe National Security Service met their Ukrainiancounterparts and trafficking-in-persons NGO rep-resentatives in Kiev to discuss methods for com-bating trafficking. As a result of these jointefforts, regular articles on trafficking haveappeared in Uzbek newspapers, and several radioand television shows have addressed the subject.The MVD has trained approximately 300 district-level officers from the four largest districts ofTashkent, who in turn conducted training in 150neighborhoods – reaching more than 11,000Tashkent residents, and cases of suspected traf-ficking are being vigorously prosecuted.

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