Europe and Eurasia

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“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

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 programmatic efforts was particularly effective in promoting a positive resolution to the post-election crisis in Georgia. The United States continues to fund a range of country-specific and regional projects supporting free media, civil society, including human rights groups and independent labor unions, religious freedom, democratic elections, political party development, good governance, the rule of law and anti-trafficking measures. The United States uses bilateral and multilateral channels, primarily the OSCE but also the UN Commission on Human Rights, both to support positive developments and to highlight instances of abuse.

INDEPENDENT PRINTING PRESS IN THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

Culminating an 18-month effort, the printing press is the result of diligent work by Freedom House and the U.S. Embassy, with the participation of many other organizations. The Eurasia Foundation assisted in the founding and registration of the Media Support Center (MSC), the Kyrgyz non-profit foundation that 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 distinguished individuals from the United States, Europe and Central Asia. The Open Society Institute financed the purchase of state-of-the-art computer-to-plate pre-print equipment and the Government of Norway contributed financially to the project. In the end, it was the U.S. Air Force stationed at Manas Air Base in Bishkek that provided the transportation for the printing press to its final destination in Bishkek.

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

ALBANIA

The U.S. strategy focuses on improving election administration and credibility, expanding citizen involvement in public affairs, strengthening legislative and civil institutions, including independent media, and improving the Government's capacity to fight crime and curb corruption.
Some key successes included improved local government elections, passage of a landmark asset declaration law and a comprehensive anti-money laundering law, the airing of several documentary-style television series exposing corruption, increased convictions of senior officials and police on charges of abuse of office, and a further curtailment in human trafficking. Citizens' advocacy groups also played a greater role in speaking out against government corruption and mismanagement.

Corruption and weak rule of law remained among the greatest obstacles to improving human rights and democracy in Albania. These issues factored prominently in embassy officials’ public remarks and private meetings with government officials. Visiting U.S. officials also stressed these issues with their Albanian interlocutors at every opportunity, including during the separate visits of Secretary of State Powell and U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Andrew Natsios in May, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in June. Washington-based officials also regularly raised these concerns with visiting Albanian officials. In April the Embassy hosted a conference on promoting government transparency and accountability, bringing to Tirana representatives from the U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee, the General Accounting Office, Common Cause and the Oregon State Election Commission to meet with Albanian politicians, civil servants and citizens' advocates.

The United States provided funding to anti-corruption initiatives, including the Albanian Coalition Against Corruption, an umbrella organization representing 210 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and individuals involved in the fight against corruption. The United States also supported the Citizen's Advocacy Office, an NGO offering legal assistance to private citizens in corruption cases. The result was an unprecedented level of cooperation between the Government and civil society on the issue of corruption and increased scrutiny and accountability related to central and local government activities.

In the area of law enforcement, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program supported the creation of the Office of Internal Control (OIC) in the Albanian State Police. The OIC is charged with investigating internal corruption and building a more professional police force. DOJ maintained a full-time advisor with that office. OIC investigations led to a significant increase in arrests, dismissals and other disciplinary actions against police officers for corruption and abuse of office, including a senior police official at Mother Teresa Airport involved in migrant smuggling. Total disciplinary actions in 2003 exceeded 1,200. DOJ assisted in the creation and training of the Organized Crime Task Force, which brings together an elite group of police and prosecutors to fight organized crime and corruption.

As a result of U.S. training programs for judges and other legal officials, the climate for successful prosecutions of previously "untouchable" criminals improved, with several cases brought against notorious organized crime figures. A number of judges were dismissed on corruption after the successful implementation of a judicial code of conduct and a code of disciplinary procedures. The United States was a strong proponent of Witness Protection legislation, which is currently nearing passage in Parliament, to improve the success of prosecutions for trafficking, corruption and other crimes. The United States chaired the International Consortium, an informal mechanism for the many international donors who are involved in legal reform in Albania, to coordinate and streamline their efforts.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other international observers judged Albania's local elections, held in October 2003, to be the fairest and most transparent in the country's democratic history, although administrative problems remained and there were a few isolated incidents of irregularities and violence. The progress was due in large part to important reform of Albania's electoral code, achieved with significant OSCE assistance and U.S. political support. The number of Albanians serving as election monitors with NGOs more than doubled in 2003 from the last election in 2001 (from 1,000 to 2,200 people). Assisted by the Embassy, local organizations established a Forum of Local Monitors, produced a standardized monitoring form and conducted educational campaigns and televised campaign issue debates. Embassy personnel also served as election monitors under OSCE auspices.

In 2003 the Peace Corps resumed operations in Albania, after a six-year absence. Peace Corps volunteers worked with municipal governments and local communities throughout Albania to make government more responsible and accountable to civil society, spreading democracy at the grassroots.

To help the Albanian media continue to progress from its origins as a state-controlled machine, the United States funded training programs on-site and in the United States, in order to raise the level of professionalism among reporting, editorial and management staff. U.S. officials, particularly the Ambassador, also stressed the need to ensure media freedom in public remarks and private conversations with government officials.

The Embassy has actively vetted all Joint Combined Exchanges of Training and bilateral exchange exercises with the Albanian military through the human rights vetting process. Through the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, 32 officers received military training and training in human rights, democracy and civics in the United States. In addition, the Expanded-IMET program sponsored several educational events bringing U.S. officials to Albania. For example, the Embassy arranged for the Defense Institute International to assist the Albanian Ministry of Defense's legal experts in establishing and implementing a modern code of military justice that complements civilian law.

U.S. programs also sought to promote religious freedom in Albania. Funding for local community developments that build ties between the country's four main religious groups – Sunni Muslims, Bektashi Muslims, Albanian Orthodox and Roman Catholics – helped maintain and foster even greater tolerance and cooperation among members of different faiths. A U.S.-supported Civic and Faith-Based Education Project was launched to develop ways to introduce the teaching of civics into religious school curricula.

The United States remains committed to eradicating trafficking in persons, and U.S. officials continue to actively engage the Government in fighting trafficking in persons, including through a country-specific strategy tailored to helping authorities meet the minimum standards as defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. In 2003 the United States funded the Albanian Citizens' Advocacy Office, which provided legal services to victims of trafficking as well as legal education to citizens and local governments. U.S.-assisted programs addressed the reintegration of victims, including the strengthening of women's legal rights as they relate to trafficking, domestic violence and the new Albanian Family Code. A systematic national referral mechanism to test models for sustainable reintegration and shelter mechanisms for victims of trafficking was also developed. A U.S.-funded bilateral initiative is focused on reducing the trafficking of Albanian Children to Greece and Italy.

With $70,000 in U.S. assistance, the Government's National Reintegration Center expanded its mandate in 2003 beyond third-country nationals to provide assistance to Albanian trafficking victims, including children, and migrant workers. The Government formed the Child Trafficking Working Group to develop and pursue strategies specifically focused on combating child trafficking.

ARMENIA

The U.S. human rights and democracy strategy continues to focus on fundamental issues, including the need for elections that meet international standards, the development of a vibrant civil society, respect for human rights and the rule of law, reform of the judiciary, respect for freedom of the media, assembly and religion, increased government transparency, and anti-trafficking efforts. U.S. assistance to support this strategy in Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 totaled approximately $22.4 million, of which about $12.2 million was allocated for U.S.-based training and exchange programs.

U.S. officials routinely meet with Armenian government officials, parliamentary opposition leaders, religious minorities and human rights activists regarding these issues. The Embassy hosted several representational events and roundtables during the year to raise awareness and encourage dialogue in support of these aims.

To promote democratic presidential and parliamentary elections, the United States repeatedly urged the Armenian Government to adapt specific reforms. The United States also funded activities to promote democratic elections, which included work with citizens groups to strengthen the integrity of voters lists and protect voter rights, political party training, training and deployment of domestic election monitors and deployment of a high level delegation of international election observers in parliamentary elections. Following last year’s flawed elections, the United States joined the OSCE in raising the importance of accountability for election fraud.

U.S. programs to support the work of Armenian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Embassy’s Democracy Commission program, remained an effective means for the United States to advance its democracy and human rights agenda. With U.S. funding for projects and institutional support, local NGOs pursued initiatives to promote human rights, media freedom, democratic development and civil society.

