Program Data Sheet
438-002

USAID MISSION: Mongolia
PROGRAM TITLE: Democratic Transition (Pillar: Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance)
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE AND NUMBER: Consolidate Mongolia’s Democratic Transition, 438-002
STATUS: Continuing
PLANNED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $4,000,000 ESF
PROPOSED FY 2003 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $3,000,000 ESF
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1996      ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2004

Summary: USAID’s efforts to consolidate Mongolia’s transition to democracy include three main types of support—

• training and technical assistance to make parliament more effective;
• training and technical assistance to encourage multiparty democracy; and
• training, technical assistance, and related support to help reform the judiciary.

Inputs, Outputs, and Activities: FY 2002 Program: USAID will use FY 2002 funds to support transparency and openness in some of Mongolia’s major political institutions. For the parliament, technical assistance and training will focus on making the economic and budget committee more effective; improving consultations with stakeholders; standardizing drafting procedures; and improving parliamentary rules and procedures. Political party support will focus on encouraging transparency and openness within the dominant Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP); and developing leadership, party management and coalition-building skills among the fragile and demoralized opposition parties. A multi-year program focused on parliamentary and political party development, to be implemented by the International Republican Institute (IRI), will be launched later in FY 2002.

In the judicial sector, activities will focus on expanded access to justice; improved court management; better judicial sector administration; improved ethics and discipline; and development of a sustainable mechanism for continued legal education. Activities also include training sessions on the adversarial process and a popular English language program for legal professionals. Having improved their English skills, these professionals will be more able and motivated to access legal materials from around the world.

Planned FY 2003 Program: FY 2003 marks the last year of the currently approved USAID strategy for Mongolia. Activities will focus on consolidating Mongolia’s transition to democracy and will almost certainly continue under either a revised or an extended strategy. Parliamentary and local elections are scheduled for 2004, with presidential elections set for the following year. All three elections represent important milestones for Mongolia. Among other things, the elections will provide a useful "test" of the extent to which Mongolia’s nascent democracy is becoming more deeply rooted. Judicial reform is a new area of activity for USAID in Mongolia and will almost certainly continue beyond 2003. Challenges are formidable, with recent polls suggesting that the judiciary ranks as the "least effective" of Mongolia’s government institutions in the eyes of the Mongolian public. New activities related to electoral systems or the media could be integrated into the existing democracy portfolio, depending on the economic and political situation within the country.

Performance and Results: 2001 was a year of transition for USAID-funded democracy activities in Mongolia. A major multiyear judicial reform initiative was launched in the spring,

USAID helped develop a new web site that gives the public direct access to the Prime Minister’s Office.

building upon the government’s Justice Sector Strategic Plan, which was developed with significant USAID assistance in 2000. The new judicial reform program is also strengthening the judiciary’s credibility in other areas, in part by working with members of parliament to discuss new criminal code procedures. A parliamentary working group established with USAID support is now working on ways to strengthen legislative oversight and make information more widely available. The Democratic Party and other opposition parties have also requested and received training in post-election analysis and local party development.

Finally, it is worth noting the clear overlap between economic reform on the one hand and democracy programs on the other. USAID in Mongolia explicitly encourages synergies between these two areas. A notable example from 2001 was the launch of the Prime Minister’s web page as part of a broader, USAID-supported public-private partnership initiative. This interactive web site, initially designed to solicit feedback on pending economic legislation, received more than 1,000 "hits" during its first month of operation. It also represents an important step forward for transparency and accountability in government.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: Effective implementation of USAID’s democratization strategic objective hinges on the work of two grantees, the International Republican Institute and the National Center for State Courts. Sub-contractors or grantees include Pact, a U.S. NGO.

US Financing in Thousands of Dollars