05.04.2007

Local government officials from the Sughd region of Tajikistan attend a Rule of Law Initiative local governance legal training session, sponsored by USAID, on April 6, 2007, in Khujand, Tajikistan.

On April 6, 2007, the Rule of Law Initiative hosted a USAID-sponsored local governance training program on Tajik law and available enforcement mechanisms for twenty local government officials representing several khukumats (local government bodies) from the Sughd region of Tajikistan. The implementation of the local governance legal training series takes place amid the ongoing process of decentralization of executive power in Tajikistan, and represents, in many cases, the first exposure that many local government officials have had to the laws governing their roles in the country's new governmental landscape.

The April 6 training, conducted in the city of Khujand, specifically focused on the laws regulating ethics standards and the employment of civil servants. It was the first in a series of trainings aimed at improving local government’s capacity to address citizens’ needs by raising awareness concerning the accessible laws and available mechanisms for enforcement, increasing the efficacy and transparency of local government and establishing a more informed citizenry. The session was covered by local newspapers and a local television station and each participant was provided with a 120-page reference manual which will form the core text for the training series.

Training sessions are expected to be conducted weekly in five locations within the Sughd region through early August and will cover topics including: the processing of citizens’ applications, the prevention of corruption, as well as housing, labor, land and family law.  Over 300 local government officials from 15 Sughd region khukumats are expected to attend.  Parallel trainings commenced on April 12, 2007 in Dushanbe for local government officials in cooperation with the Republic of Tajikistan Institute for Civil Servant Training.  In designing and implementing these trainings the Rule of Law Initiative has worked in close cooperation with the USAID Land Reform Project and the Local Governance and Citizen Participation Project implemented, respectively, by Chemonics International Inc. and the Urban Institute.

For more information, please contact Central Asia Program Officer Heather Safrank, at <hsafrank@staff.abanet.org>.