International Visitor (IV) programs also focused on human rights and civil society development. One IV program in December 2003 focusing on prison reform and other human rights issues sent Armenian human rights activists and government officials to the United States. One of the participants was subsequently appointed Armenia’s first Human Rights Ombudsman. Other IV programs focused on developing women's leadership and increasing government transparency.

Through U.S. programs focused on increasing citizen participation and awareness, 220 town hall meetings were held throughout Armenia in which local citizens raised their concerns with community leaders. Other programs included a civics education curriculum that was implemented in Armenian schools and work with the National Assembly that increased the public's ability to access information regarding the legislature and its actions.

The United States continues to place high priority on judicial reform. After revising its approach in FY 2003 due in part to the judiciary's actions during the presidential elections, the United States continued to promote the rule of law, focusing on providing legal education and strengthening the capacity of lawyers. Judicial assistance is limited to promoting the independence and integrity of judges, including the development of a judicial code of ethics. After several years of little movement and effort on the part of Armenian judges toward promoting their own independence, a working group of judges, with U.S. assistance, developed an agenda of reforms needed for an independent judiciary. The United States is closely monitoring the progress of the working group.

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

To support media freedom, U.S. programs, including the Embassy’s Democracy Commission Small Grants program and the IV program, provided training designed to strengthen the professionalism of reporting and financial viability of Armenia’s independent media outlets and technical assistance for reform to create an enabling legal framework for the media.

Military-to-military contacts focused on promotion of fundamental human rights and on humanitarian outreach including medical assistance and peacekeeper exercises. To foster more professional security forces and reduce human rights abuses, the Embassy used a grant to support the training of key police officials and officials from the Procurator’s office. In compliance with the Leahy amendment, the Embassy coordinated interagency human rights' vetting of military units proposed for U.S. training and/or support, and human rights training was integrated into all U.S.-supported military exercises and operational training conducted in the country.

The United States continued to highlight the issue of religious freedom. The Embassy disseminated more information than in previous years on religious freedom issues (including hard copies and Internet links to the State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report) to government contacts, the NGO community, and human rights libraries in rural areas throughout Armenia. The Embassy supported successful public roundtables on religious freedom and religious minorities through Democracy Commission grants. High-level meetings with religious leaders based in Armenia and with visiting leaders from religions with communities in Armenia focused on ways to promote tolerance and more effectively include religious minorities in discussion of human rights in Armenia. The Embassy hosted representational events that included the full spectrum of Armenia's religious communities on the occasion of an inter-faith leadership visit in Fall 2003. This event was hailed as one of the most successful gatherings of religious leaders in a non-government and secular setting.

Combating trafficking in persons continues to be on the U.S. agenda. The Embassy has strongly supported the Government’s Interagency Commission to Address Issues Related to Human Trafficking, and provided input on the draft National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking. The United States funded a victims' assistance program that provided services to eight victims of trafficking in 2003, and a program for journalists and government officials on awareness campaigns and investigative reporting. The second program resulted in a marked increase in media coverage of trafficking and improved government cooperation with journalists reporting on trafficking in persons. An IV program also focused on anti-trafficking.

AZERBAIJAN

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

In support of the U.S. strategy, State Department and embassy officials regularly meet with a range of human rights and democracy activists, representatives of pro-reform political parties and religious minorities, as well as with government officials. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Lynn Pascoe, Members of Congress and Congressional staff traveled to Azerbaijan in 2003 and early 2004 to reinforce support for U.S. objectives.

Following post-election violence, Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage telephoned Ilham Aliyev to urge the Government not to crack down on the opposition. The Department Spokesman stated, “We are … extremely concerned with the post-election violence and what appears to be a wave of politically motivated arrests.” The Ambassador and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Pascoe also raised concerns with senior government officials. Both privately and publicly, the United States urged the Government either to release the detainees or transparently charge and try them in accordance with international standards. Embassy officials visited some of the detainees, including Imam Ilgar Ibrahimoglu of the Juma Mosque community, to monitor their condition. The Embassy also monitored the trials.

Recent elections have not met international standards. The United States has focused sustained effort on addressing this deficiency. In 2003, much of the U.S. human rights and democracy effort focused on promoting democratic elections in advance of the October 15 presidential election. Early in the year, U.S. officials, including the Ambassador, continued a dialogue that had begun after the 2002 constitutional referendum with senior government authorities on necessary reforms. The U.S also provided non-partisan training to political parties on political party building and election monitoring. The United States worked to improve election administration by funding programs that provided technical assistance to the Central Election Commission (CEC), training for members of precinct and regional election commissions and a series of voter education programs.

With U.S. funding, non-partisan domestic and international observers were trained and deployed for the parliamentary by-elections and the October presidential election. U.S. funds also paid for procurement of transparent ballot boxes. In preparation for the presidential election, the Embassy established an Election Strategy Team, including non-governmental organization (NGO) representation, to coordinate the international community's efforts to promote an election that would meet standards set by the Organization for Security 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 specific reforms to strengthen the fairness and transparency of the election in three areas: the conduct of the campaign, the administration of voting procedures on election day and, most importantly, the integrity of the vote-counting process. The Embassy's public affairs section funded and coordinated the creation and distribution of anti-fraud posters to all 5,000 polling places. Democracy Commission grants to local NGOs helped to encourage the development of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan. For example, grants enabled local NGOs to host seminars on democracy.

The Embassy fielded approximately 30 observers to monitor parliamentary by-elections in March and approximately 100 observers to monitor the presidential election on October 15. The Embassy also funded the deployment of another 180 observers to monitor the vote tabulation process at the regional election commissions during the presidential election. When serious irregularities marred the conduct of both elections, the United States raised concerns with senior Azerbaijani officials. The United States also urged the CEC to invalidate the results in those polling stations where there were serious irregularities. The CEC subsequently cancelled election results in 694 polling stations; however, it did not do so in many other precincts where serious violations occurred. In the State Department’s October 21 statement, the United States concluded that “Azerbaijan’s leadership missed an important opportunity to advance democratization by holding a credible election.” The United States also called for an investigation of both the election violations and the post-election violence.

The United States also used the media to encourage citizens' participation in the democratic process. Through the International Foundation for Election Systems and Internews, the United States funded public service announcements instructing voters on their rights. The Embassy's Public Affairs section also funded the national broadcast of the Emmy-winning documentary on the American electoral process, "Vote for Me," in Azeri.

A strong civil society is integral to democracy, and the United States continues to support the development of civil society in Azerbaijan. For example, in 2003 and early 2004 the United States continued a two-year program designed to strengthen the ability of 36 NGOs to effectively represent the interests of a well-defined constituency. Democracy Commission grants have supported a variety of projects ranging from resource centers for NGO development to publication of NGO newsletters. Embassy officers have traveled throughout Azerbaijan to support NGO activities. The Embassy also works closely with the Government to help improve cooperation between the Government and NGOs.

To promote the rule of law, U.S.-funded programs worked to strengthen the professional development of judges and lawyers and to assist them in developing codes of ethics, assist a future bar association in developing and administering a bar exam, expand programs for law students, assist women in gaining better access to justice, and conduct a legal literacy program for the general public. A U.S. Resident Legal Advisor is working to improve legislation and to increase the professionalism and skills of the judiciary and procuracy. A U.S. program implementer and the Resident Legal Advisor are also working with the Government and private lawyers to amend the current Law on Advocates and to develop an independent bar association.

Another focus of U.S. efforts was the development of a free and responsible media. The Ambassador, embassy officials and visiting U.S. officials repeatedly urged the Government to respect media freedom. U.S. funding supported the professional development of journalists and advocacy for media rights. U.S. programs enabled the production of three weekly television programs, and provided extensive ongoing technical and programming support to several independent television stations and newspapers. U.S. Democracy Commission grants supported newspaper production and provided training for journalists in how to avoid and defend themselves against libel charges.

In support of freedom of assembly, U.S. officials repeatedly encouraged Azerbaijan officials to authorize peaceful demonstrations by opposition parties. Embassy officials also attended several of these gatherings.

The United States has worked actively to encourage respect for religious freedom. The Embassy and officials in Washington maintained close connections with local religious communities and made contact with some communities outside Baku. U.S. officials met frequently with government officials to stress the importance of respecting religious freedom. Intervention by the Ambassador helped a local expatriate church obtain its registration. The Ambassador and other U.S. officials met frequently with government officials to urge them to not evict the independent Juma Mosque community from the historic Juma Mosque.

