Tajikistan

Amparo Young Lawyers’ Association

$22,715
To defend the rights of draftees to Tajikistan’s army through legal assistance and advocacy activities. The organization will monitor the way the draft is conducted and inform draftees and their families about their rights under Tajikistan’s legislation. Two members of the Association will participate in an internship with Memorial in Russia, which has extensive experience working on the rights of draftees. The Association will publish a report and a booklet containing their findings in Russian, Uzbek, and Tajik.

Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law

$56,700
To improve the observance of human rights in Tajikistan. The Bureau will provide free legal assistance to needy citizens of Tajikistan and conduct monitoring and reporting on human rights violations in the country. The organization will train law students in human rights work and publish monthly reviews, analytical articles, and an annual report. The Bureau maintains offices in three locations throughout Tajikistan.

Center for the Support of Civil Society "Kalam"

$39,085
To support the development of newly-formed and small NGOs in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast of Tajikistan. The Center will conduct a series of training seminars on outreach and advocacy for representatives of local NGOs; hold roundtable discussions with interested representatives of government, media, and NGOs; and publish a twice-monthly news bulletin.

Human Rights Centre

$39,378
To improve the observance of due process of the law in Tajikistan by conducting courtroom monitoring. The organization will create five groups in three locations, instruct members in monitoring methodology, and train judges in human rights. The results of the monitoring will be analyzed and prepared as reports on access to justice. Roundtables for journalists, government officials, and activists will be planned to coincide with the release of the reports.

Independent Private Newspaper "Tong"

$30,290 *
To continue publication of Tajikistan’s only independent periodical in the Uzbek language. The editorial team anticipates that the weekly newspaper will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers; will serve the needs of the Uzbek-speaking minority in the north of Tajikistan; and will be read across the border in Uzbekistan. Endowment funding will subsidize printing materials and services for 2,000 copies per week.

National Association of Independent Mass Media in Tajikistan

$42,000
To provide legal assistance to journalists in the capital Dushanbe and in two provincial cities, Khujand in the North and Kurgan-Tube in the South. The organization will monitor violations of journalists’ rights, continually update its website with Russian- and English-language content, and publish various monthly, quarterly and annual reports on the observance of journalists’ rights in Tajikistan.

NGO Fourth Power

$39,700
To run a media resource center in Khujand, the main city of the Sughd region in the northern part of Tajikistan. Fourth Power will provide office support for media in Khujand and will publish a weekly news bulletin. Fourth Power will supply local broadcasters with weekly 20-minute blocks of international and national news from the BBC. Fourth Power will also organize a training course for young journalists and send staff members to Moscow for training.

NGO Women Voters

$33,427
To continue its project, the Women’s Political Discussion Club, to promote activism among women. The Club will organize weekly meetings, monthly discussions, and quarterly conferences in Dushanbe as well as quarterly roundtable discussions in four regions of Tajikistan. Finally, NGO Women Voters will publish a monthly bulletin.

Public Association “Paritet” (Parity)

$57,286
To raise the level of professionalism of Tajik human rights activists and attract young people to human rights work. The organization will provide a series of specialized trainings and a five-day training course, organize a study tour to Moscow for human rights activists, and award five small grants to human rights organizations. Paritet will maintain a resource center where human rights defenders can obtain office support.

Public Association Youth of the 21st Century

$28,987
To increase the participation of young people from the regions of Tajikistan in the politics on the local, regional and national level. The Association will organize a national information campaign on youth participation, offer a variety of courses and internships for young activists, and hold debates on important issues to engage young people in politics. This program will build on the Association’s project from FY 2007, which promoted youth activism across Tajikistan.