Objective

This program will continue to promote genuinely inclusive democratic governance in Haiti . Previous efforts to strengthen public institutions such as the judiciary and the national elections commission were shifted to a revised focus on civil society, media, human rights, and political party development. This revised focus has two goals in common: to develop political leadership and to help non-government organizations (NGOs) re sist the growing trend toward authoritarian rule in the country. The recent change of political leadership in Haiti has resulted in the establishment of a new interim government benefiting from the support of the democratic institutions. Such change has created a new environment for collaboration with the Interim Government of Haiti (IGOH). USAID will consequently continue to support a vibrant civil society which is emerging to fully participate in the construction of democracy.

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Activities

•  Promote additional grassroots-level understanding and practice of democracy, coalitions building, and community advocacy;

•  Provide basic health and education services to trafficked children in Haiti and the Dominican Republic (DR). Educate the public on the trafficking of children phenomena;

•  Strengthen the capacity of political parties to articulate meaningful platforms, and institute democratic practices;

•  Train and improve Haitian judges and prosecutors' skills to investigate and prosecute criminal cases. Develop the managerial capacity of the judicial personnel and strengthen the judges' knowledge of the basic principles of the Haitian legal system;

•  Increase awareness of violence through education, training and information campaigns;

•  Support community radio stations to broadcast civic education programs to citizens across the country;

• Train journalists to report on issues related to democracy and help increase their independence and security; and

• Strengthen the domestic election observer organization and train an elite corps of observers.

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FY 2004 Results

•  Civil Society: Civic Forum has led to approximately 100 civic actions from the Initiative Committees resulting in approximately 70 projects such as: electrification, reforestation, roads, potable water, adult literacy, sports clubs for youth, construction of one school with the assistance of local government officials. A Journalist's Code of Ethics was elaborated and adopted and 1,500 students participated in the Democracy for All (DFA) project.

• Judicial Reform: Forty civil society organizations representing four sectors (commercial, human rights, legal and media), were trained in the development of complementary strategies to advocate for increased judicial independence. A coalition of organizations advocating for judicial reform and human rights was also created.

•  Trafficking in Persons: A nationwide platform of Civil Society Organizations advocating for children's rights was created, thirty IGOH officials were trained on trafficking of children issues.

•  Anti-corruption: an international conference on the urgency of fighting corruption in Haiti was organized.

•  Victims of Organized Violence : Service contracts to four local NGOs to assist 550 victims of organized violence were provided, 13 training workshops in trauma assistance were conducted by the Kovler Center for medical personnel and training was provided to 650 health professionals.

• Political Party Support: Training programs at the communal level implemented in nine departments resulted in 10,701 party members and civil society group members educated on political party development; 888 participants including representatives from political parties, youth groups, unions and women leaders from political parties attended training sessions in the DR resulting in 10,420 people trained locally. Three major party coalitions were formed and three center right parties were merged.

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