The United States also has used programs to encourage religious tolerance and respect for religious freedom. The Embassy organized a very successful visit by Dr. Hibba Abudigeiri of George Washington University to Azerbaijan, where she spoke about Islam in America, gender and Islam, and democracy and Islam. The State Department hosted an International Visitor program for several Muslim leaders. The Embassy actively spread the message about religious tolerance and Islam in America throughout the year, including at an Iftaar dinner hosted by the Ambassador in November.

In compliance with the Leahy amendment, the Embassy coordinated interagency human rights' vetting of military units proposed for U.S. training and/or support, and human rights training was integrated into all U.S.-supported military exercises and operational training conducted in the country.

Trafficking in persons is a problem. The United States promoted anti-trafficking measures and effective preventive mechanisms in meetings with government officials and through programs that included an anti-trafficking awareness campaign conducted by NGOs. The United States partially funded a trafficking research study by the International Organization for Migration. U.S. officials visited the region to discuss the issue, and Azerbaijani officials were invited on International Visitor programs on trafficking and to the Department's anti-trafficking conference in Washington.

BELARUS

In 2003 and early 2004, the Lukashenko government's human rights record remained very poor and worsened in some areas; although there were improvements in a few areas, it continued to commit numerous abuses. The Government effectively continued to deny citizens the right to change their government. Security forces continued to harass and detain political opponents, journalists, human rights activists and trade unionists. Police abuse and occasional torture of prisoners and detainees continued. The authorities continued to refuse to undertake serious efforts to account for the disappearances of well-known opposition political figures in previous years or to address credible reports regarding the regime's role in those disappearances. In addition to committing widespread human and civil rights violations, the regime embarked on an apparently calculated campaign to close independent media outlets and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Journalists critical of the Government were administratively punished (usually fined) on libel charges. The Government also increased its repression of independent trade unions, prompting an International Labor Organization (ILO) Commission of Inquiry to investigate serious violations of workers’ rights. The authorities continued to restrict religious freedom by threatening, fining and arresting those engaged in unsanctioned religious activity. Government intimidation of opposition parties and civil society groups severely hindered the development of a transparent and democratic political process. Trafficking in persons remained a problem.

The U.S. strategy to promote democracy and human rights in Belarus consists of applying political and economic restrictions, maintaining bilateral and multilateral diplomatic pressure, and selective engagement, monitoring and reporting on abuses. The United States funded $8.9 million in programs to bolster independent media, political parties, civil society and trade unions, promote free and fair elections and the rule of law, and protect human rights. U.S. officials above the assistant secretary level do not meet with Belarusian authorities. The United States refuses to provide any bilateral assistance to the Government except humanitarian assistance and exchange programs with educational institutions. The United States closely cooperated with the OSCE in Belarus, and pressed hard for the Government to maintain an OSCE presence in the country. In concert with the European Union, the United States instituted visa restrictions on senior Belarusian officials that convinced the Government to agree to a new OSCE office in Minsk. Embassy staff actively monitored the deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus and met with local organizations active in promoting human rights and democracy. The Embassy also established a notification network with Western embassies and international organizations to coordinate monitoring efforts.

The Embassy continued to press the Belarusian Government to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the disappearances of several opposition activists. In January 2003, the United States offered to provide assistance for such an investigation. U.S. officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, National Security Council officials and Members of Congress, met with family members of the disappeared who actively seek justice for their family members. The United States sponsored a resolution that passed at the 2003 UN Commission on Human Rights calling for an independent, credible investigation into the disappearances. The United States will sponsor a similar resolution in 2004.

In response to the Belarus authorities' ongoing campaign of intimidation and harassment directed against civil society, independent media and the political opposition, a joint delegation of U.S. and European Union representatives met with the Foreign Minister of Belarus in March 2004 to demand an immediate halt to this campaign and to urge the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure a free and fair electoral process for October parliamentary elections. The delegation also reaffirmed its immediate willingness to initiate serious discussions with the Government on how to improve bilateral relations. The United States will continue to monitor the situation very closely and respond appropriately to the actions of the Government of Belarus.

With specific regard to elections, the United States consistently urged the Government to hold free and fair elections and to invite an OSCE election-monitoring mission well in advance of elections. In May 2003, the United States sponsored a conference on election reform that, despite the Government’s unwillingness to participate, attracted international experts and local political party and NGO representatives. U.S. funding supported political process training, technical assistance and cross-border exchanges for pro-democracy groups, focusing on internal party governance, strategic planning, membership recruitment and retention, and message formulation. Despite intense government pressure, in the March 2003 elections, 53 opposition candidates who received U.S.-funded training won seats on their local city councils. On the national level, five political parties that received U.S.-supported training formed a coalition with a common candidate list, electoral strategy and positive, democratic platform. This coalition now offers Belarusians a promising alternative in the 2004 elections.

The Embassy closely monitored the Government's calculated attacks on civil society and opposition political parties. In July, the Government refused to reregister IREX – a U.S. NGO providing assistance to independent media organizations. The Embassy released a press statement protesting this action. Embassy staff regularly observed the trials of NGOs and media outlets throughout Belarus that were targeted by the Government for closure on flimsy pretexts. In April, former Ambassador Michael Kozak met with jailed newspaper editor Viktor Ivashkevich. The United States made statements at the OSCE Permanent Council calling on Belarus to cease its repression of civil society and independent media and supporting the OSCE’s efforts to assist Belarus in meeting its OSCE commitments.

Bolstering civil society and independent media and promoting the rule of law are key U.S. goals. The Embassy's Democracy Commission program awarded grants to strengthen independent mass media and civil society.

The United States also supports journalism and management training, legal defense and on-site business consultations to strengthen independent print and broadcast media outlets and increase their capacity to provide objective, fact-based information. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2003, U.S.-supported public clubs offered local forums to share information and resolve local issues. One public club generated widespread community support and convinced local authorities to co-finance a local clean water project. In 2004, the number of clubs rose to 18 throughout the country. To promote the rule of law, the United States provided legal and advocacy training for lawyers, activists and NGOs and supported the network of Legal Advice Centers.

Training, exchange and educational reform programs are another component of the U.S. democracy and human rights promotion strategy. In FY 2003, some 200 Belarusian citizens participated in professional or academic training programs. Traveling to the United States, Belarusian participants received short-term training in business, journalism, public health and secondary school administration and took part in International Visitor (IV) programs focusing on NGO management, elections, grassroots democracy, foreign policy and human rights. Fifty Belarusian students participated in the Future Leaders Exchange program, attending U.S. high schools and living with American families for one academic year.

Embassy staff also monitored the Government's hostile actions against those promoting academic freedom. U.S. officials facilitated contact between Belarusian diaspora groups in the United States and the rector of a Belarusian language lyceum that was closed by the Government; other U.S. officials and European governments sought support for the school. In early 2004, the Ambassador joined an 11-country diplomatic protest over the Minister of Education's demand that the rector of the privately run European Humanities University resign and later issued a press statement describing the meeting.

The United States continued to support NGOs advocating for the rights of youth and women. Program graduates organized more than 50 community events in 2003 and spearheaded new youth groups that raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and work with at-risk youth.

As the Government implemented a new, highly restrictive law on religion, the Embassy intensively monitored violations of international norms and urged government officials to respect religious freedom. Embassy officials expanded their contacts among the religious community to include many smaller groups that have been government targets. The Embassy also assisted in arranging meetings between representatives of religious groups and high-level U.S. delegations visiting Belarus. Embassy staff participated in outreach programs with groups of American citizens visiting Belarus to discuss religious freedom issues. The Embassy also arranged for representatives of several traditional and nontraditional faiths to participate in an IV exchange program to the United States in March 2004.

The Embassy closely monitored incidents of anti-Semitism that occurred throughout Belarus. On May 31, 2003, the Embassy issued a public statement condemning the vandalism of Holocaust memorials and Jewish cemeteries in several Belarusian cities. Embassy officials, including the Ambassador, along with American and international NGOs, regularly raised with the Government the concerns of international Jewish groups over the expansion of a sports stadium built on a Jewish cemetery in Grodno; this action led to agreement on the renovation and the appropriate treatment of unearthed remains.

