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El Salvador
>> Regional Overview >> El Salvador Overview Program Data Sheet
519-002
USAID MISSION: El Salvador
PROGRAM TITLE: Democratic Consolidation and Governance (Pillar: Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance)
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE AND NUMBER: More Inclusive and Effective Democratic Processes, 519-002
STATUS: Continuing
PLANNED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $3,000,000 DA
PRIOR YEAR UNOBLIGATED AND FUNDING SOURCE: $0
PROPOSED FY 2003 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $4,469,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1997 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2004Summary: USAID's program to strengthen democracy and good governance includes a mix of technical assistance and training to:
- increase access to justice and improve court case management;
- improve the effectiveness of community policing activities;
- strengthen local governments;
- support opening access to legislative processes; and
- small grants to promote civil society advocacy
Inputs, Outputs and Activities: FY 2002 Program: FY 2002 DA funds will support the strengthening of key democratic institutions and processes. USAID is focusing on the justice sector, which is implementing new criminal codes. Training will be provided to judges, prosecutors, and public defenders to help them improve the effectiveness of the justice system in applying these new codes. Outside of the formal justice system, USAID will support alternative dispute resolution through the establishment of community-based mediation centers. Technical assistance will be provided to develop an evidence code to assure fair and equitable treatment of evidence in the processing of criminal cases. USAID will help strengthen local governments through capacity building, working with at least 28 target municipalities to increase their management abilities and to improve the provision of basic services to clients. Support also will be provided for policy discussions between national and local authorities on fiscal and public service decentralization, to modernize the municipal code. Civil society organizations will be strengthened through a mix of technical assistance and training. Small grants will be provided for specific advocacy activities for qualifying organizations. USAID will help the legislature increase the use of public hearings and other outreach activities in order to process greater citizen participation. With USAID financing, an additional constituent outreach office will be opened by the Legislative Assembly, increasing the total number to four.
As part of the Peace Accord's mandate to develop a new civilian police force, USAID will continue to support the U.S. Department of Justice's efforts to improve the effectiveness of community policing practices to lower crime rates and violence. This Justice Department initiative seeks to better connect police with the local citizenry they serve and consists mostly of purchasing basic equipment, such as radios and bicycles, to help police address crime at the local level. Technical assistance and equipment also will be provided for joint training between police and prosecutors on case management, handling of evidence, and improved coordination to assure the proper management of criminal cases. The FY 2002 ESF funding level is yet to be determined; a separate notification will be submitted once that determination has been made.
Planned FY 2003 Program: USAID plans to use FY 2003 DA funds to support the implementation of an evidence code and train justice sector operators in its appropriate use. USAID also intends to work with selected law schools to train staff in modern legal teaching techniques and to promote curriculum reforms. USAID plans to work with selected municipalities to implement new municipal services, such as water systems and rural road maintenance, with a focus on increased transparency. Efforts to develop civil society advocacy organizations will also continue.
USAID intends to use the FY 2003 resources to address crime and violence that constrain investment, and to promote ethics and transparency in government. Funds will finance basic equipment to support and expand community-policing activities in many more municipalities, resulting in a reduction in violent crime and enhanced stability at the local level. The remaining funds will be used to provide training and technical assistance to the GOES to help implement the new code of ethics for government employees, and to increase awareness of anticorruption issues.
Performance and Results: Public support for democracy has increased since the 1992 Peace Accords and almost 50% of the country's population now has some confidence in the judicial system. Evidence of this confidence is the 11.4% increase in court cases filed in USAID-assisted municipalities in 2001 compared to 1999. Nationwide, the number of detainees held without sentencing also has been drastically reduced from 6,400 in April 1998 (when the new criminal code became effective) to only 52 by December 2001. A community-based mediation center was recently established in Suchitoto, El Salvador, as a pilot for alternate dispute resolution and is encountering success. Also, the expansion and improved effectiveness of the community policing initiative has assisted in reducing crime and violence. Crime nationally has declined by 10% during the first nine months of 2001. Within those areas served explicitly by the community policing initiative, crime overall is down 46%, including murders (down 57%), while arrests are up by 85%.
With USAID technical assistance, twelve pilot water decentralization programs were implemented, serving as examples for larger national discussions on decentralization. These pilot efforts are testing the principle that local governmental authorities have a better grasp of the needs of their constituents than national-level institutions. Joint municipal-community participatory planning exercises were carried out in eight municipalities to establish medium-term local development priorities and design multi-annual investment plans. Based on this, the GOES is requiring that local governments carry out participatory planning exercises in 2002 to secure access to central government funding.
Ten grants were provided to civil society organizations for activities in areas such as preserving the environment, better regulation of medicine, electoral reform, public transparency, and citizen participation. These have encouraged active citizen participation in all facets of national governance. USAID also has assisted the Legislative Assembly to establish constituent service outreach offices in Chalatenango, San Miguel, and San Salvador, giving elected officials more direct contact with their constituents, facilitating the channeling of citizen concerns and proposals to their elected representatives, and increasing civil society participation in legislative processes. During their second year in operation, these offices experienced a more than 500% increase in use, receiving 4,569 visits by the public during 2001 as compared to 886 in 2000.
By the end of the strategy period, USAID anticipates fully functioning criminal procedures and codes and a credible justice system marked by increased public confidence; the demonstration of successful pilots that will advance citizen participation and enhance provision of services at the municipal government level; the stimulation of a vibrant, active civil society engaged in public policy decision-making; and the institutionalization of the community policing model to assist in decreasing crime and violence nationally.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: The prime contractor within the judicial sector is DPK consulting (prime). Research Triangle Institute (prime) is implementing activities to strengthen local governance, and the National Mayor's Association (COMURES) has a cooperative agreement in this area. Creative Associates (prime) is carrying out the civil society advocacy work, subcontracting the University of Texas (subcontractor) for legislative strengthening activities.
US Financing in Thousands of Dollars
519-002 More Inclusive and Effective Democratic Processes DA ESF Through September 30, 2000 Obligations 20,576 14,800 Expenditures 12,696 11,577 Unliquidated 7,880 3,223 Fiscal Year 2001 Obligations 4,400 1,832 Expenditures 5,029 1,875 Through September 30, 2001 Obligations 24,976 16,632 Expenditures 17,725 13,452 Unliquidated 7,251 3,180 Prior Year Unobligated Funds Obligations 0 0 Planned Fiscal Year 2002 NOA Obligations 3,000 0 Total Planned Fiscal Year 2002 Obligations 3,000 0 Proposed Fiscal Year 2003 NOA Obligations 4,469 0 Future Obligations 0 0 Est. Total Cost 32,445 16,632
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Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
