USAID Alternative Dispute Resolution Activities
In Latin America and the Caribbean
The USAID democracy and governance program in Latin America
and the Caribbean (LAC) strives to increase transparency,
improve good governance and reduce corruption in government
activity. Without a reliable and fair justice system, investor
confidence and a stable trade environment are jeopardized.
With USAID assistance, though, ADR in Latin America and the
Caribbean has led to a stronger civil society, the reduction
of corruption and an improvement in local government skills.
Long term benefits of USAID’s programs in these countries
will ultimately lead to better trade negotiating skills, more
opportunity for foreign investment, and increased productivity.
To provide reliable and fair justice for the people of Latin
America, USAID, along with its partner agencies, initiated
several ADR programs in the region, summarized below:
Mexico: In September
2001, the American Bar Association (ABA),
Latin American Law Initiative Council, the ABA Section of
Dispute Resolution, and Freedom House initiated a project
to promote mediation in Mexico. Funded by USAID/Mexico, the
project created a partnership among states, the Federal District
of Mexico, the Supreme Court of Mexico and other key national
organizations. The project provided technical and administrative
assistance to states and national organizations for their
mediation initiatives through stakeholder exchanges and with
the input of mediation experts.
To date, the project has helped to draft twelve Mediation
Law Proposals, five of which have already been approved.1
As a result of the project, 18 Mediation/ADR Centers are in
full operation.2
The USAID/Mexico mediation project has sponsored six basic
mediator training courses (training a total of 144 mediators),
three workshops on the design, operations and management of
Mediation Centers (training a total of 71 people), and one
Train-the-Trainer Course (training 24 people).
After one year in operation, the Mediation Center in Oaxaca
had opened 608 cases. The Mediation Center has improved trust
between the Oaxacan community and the judicial branch. The
Mediation Center is also responsible for the preference of
ADR processes. The Oaxaca Mediation Center (measured in agreements
reached between parties) boasts an outstanding 75-80 percent
success rate.
Similarly, after one year in operation, the court-annexed
Mediation Center in Puebla has opened 1,684 files. Of these,
73 percent have undergone a mediation process. Ten percent
have been resolved through simple orientation and 17 percent
have been channeled to other court procedures.) Fifty percent
of the cases referred to mediation have already resulted in
a positive agreement and the remaining 50 percent remain in
mediation.
Guatemala: A large
segment of the population is indigenous (43 percent), poor
(75 percent), and/or illiterate (24 percent) and often without
access to formal means of justice.3
USAID has established complementary mediation centers in more
than 20 indigenous communities—those communities hardest
hit during the 36-year civil war.4
These centers now provide unprecedented service to indigenous
communities and have become an acceptable mechanism to informally
resolve disputes, including the application of Mayan law principles
when agreeable to the disputing parties.5
USAID also supported the government’s land conflict
resolution institution, which resolved over 600 land conflicts
in 2002. This includes the long-standing Los Cimientos conflict.
Finally, USAID support has led to the expansion of the number
and geographic allocation of judges, further increasing access
to justice.6
A recent evaluation conducted by an independent firm reminded
USAID/Guatemala of the importance of not confusing Mayan law
with ADR. USAID will seek to keep this difference in mind
when supporting the Justice System, so that the Mayan law
can be respected and developed according to national and international
laws, specifically ILO Convention (No. 169) concerning Indigenous
and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries.
El Salvador: USAID’s
Rule of Law program was the catalyst for major reforms in
El Salvador’s judicial process. ADR methods have increased
access to justice, provided relief to the congested court
system, and contributed to a culture of peace. In El Salvador,
USAID currently focuses on supporting alternative dispute
resolution through the establishment of community-based mediation
centers, working with municipalities as well as the Public
Defender’s Office.
In 2002, USAID-supported community-based mediation centers
handled 1,870 cases. To date, six centers have been opened
with USAID assistance. Twenty-one more centers, affiliated
with the Public Defender’s Office and selected municipal
governments, will be opened by June 2005. USAID is also providing
assistance to the Arbitration Center of the Salvadoran Chamber
of Commerce.
Panama: USAID Panama
has provided technical assistance to the courts, civil society
organizations and judicial authorities at the local level.
The program with the courts complemented an Inter-American
Development Bank investment in infrastructure by providing
specialized training to manage the court’s mediation
center. The work with civil society included training in mediation
and organization of community-based centers at local universities
and in one “corregiduría “.7
These community-based centers provide unprecedented access
to justice and promote the use of informal resolution of conflicts
as an acceptable mechanism to solve disputes without clogging
the courts. USAID/Panama will continue to work with civil
society at the local level to promote use of ADR.
Nicaragua: USAID
Nicaragua has provided technical assistance to civil society
and human rights organizations that helps victims of domestic
violence and other human rights abuses through ADR and Peace
Commissions. The Organization of American States through its
Peace Commissions has been focusing on conflict resolution,
reconciliation, improving local government, and extending
legal infrastructure in municipalities that were affected
most adversely by the decade-long civil war. The Peace Commissions,
in conjunction with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), help maintain
more than 200 Peace Commissions in the northern and central
parts of the country. These give inhabitants a means to resolve
disputes, to monitor human rights abuses, and to express their
concerns to government authorities. Many of the Commissions
operate in areas where there is no government presence, and
serve as surrogates for absent police and courts.
In support of the U.S./Central America Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA), USAID/Nicaragua has also initiated assistance for
legal reforms related to transparency that are needed to facilitate
a better investment climate for economic growth and to improve
Nicaragua’s competitiveness. USAID supported the Nicaraguan
Chamber of Commerce in drafting Nicaragua’s Law on Arbitration,
Mediation and Conciliation during 2003-2004 through a cross-sectoral
activity between the Office of Democratic Initiatives and
the Trade and Agribusiness Office.
USAID supports court-annexed ADR in the criminal justice area
to promote efficiency to resolve cases and to reduce backlog.
Finally, USAID/Nicaragua also provides technical assistance
to law schools in designing curriculums to promote ADR.
Next section - USAID Alternative
Dispute Resolution Activities in Latin America and the Caribbean,
continued
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