In response to workers’ rights violations, the United States ended Belarus trade benefits in 2000 under the Generalized System of Preferences and supported an ILO Commission of Inquiry in 2003. The Embassy maintained close contact with local independent labor leaders and the ILO, which is continuing to implement a U.S.-funded program promoting labor rights and independent trade unions. In 2003, eight labor leaders participated in an IV program to learn about American trade unions.

In 2003, the Embassy helped organize several anti-trafficking roundtables that included government, NGO, diplomatic mission and international organization representatives. The Embassy worked closely with the International Office for Migration's (IOM) Minsk office and local organizations to monitor the Government's anti-trafficking efforts. The Chairperson of the Young Women's Christian Association, a prominent anti-trafficking advocate, participated in an IV program in the United States. The Embassy also worked with IOM on a U.S.-funded program to raise public awareness and protect trafficking victims. The United States funded and developed a women's economic empowerment project to combat trafficking in persons.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

U.S. efforts to improve human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) focused on strengthening the rule of law and building institutions at the state level to strengthen the effectiveness of law enforcement and the application of justice. This strategy yielded some notable successes, such as the creation of a State Court and State Prosecutor's office, which is empowered to hear cases involving organized crime and trafficking. Bosnia and Herzegovina established a nascent national law enforcement agency known as the State Information and Protection Agency, adopted new state and entity-level criminal procedure codes, and initiated a vetting process for every judge and prosecutor in the country. A new religion law was adopted and there were important developments in combating trafficking in persons (TIP). After the 2002 national elections, the Embassy worked with the international community to vet appointments to key ministerial positions, allowing the international community to reject nominees clearly unsuitable for these posts, including on human rights grounds.

The United States continued to support efforts leading to reconciliation and justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina. U.S. assistance to the International Commission on Missing Persons enabled the use of cutting-edge DNA technology to help identify some of the estimated 20,000 to 30,000 persons missing from the 1992-95 conflict. Some 1,536 remains were recovered in 2003. The Embassy also provided strong political support for the construction of the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial and Cemetery Project. The Ambassador attended three burial ceremonies in which nearly 1,000 victims of the massacre were buried, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton spoke at the formal opening ceremony for the Memorial on September 20, 2003. The United States also continues to support minority returns in Bosnia through U.S. assistance activities.

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman visited Bosnia and Herzegovina in November 2003 to encourage further reform in Bosnia and to press home the message of Bosnian responsibility in locating and apprehending indicted war criminals. The same message was conveyed to Bosnian authorities, particularly in the Republika Srpska, during the course of several visits by Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues Pierre Prosper. Other key high-level U.S. visitors in 2003 included Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Lincoln Bloomfield, who raised human rights and democracy issues while focusing primarily on defense reform and non-proliferation issues. In addition, Presidency member Dragan Covic, Council of Ministers Chairman Adnan Terzic and Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic paid official visits to Washington on separate occasions in 2003; discussions on human rights, democratic freedoms and combating trafficking all featured heavily in their meetings with U.S. officials.

In order to strengthen the rule of law in Bosnia and combat human rights abuses, the United States funds programs aimed at training police, prosecutors, judges and relevant authorities in criminal procedure, administrative structure and criminal justice data management. The United States provided $1.5 million to the U.S. Department of Justice International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) to build local capacity in entity-level Ministries of Interior (responsible for policing activities), helping them implement policies to combat organized crime and terrorism and strengthening their managerial, long-range planning and personnel evaluation capabilities. The United States contributed an additional $1 million to ICITAP's Criminal Justice System Data Management project to expand nationwide a successful pilot project allowing prosecutors to more efficiently track casework. In addition, the United States provided approximately $7 million for associated rule of law programs, including criminal procedure code field training to judges and prosecutors, support for a Resident Legal Advisor and prosecutorial development programs, assistance to judicial and prosecutorial training centers, and seconding U.S. personnel to the State Court and State Prosecutor's offices.

The United States was also vitally involved in the development of Bosnia's judicial sector, providing $2 million to the Independent Judicial Commission and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils, which are responsible for appointing and disciplining judges and prosecutors to all courts (both state and entity-level). The United States also provided $300,000 for a witness protection program for individuals who testified against war criminals at The Hague. The program helped extremely vulnerable individuals and their families relocate to safe municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The United States also deeply engaged in developing civil law and provided $1.7 million through its Administrative Law and Procedural Systems (ALPS) program to eliminate barriers that average citizens continue to experience in the unwieldy Bosnian administrative system. The ALPS project successfully worked with four target municipalities to amend their statutes and rules of procedure, allowing for increased public participation in decision-making. The ALPS project also established the first administrative law clinic in Bosnia and Herzegovina, within the Sarajevo Law School. The Embassy, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding support for the American Bar Association, helped unify the ethnically splintered Federation Bar Association and forged an improved professional partnership between the two entity-level (Federation and Republika Srpska) bar associations.

At the municipal level, U.S. small grant mechanisms supported the efforts of municipalities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to develop grass roots democratic activity, strengthening citizen participation in civil society. The United States provided $270,000 in grants for projects that included helping minority refugee populations gain access to information and public services, as well as form economic cooperatives, creating public councils to oversee and act as a "check" on local government performance, and strengthening the ability of women to organize and advocate their interests effectively at local levels. The $700,000 "New Practices" program initiated in 2003 built upon best practices in municipal governance and encouraged local governments to promote democratic reform, transparency and refugee returns. The program increased municipalities' consultation with civic groups and supported community improvements undertaken in partnerships between local governments and NGOs.

Educational programs formed an important part of the Embassy's civil society initiatives. USAID sponsored a second cycle of the National Democratic Institute's Parliamentary Internship Program, giving 58 talented interns an opportunity to serve in Bosnia's state and entity-level parliaments. The program increased the parliaments' staff resources and allowed young Bosnians to gain leadership skills and experience. The United States also played a direct role in fostering democracy education in Bosnia's schools through the Civitas civic education project. Civitas has developed a democracy and human rights course that is now taught in every secondary school in the country (and is the only course in Bosnia and Herzegovina taught with the same materials in every school). In 2003, the United States provided more than $300,000 to Civitas to institute a formal civic education teacher certification program, building on prior in-service Civitas training for thousands of teachers across Bosnia and Herzegovina. A pilot university-level program also was developed.

Independent and self-sustaining press remained a U.S. priority. The United States sponsored a conference organized by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Press Council on professional standards and self-regulation in journalism. The United States also assisted two Sarajevo newsweeklies in relocating their printing operations, ending their dependence on a facility owned by a large and increasingly nationalist daily paper that had been known to exploit control of local printing capacity to exert pressure on competing print media. Through such support, the United States has encouraged independent voices in the media and discouraged political pressures and threats to individual journalists.

Embassy democratization efforts also extended to the military. Under the U.S.-funded Expanded International Military Education and Training program, mobile training teams were brought to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003 to present seminars on civil-military relations. BiH officials attended courses in the United States as well, focusing on civilian control of the military. These programs underscored the military's democratic role in Western societies and pointed to necessary reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The United States also works to assist Bosnia and Herzegovina in prohibiting discrimination on such grounds as sex, race, disability or religion. Using U.S. funding, the Centers for Civic Initiatives (CCI) in 2003 launched a national campaign under the slogan "We Are All Equal," aimed at improving the lives of disabled persons. This campaign ultimately led BiH authorities to adopt the UN Charter on Standard Rules and opened the door to enhancing the rights of disabled people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The United States continues to view combating the TIP problem in Bosnia as a key priority. Important developments include the creation of a state level National Coordinator's Office for Anti-TIP activities and a variety of efforts aimed at fighting complicity and corruption. In March, in the first trafficking case to be prosecuted under the new BiH-level Criminal Code, three traffickers were sentenced to up to nine years in prison. The men were part of a regional trafficking ring that forced women into prostitution across the Balkans. U.S. engagement on this issue, in particular the Embassy's efforts to focus government actions through a country-specific strategy tailored to the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, was a driving force in helping to elevate Bosnia and Herzegovina from Tier III to Tier II status in the State Department's 2003 Trafficking in Persons Report.

