Strengthening Rule of Law and Human Rights to Empower People in Tajikistan, Phase II

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

UNDP Tajikistan’s “Strengthening Rule of Law and Human Rights to Empower People in Tajikistan – Phase Two” project is the follow-on to the earlier project, which was implemented from January 2014 to June 2018. The main objective is to guarantee access to justice for vulnerable and marginalized persons, such as rural women and people with disabilities. During phase I system of free legal aid (FLA) was established with the help of Finnish and Swiss funding. In the phase II which is the final phase of the project the aim is to secure sustainability of the FLA system so that it can be run and financed by the government of Tajikistan. Despite the progress in the legislative sphere and the commitment by the Government of Tajikistan to the reforms, key challenges remain in relation to their implementation, in particular lack of financial means, weak institutional and professional capacities and poor inter-ministerial coordination. Key activities of the project will include the provision of free legal aid, and the gradual transition to a government-operated and government-funded system of free legal aid; the support of Tajikistan’s accession to, and compliance with, various international human rights conventions; continuing support and capacity building of the Tajik Ombudsman’s Office, support for policy dialogues on Rule of Law issues at a regional / provincial level across Tajikistan, and working to develop a law on free legal aid. Finnish funding is 1,7 million euros for 2018-2021.