In addition to rule of law work supporting police and prosecutorial development to fight organized crime and trafficking, the Embassy has supported a number of workshops, conferences and internships for journalists who report on trafficking in persons. The Embassy funded a comprehensive study on human trafficking in Bosnia and Herzegovina, increasing public awareness of this issue and providing accurate data on the scope of the trafficking problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United States continued to provide training and support for an interagency law enforcement task force investigating trafficking and illegal migration, and provided assistance to trafficking victims through a grant to the International Organization for Migration, which runs a shelter based in Sarajevo. U.S. officials also consistently stress the importance of combating 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 of Interior, as well as other police officials.

GEORGIA

Previous elections in Georgia had been marred by serious irregularities that limited citizens’ right to change their government. As a result, the U.S. human rights and democracy strategy consisted of providing assistance designed to increase participation and transparency in the election process; combating police abuses, discrimination and harassment directed against religious minorities, corruption and trafficking in persons, supporting civil society, fostering judicial reform, and promoting independent media. U.S. assistance to support these efforts in Fiscal Year 2003 totaled approximately $20.4 million, of which about $8.3 million was allocated for U.S.-based training and exchange programs.

In support of the U.S. strategy, U.S. officials regularly highlight publicly the need for improvements in human rights conditions. The Ambassador and other embassy officers work privately with Georgian officials, NGOs and other domestic and international organizations to identify and highlight areas of particular concern and encourage reform. Secretary of State Powell, former Secretary of State James Baker, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Beth Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Lynn Pascoe, Members of Congress and Congressional staff reinforced support for U.S. objectives in Georgia in 2003 and early 2004.

To promote democracy and increase participation and transparency in the November parliamentary elections, the United States provided funding for campaign and coalition-building training for political parties, training for election commission members, training and deployment of domestic election monitors; computerization of the voters list, voter marking; and a parallel vote tabulation (PVT). At the request of the United States, former Secretary of State Baker brokered a deal between the Government and the opposition on election commission composition to increase opposition representation. The Ambassador maintained public and private pressure on the Government to meet democratic standards throughout the election process, to include protesting against violence and the incarceration of NGO election activists. U.S. assistance, especially the PVT, was instrumental in proving that the official results had been manipulated and did not reflect the will of the people. During the subsequent peaceful popular demonstrations, the Ambassador publicly and privately urged the Government and the opposition to avoid violence and to guarantee citizens' rights of assembly and expression. The demonstrations remained peaceful and eventually led to President Shevardnadze's resignation. Following the election, the Embassy secured the release of a domestic election observer arrested on Election Day for allegedly interfering in the voting process – an arrest that many NGOs considered to be politically motivated.

Following President Shevardnadze's resignation, the United States provided assistance for the January presidential election, including additional training for new election commission members, a get-out-the-vote campaign, exit polling and voter marking. The Embassy's direct intervention helped secure the participation in the election of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, a region of Georgia that had threatened to boycott. Following the presidential election, the United States immediately turned to preparing a diplomatic and assistance strategy for the repeat parliamentary elections scheduled for March 28.

The United States continues to provide strong support to leading NGOs that promote human rights, religious freedom, anti-corruption and issue-based advocacy throughout the country. Coalitions of leading NGOs now lobby for legal reform and serve as “watchdogs” both at the local and national levels. NGO mentoring partnerships have successfully strengthened many nascent organizations, helping them to become more effective at the local level.

Upholding the media’s independence remained a strong theme of U.S. assistance. Support for fledgling television stations, training media professionals in key aspects of journalism, assisting media outlets to become financially viable businesses and providing assistance during major legal disputes continued throughout 2003. Moreover, Georgia’s first independent media ratings system was launched, which will enable media outlets to fairly and openly compete for advertising funds in an increasing marketplace. During both the parliamentary and presidential elections, the United States supported debates on key issues in both print and broadcast media.

The United States pursued a vigorous policy promoting the rights of minority faiths and combating religious violence. Embassy officials attended the trial of religious extremist Basili Mkalavishvili and protested the lack of security in the courtroom and failure to follow judicial procedure. Embassy officials also intervened when followers of Basili disrupted an ecumenical service, and spoke to the congregation at a rescheduled event. The Ambassador attended a service at a Baptist Church that was destroyed in a suspicious fire, a move that encouraged senior government officials to join him. Embassy officers also defended the right of the Jehovah's Witnesses' to conduct services and import literature – efforts that ultimately resulted in a sharp decrease in harassment. Senior State Department officials met with high-level government officials both in Washington and in Tbilisi to discuss violence against religious minorities. The Department sent an officer to Tbilisi to discuss this problem with government officials, religious leaders and human rights groups.

Rule of law efforts have focused on strengthening judicial integrity, implementation of the Administrative Code with its Freedom of Information (FOI) provisions to curb opportunities for corruption, and creating capacity in Georgian NGOs to monitor the performance of local government. Judges known for integrity set up a hotline for citizens to complain about suspected corruption. The judiciary’s willingness to enforce the FOI provisions has led to citizens’ gaining information on municipal government, including budgeting and expenditures that had not previously been available.

To combat police human rights abuses, the Embassy worked closely with the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), Ministry of Justice and NGOs to monitor conditions and report abuses. The United States, through its NGO partners, provided training to the Prosecutor's office. The United States also funded human rights awareness training for the police and detention facility personnel. Embassy officials visited prisons and detention facilities and met with prisoners that alleged torture. In compliance with the Leahy amendment, all Georgian participants in U.S. security service training programs are subject to strict human rights vetting through the Defense Attaché’s Office in coordination with other embassy offices.

U.S. efforts on anti-corruption stress law enforcement as well as government transparency and accountability. The United States also supports NGO “watchdogs,” which monitor local governments, using hotlines, citizen complaints, FOI lawsuits and budget and procurement analysis to spot problems and publicize corruption cases. Grants proved very effective in getting local branches of national agencies and local governments to be more open and more responsive to citizen participation. Several international NGOs funded by the United States also formed a coalition to monitor the former administration’s national anti-corruption campaign; the coalition submitted its own shadow report on Georgian corruption problems.

Trafficking in persons remains a problem in Georgia and the United States took significant steps to assist the Government to confront it. The Embassy worked with the Georgian National Security Council to help define an anti-trafficking strategy, resulting in a public awareness campaign, the opening of a trafficking hotline and the creation of a trafficking unit in the MIA. Embassy efforts also facilitated the passage of criminal code amendments designed to fight trafficking.

In support of all these efforts, the Embassy sent various government officials and non-governmental representatives on International Visitor programs in 2003 on topics such as journalism, democracy, religious tolerance and trafficking.

Also in support of all these efforts, the Embassy’s Democracy Commission awarded small grants to 15 Georgian NGOs and media outlets to address challenges in public administration and policy, civil society and mass media. Examples of successful projects in 2003 include a grant to Independent TV Lomsia in the ethnically diverse Samtskhe-Javakheti region to expand the local news production broadcasting area, grants to three Internet and resource centers, including one in Abkhazia to support the free flow of and access to information, a grant to the Union of Azerbaijani Women to offer Georgian classes to local public leaders and promote their integration into the Georgian community, and a grant to the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs to translate two American textbooks for inclusion in its Local Government Program curriculum.

KAZAKHSTAN

Opposition leader Galymzhan Zhakiyanov remained imprisoned at year’s end and local government elections in September and October 2003 were marred by irregularities; most analysts agreed that electoral legislation did not comply with Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) standards and therefore disadvantaged opposition candidates. Observers reported that after the Government eliminated most media outlets that were willing to directly criticize the President in 2002 through a variety of means, including criminal and administrative charges, physical attacks and vandalism, these events continued to have a chilling effect on journalists, most of whom practiced self-censorship. After a difficult 2002, a year in which opposition politicians were imprisoned and independent media outlets harassed, the United States focused its human rights and democracy strategy on reversing the tide and resuming progress.

The United States maintained diplomatic pressure on the Government throughout 2003, culminating in a letter from Secretary of State Powell to President Nursultan Nazarbayev noting U.S. concerns about flawed draft election and media laws as well as the continuing imprisonment of Mr. Zhakiyanov and Sergey Duvanov. The Secretary also raised these issues during the July visit to the United States of Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev. Throughout the year, the United States urged the Government to give a fair hearing to independent journalist Duvanov whose criminal trial early in the year was deemed procedurally flawed by international experts. The United States also maintained forceful advocacy on behalf of Mr. Zhakiyanov and Mukhtar Ablyazov, opposition politicians both convicted in 2002. The Ambassador, embassy officers and every senior level U.S. official to visit Kazakhstan, including Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Beth Jones and Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Lorne Craner, raised these cases and broader democracy issues with the Government and urged that just solutions be found. In addition to applying diplomatic pressure, the United States provided visible signs of support by arranging a U.S. non-governmental organization (NGO) visit to the imprisoned journalist, and by convincing the Government to allow an embassy officer to visit Mr. Zhakiyanov in his remote penitentiary. By the end of January 2004, Mr. Ablyazov had received a pardon and Mr. Duvanov was released on a parole-like arrangement allowing him to resume his work.

U.S. diplomatic work during the year was closely tied with democracy assistance programs, which totaled approximately $13.9 million in Fiscal Year 2003. Of this total, $6.4 million was allocated for U.S.-based training and exchange programs. A key focus of diplomatic and assistance efforts was laying the foundation for improving the conduct of parliamentary elections in 2004. The U.S. assistance came partly in the form of a series of small grants by the Embassy’s Democracy Commission. One of these grants went to support regional discussions among civic leaders on electoral reform. The United States also provided support to local NGOs that monitored elections and conducted exit polling during local elections in September and October. These NGOs are developing skills that allow them to provide independent electoral reform consultations as well as pre-election monitoring. Another Democracy Commission grantee launched a new Kazakh- and Russian-language television series aimed at voter education. The United States supported the National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) efforts to train the only nationwide organization of independent election monitors; this local NGO will continue to work with Parliament to push for key changes to the draft election law. The United States also fielded its own team to monitor the local elections. These efforts have strengthened U.S. calls for a new electoral law that meets international standards.

The United States lobbied vigorously for electoral reform and worked closely with the OSCE in providing recommendations to government officials drafting a new electoral law. In late January 2004, a joint session of Parliament nearly unanimously approved a set of principles the Government proposed for the new election code. The OSCE had previously determined that the Government’s draft law contained serious shortcomings and did not meet international standards. A joint parliamentary working group continued through February to debate amendments to the law’s text; a third joint session of Parliament will debate further on March 15. The United States will continue to push for improvements to bring the law into compliance with OSCE standards.

The United States remained active on a full array of human rights concerns. With funding from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Freedom House launched in November a training program for human rights defenders that will build capacity of human rights activists to monitor and document the human rights situation in Kazakhstan. U.S. efforts to promote civil society as the basis for not only free and fair elections in 2004, but also for long-term democratic stability, remained strong in 2003. The combined efforts of U.S. diplomatic lobbying, NDI's spearheading of an NGO advocacy campaign, and the engagement of the U.S.-funded network of NGO partners led to a government decision in Fall 2003 to withdraw a controversial law that would have unduly regulated NGOs. Furthermore, U.S. civil society programs provided training and legal support to NGOs and mobilized communities to solve local problems. This year the network expanded to eight NGO resource centers with the addition of a center in Atyrau.

The United States continued its work with the younger generation by supporting a variety of educational programs. To encourage student participation in a democratic society, the United States supports a civics education program that includes textbook and complementary student activities. The United States also funds legal education activities geared toward changing the way young legal professionals learn and practice law.

Political parties will play a crucial role in the 2004 elections. The United States continued to sponsor programs to strengthen political parties to foster a competitive electoral environment. The joint efforts of the International Republican Institute and NDI, supported by U.S. funds, are improving the capacity of political parties to represent citizens, better articulate their platforms, and compete with one another, thereby broadening the spectrum of political forces in Kazakhstan. The United States sponsored the visit of opposition political party leaders to the United States to deepen their understanding of democratic processes. The United States also sponsored a training session for local governmental (Maslikhat) candidates.

The United States continued to press the Kazakhstan Government to honor its commitment, enshrined in its Constitution and OSCE membership, to respect free speech. This came partly in the form of vigorous U.S. lobbying to prevent the imposition of new restrictions on the media. U.S.-funded organizations participated in the government-sponsored working group on proposed new media legislation and offered important suggestions to improve the draft law. While a draft law that contains several articles restrictive of freedom of speech was passed in late December 2003 by the lower house of Parliament, lobbying continues by U.S.-funded media and civic organizations in the hopes that this law will either be positively changed in the upper house, vetoed by the President, or ruled unconstitutional. A broad range of journalist organizations, including one run by President Nazarbayev’s daughter, has called for the law to be withdrawn.

The United States maintained crucial support for organizations that seek to develop and strengthen the capacity of journalists and independent media outlets, including training on their rights and responsibilities in covering elections. The United States also funds Adil Soz, a local NGO, to monitor the infringement of rights of journalists and media outlets. The United States sponsored several programs for independent media, including a Democracy Commission grant for an advocacy organization to launch a new newspaper, a grant to a nationwide television channel to run a series of programs on human rights and democracy in the Kazakh language, a Citizen's Exchange program to train journalists and programs bringing several speakers to Kazakhstan to discuss the role of an independent media.

The United States worked closely with UN High Commission for Refugees to assist the Government in upholding its commitment to the Chechen refugees in Kazakhstan. As a result, the Government’s policy to deport Chechens was reversed. The United States also supported refugee communities by providing a grant to the Red Crescent/Red Cross to expand its medical assistance for the most vulnerable and neglected groups.

U.S. efforts to promote religious tolerance in the past several years produced a major step forward in 2003. Not only did President Nazarbayev initiate a series of high-profile conferences to strengthen dialogue among religious faiths, the Government also increasingly tended to its own non-traditional religious communities. On several occasions, the United States brought cases of heavy-handed harassment of religious groups by local officials to the attention of national authorities in Astana. In each instance the harassment stopped. Increasingly, the Government has intervened in such cases without pressure by the United States or others and, as a consequence, such harassment has declined significantly. The United States also encouraged the President's religious tolerance initiative by working with groups from the United States that attended the Peace and Harmony Conference held in Almaty in February 2003 and by helping to promote the goals of the conference. President Bush sent his greetings to that event, and to the Congress of World Religions held in Astana in September 2003. The United States also sponsored a month-long program to have 20 regional Muslim leaders travel to the United States in an effort to help foster understanding of religious diversity among the large population of Muslims in Kazakhstan's south, as well as other programs to promote moderate interpretations of Islam and showcase Muslim life in America.

The Embassy greatly expanded its cooperation with the Government of Kazakhstan to fight against trafficking in persons (TIP). The United States pressed for the appointment of a national TIP Coordinator, a robust national plan to combat TIP and the development of a large-scale public awareness campaign. The Government made significant progress in each of these areas. With U.S. assistance, local NGOs are working to educate the public on the dangers and impact of human trafficking, help law enforcement agencies investigate trafficking crimes and provide a host of services to trafficking victims. The Government began producing its own TIP public service announcements. The United States has worked to educate and train the media about the importance of reporting cases of trafficking.

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

With parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for 2005, the U.S. strategy to promote democracy and human rights was increasingly focused on creating a conducive environment for transparent, free and fair elections by strengthening democratic institutions, increasing observance of human rights, supporting civil society organizations and promoting the development of independent media.

To promote democracy, the United States maintains close contact with independent journalists, human rights activists and opposition politicians while encouraging dialogue between the Government, the opposition and civil society. The Ambassador and visiting senior U.S. officials met frequently with reform-minded parliamentarians and human rights activists to solicit their views. During a November 2003 visit to Bishkek, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Beth Jones, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Lorne Craner and the Ambassador held discussions with local NGO and civil society representatives. They met with Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev and other senior officials to discuss concerns about human rights issues and the 2005 elections. In June 2003 and February 2004, high-level U.S. officials discussed with Foreign Minister Askar Aitmatov the need for continued progress in democratization in order to broaden U.S.-Kyrgyz bilateral relations.

The Embassy criticized, both publicly and privately, the Government’s highly flawed constitutional referendum in February 2003. Violations included manipulation of the ballot count, forged voting results and incidences of individuals voting multiple times or without documents. In addition, there were many occasions where election officials prevented independent observers from monitoring the election process. Following the referendum, the United States also raised concerns with Kyrgyz officials about harassment of independent and opposition observers who criticized the referendum. In late February, U.S. officials visited Edil Baysalov, chair of the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society, when he was held in a military hospital for medical testing despite several prior waivers from military service. With U.S. funding, Baysalov’s organization was active in deploying independent monitors during the constitutional referendum.

Throughout the year, the United States worked closely with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the National Democratic Institute and the International Foundation for Election Systems to provide Kyrgyz officials with concrete ways in which election legislation could be improved and brought into compliance with international norms. In December 2003, the Kyrgyz Parliament adopted a new election code, which President Akayev signed into law in January 2004. The election code, which the OSCE determined does “not establish a legal framework that provides for democratic elections,” will nonetheless play a crucial role in how parliamentary and presidential elections in 2005 are conducted. In late 2003, U.S. officials met extensively with pro-government and opposition legislators as well as senior government officials, including President Akayev, urging them to adhere to international standards in the coming election. President Akayev has given his pledge to step down from the presidency and to ensure a peaceful transition.

The United States was highly engaged on rule of law issues, such as arbitrary arrest and excessive use of force. U.S. officials continued to raise the need for due process in the case of imprisoned opposition leader Felix Kulov as well as the need for accountability in the 2002 police killing of unarmed protesters in Aksy. In May, U.S. officials met with a group of women whose relatives were killed or injured in the March 2002 incidents. The women initiated a hunger strike and demanded that President Akayev punish officials responsible for the protesters’ deaths. U.S. officials also raised with Kyrgyz authorities the case of Galena Kaisarova, a prominent Bishkek attorney threatened with the loss of her license based on statements she made while defending her client in court.

The United States participated in planning an OSCE-sponsored community-policing project aimed at improving civil-police relations and providing training to Kyrgyz law enforcement agencies on proper crowd control tactics. Throughout 2003, the United States worked closely with the Government and the OSCE to ensure that local NGOs would have a significant opportunity to provide input during the implementation of the project.

In Fiscal Year 2003, U.S. democracy assistance programs in the Kyrgyz Republic totaled approximately $14.2 million in technical assistance and grants in the areas of civil society, rule of law and media to strengthen democratic practices among citizens and institutions. Of this total, $4.4 million was allocated for U.S.-based training and exchange programs.

A U.S.-funded program to support human rights defenders worked closely with grassroots activists and youth leaders on training in human rights monitoring and advocacy. U.S. implementing partners also trained citizens on techniques for organizing advocacy campaigns to achieve sustainable solutions to local and national problems. Local NGOs supported by U.S. programs successfully lobbied for changes to the tax code to allow grants and humanitarian aid to be tax-exempt. The number of high schools using a civics textbook developed by U.S. implementing partners increased to 324 from 170 the year before, reaching almost 20,000 students across the country. U.S. implementing partners worked with reform-minded parliamentarians and promoted public hearings as a way to elicit citizens' views on new legislation. The U.S.-funded local governance program helped to draft a new law that, starting in 2005, will change the financing of local government and allow for more local control of revenue. A growing network of U.S.-funded Information Centers for Democracy provided citizens with access to independent media and infrastructure to host "town-hall" meetings to discuss current political issues.

U.S. officials intervened with Kyrgyz government officials on numerous occasions in support of freedom of the press. During his visit to Washington June 2003, senior U.S. officials reminded Foreign Minister Aitmatov of the importance of freedom of media for democratic development. In his meetings with senior Kyrgyz officials, the Ambassador objected to a spate of “honor and dignity” lawsuits brought against independent media outlets that were stifling freedom of the press in the Kyrgyz Republic. Since mid-2003 there has been a reduction in the number of these cases.

A notable success was the November opening of the U.S.-funded independent printing press, the first of its kind in the Kyrgyz Republic. Assistant Secretaries Jones and Craner and the Ambassador attended the opening ceremony for the press, an event that marked the culmination of two years of effort by the Embassy and the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Since its inauguration, the press has already been printing 17 independent newspapers, enabling media outlets for the first time to publish without fear of being denied access to the state-run printing press. The Media Support Center, the umbrella foundation that operates the press, also sponsored training programs for journalists. Other U.S. programs include supporting independent print and broadcast media by conducting training seminars, providing technical and legal assistance, and producing and facilitating the exchange of news programs and information for independent outlets and journalists.

The United States used public diplomacy funds to sponsor International Visitor programs focused on the issues of religious tolerance, ethics, law enforcement, human rights, promoting independent media and developing young leaders. The programs brought together individuals representing the Government, NGOs, religious communities and academia to foster cooperation between these groups.

The U.S.-sponsored Democracy Commission funded 61 grants to local NGOs in support of independent media outlets, information dissemination, combating human trafficking, journalism training, academic integrity, human rights, democracy, and civic and legal education. For example, one Democracy Commission grantee organized courses on multicultural tolerance, comparative religious studies and prevention of radical Islam at the Islamic University of the Kyrgyz Republic. Other programs included a leadership summer camp for high school students from across the country. Also, student groups at 11 Kyrgyz universities received grants to combat corruption within the education system.

Remaining engaged on the issue of religious freedom, the United States maintained regular contacts with representatives of various religious communities and several Kyrgyz religious leaders visited the United States on the International Visitor Program. The Ambassador hosted an annual Iftaar dinner for Muslim leaders and addressed a crowd of worshipers in the Bishkek main square on the feast of Eid marking the end of Ramadan. U.S officials met frequently with leaders of the country’s largest Protestant church, who complained of government harassment, and raised the church’s concerns with officials at the State Commission on Religious Affairs. As a result of U.S. efforts, the church has now been able to register but continues to experience difficulties, which the United States is monitoring.

On numerous occasions, U.S. officials lobbied for the Kyrgyz Republic to employ more effective efforts to combat international trafficking in persons. Anti-trafficking was an important component of the U.S. “Information Initiative.” In partial response to U.S. efforts, the Kyrgyz Republic adopted laws making trafficking a crime in August 2003. These efforts also contributed to a sharp increase in the number of prosecutions for trafficking and associated crimes in 2003. The United States launched a new two-year program to combat trafficking in persons by strengthening the capacity of local NGOs to conduct public information campaigns and provide assistance to victims. In November 2003, the Kyrgyz NGO Sezim used U.S. funding to open a shelter in Bishkek for victims of trafficking.

MACEDONIA, FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF

The U.S. human rights and democracy strategy for Macedonia focused foremost on encouraging the Government of Macedonia to continue to implement the FWA. U.S. efforts to encourage the state to improve its current human rights performance were largely successful. The United States continued to press for a resolution of cases involving state agents of the prior government credibly accused of committing human rights crimes during 2001 and 2002. The U.S. assistance strategy addressed a wide range of critical issues, such as respect for the rule of law, support for democratic processes, civil society, free and independent media, judicial and police reform, religious freedom and anti-trafficking efforts.

The Ambassador and embassy officials, often in coordination with other representatives of the international community, frequently engaged in direct human rights advocacy. In early 2003, the Ambassador met with government officials to encourage them to implement the Amnesty Law in good faith, and to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia regarding alleged war crimes cases stemming from the 2001 conflict. Subsequently, the Government decided to remove from office Chief Public Prosecutor Stavre Jikov, who had obstructed prosecution of state agents.

The United States continues to emphasize that international norms, as well as Macedonia's aspirations to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), require that the country bring human rights abusers to account. On numerous occasions, the Embassy pressed the Government to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2002 Rostanski Lozija massacre, in which police in the former government murdered seven South Asian itinerant workers and planted weapons and National Liberation Army uniforms on their persons in a blatant attempt to incriminate them. Despite constant pressure by the United States and other international actors, the state has yet to open judicial proceedings against the perpetrators or their political masters.

In March 2003, after a mine killed two Polish NATO soldiers, the Ambassador traveled to Lipkovo, a northern Macedonian village, to send a clear message that the United States would not tolerate violent extremism in the region. He pressed the Government to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators. In May 2003, the Ambassador, in coordination with government officials, met with ethnic Albanians in Vejce, a northern Macedonian village near the Kosovo border, to defuse an armed standoff and persuade the local residents to allow ethnic Macedonian family members to place flowers at the site where eight ethnic Macedonian security force members were killed in 2001. A dignified, positive outcome resulted.

The United States continued to work with the Government to ensure FWA-mandated legislation passed parliament. Many of these legislative actions relate to the devolution of power to local governments and strengthened civil rights for minorities. The Embassy emphasized the importance of efficient and transparent local government as critical to consolidating Macedonia's democracy. The United States allocated more than $2.7 million in 2003 to the Government's decentralization efforts.

The United States promoted the right to a fair, speedy and transparent trial as basic elements of a defendant's right to due process in all of its program activities, which include investigating and prosecuting human and narcotics trafficking, money-laundering and other serious crimes, assistance in penal code reform and day-to-day cooperation with the Macedonian judiciary. The United States contributed more than $3 million in assistance to improve the effectiveness of the courts, the quality of judicial decision-making, judicial access for under-served groups and minorities, and the work of public prosecutors.

Police reform, focusing on expanding minority representation and improving human rights performance, is a central requirement of the FWA and an important factor in ensuring the country's future stability. The U.S. Department of Justice International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) is supporting a community policing model. ICITAP provides guidance to the Ministry of Interior's Professional Standards Unit, which is responsible for rules of conduct, internal investigations and policy development. ICITAP trained police and community members in leadership development, forming community action teams, using citizen-advisory groups and developing a police academy. ICITAP works in close coordination with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the EU's new police advisory mission, Proxima, inaugurated on December 15, 2003.

To advance the protection of human rights, the Embassy awarded grants totaling approximately $275,000 for projects to improve basic human rights, empower minorities, promote a free and independent press, strengthen the rule of law and other themes that support equality and basic freedoms. The American Corner in Bitola, Macedonia's third largest city, regularly hosts programs to increase public awareness of human and civil rights. The Embassy disseminates U.S. government material on human rights to key contacts in the media, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others. Video products explaining human rights were distributed to and displayed by local broadcasters. The Ambassador served as the host of an annual embassy initiative recognizing the contributions of women to society. Training programs for journalists that are designed to inculcate the practices of an independent media and their role as societal watchdog continued.

The United States worked with 90 community groups in coordination with municipal governments to use community meetings to identify local communities' most urgent needs and provided $650,000 in grants, primarily to under-served communities, to support HIV/AIDS prevention, conflict reduction, youth employment and community development.

The International Republican Institute (IRI), with $600,000 in U.S. grants, focused on efforts to strengthen political parties’ organization, improve their communication with the public and increase youth and women's participation in politics. In preparation for the fall 2004 local elections, IRI is working to prepare women and youth to run for office and manage election campaigns. IRI also conducted regular opinion polls, and worked with political parties on how to use the results to better address the public's concerns. The United States allocated $1.3 million to parliamentary assistance and legislative strengthening, of which $900,000 was used by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to work with members of parliament from all parties, including minority members, to ensure that the interests and rights of citizens are well represented in the legislature. NDI helped members of parliament conduct public hearings to ensure that citizens' interests and rights are appropriately accounted for in draft legislation. NDI also helped 70 members of Parliament establish 40 constituency offices around the country, with the aim of making parliamentarians more accessible to their constituents, and supported a parliamentary intern program.

The Ambassador and other embassy officers regularly met with Macedonian religious groups. The Embassy closely monitors an ongoing dispute between the Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox Churches over the Macedonian Church's 1967 declaration of independence from the Serbian Church and associated freedom of religion concerns. In August 2003, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Charles Ries and embassy officials attended the Dialogue Among Civilizations Conference, which brought together numerous heads of State as well as representatives of religious groups.

To help improve workers' rights, the United States provided $500,000 to allow the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS) to implement a labor union education and outreach program. ACILS' education and exchange programs on privatization, collective bargaining and social dialogue helped trade unions develop effective strategies for engaging employer representatives, including alternatives to strikes that were in fact utilized. ACILS was also successful in encouraging the ethnic integration of trade unions and in keeping integrated trade unions intact despite inter-ethnic tensions stemming from the 2001 conflict.

Initiatives to help combat Macedonia's human trafficking problem through training, education and public awareness campaigns were conducted throughout the year. ICITAP hosted an ongoing series of training programs intended to strengthen collaboration among prosecutors, police and investigative judges, as well as improve prosecutorial and police techniques to combat trafficking. Coordination and support of activities and programs sponsored by the international community, which was actively engaged in anti-trafficking issues, was an integral part of the Embassy's overall efforts. U.S. representatives participated in the National Commission for Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Persons.

The Embassy conducted an exchange program to demonstrate how the United States combats trafficking, disseminated State Department reports and other relevant documents and targeted small grants at NGOs to raise public awareness about human trafficking. The United States allocated $595,000 to anti-trafficking activities, including a variety of activities with NGOs, media education campaigns and police training. NGO activities include development of television programs and brochures, focus groups and town hall meetings, especially in eastern Macedonia and rural areas, to raise low-income women's awareness of the issue. A network of organizations will be formed throughout the country to provide services and counseling to victims, potential victims and their families. The Embassy also sponsored a Human Trafficking Reporting Awards program in 2003 to encourage local media to investigate and report on issues related to trafficking.

Advocacy by the Ambassador and embassy officials on anti-trafficking issues was instrumental in the recapture and sentencing of a notorious Macedonian trafficker, Dilaver Bojku, and in another case where six traffickers received prison sentences for a trafficking incident in which three victims were killed. As a result of U.S. and international community involvement, there has been an overall increase in both the number of trafficking related convictions and length of prison sentences.

MOLDOVA

The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas, and the human rights record of the Transnistrian authorities was poor. Citizens generally had the right to change their government, although this right was severely restricted in Transnistria. Authorities reportedly tortured and beat some persons, particularly detainees and Roma. Prison conditions remained harsh. Security forces were widely believed to monitor political figures, use unauthorized wiretaps and at times conduct illegal searches. There were some restrictions on freedom of the press, including defamation and calumny laws that encouraged self-censorship, and the Government continued to restrict access to independent media. During the year, the Government adopted new limits on freedom of association. A few religious groups continued to encounter difficulties in obtaining official registration. Societal violence and discrimination against women, children and Roma persisted. There were some limits on workers' rights. Trafficking in women and girls remained a very serious problem.

The Transnistrian authorities reportedly continued to use torture and arbitrary arrest and detention. Prison conditions in Transnistria remained harsh, and three ethnic Moldovan members of the Ilascu group remained in prison despite charges by international groups that their trials were biased and unfair. Human rights groups were not permitted to visit prisoners in Transnistria. Transnistrian authorities harassed independent media, restricted freedom of association and of religion, and discriminated against Romanian-speakers.

The U.S. strategy to promote human rights and democracy in Moldova focuses on strengthening the rule of law, good governance and civil society, promoting free and fair elections and combating trafficking in persons. In Fiscal Year 2003, U.S. democracy assistance programs in Moldova totaled more than $8.4 million in technical assistance and grants. Of this total, $4.2 million was allocated for U.S.-based training and exchange programs.

The United States supported several efforts to promote the rule of law in Moldova. The Resident Legal Advisor (RLA) worked with the Government to combat corruption and human trafficking, and increase the effectiveness of law enforcement assistance programs. To combat corruption, the RLA's initiatives included a series of training seminars and roundtables addressing criminal procedure and prosecutor-investigator teamwork, efforts to institute codes of conduct, conflict of interest rules and independent audits within law enforcement bodies, and efforts to draft, enact and implement anti-corruption laws and policies. The U.S-funded Criminal Law program conducted training for judges on human rights and training for the defense bar on advocacy skills.

Other rule of law programs provided training and assistance on advocating human rights issues (including freedom of speech, association and religion, minority rights, labor law and family law), building legal associations and developing institutional capacity. The advocacy program in particular helped citizens gain a better understanding of the legal system.

To improve local governance, the United States worked with more than 50 communities to improve fiscal management skills and capacities, increase transparency and citizen participation in community decision making and improve strategic planning for local governments and municipal associations.

The United States undertook a number of activities specifically related to local elections in 2003, including training local observers and election officials, fielding international observers, organizing a get-out-the-vote campaign and making repeated diplomatic interventions with Moldovan officials on the importance of free and fair elections. These efforts, combined with those of other international donors, helped prevent more serious problems from occurring.

Several initiatives were undertaken to strengthen civil society. U.S. programs helped to foster local political leadership and support a non-governmental organization (NGO) resource center that worked to improve the accountability and managerial capacity of reform-oriented civil society groups. The Embassy-administered Democracy Commission program supported an information Internet portal called Moldova Azi, an independent newspaper that publishes a weekly youth supplement promoting democratic values and freedoms among youth in Transnistria, and a center working on children’s rights.

The United States promoted media freedo