Tajikistan

Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law
$53,500
To improve the observance of human rights in Tajikistan. The Bureau will provide free legal assistance to vulner­able citizens of Tajikistan and conduct monitoring and reporting on human rights violations in the country. The organi­zation will publish monthly reports, a monthly newsletter for lawyers, analytical articles, and a shadow report for Tajiki­stan’s 2011 Universal Periodic Review.

Center for the Support of Civil Society “Kalam”
$46,235
To continue the publication of the twice-monthly newspaper Impulse, which covers general political, economic, and social news; provides information about new laws adopted by the government; and publishes articles about civil society. Kalam will also continue to maintain its NGO resource center at its headquarters in Khorog. This center will provide access to the internet and a library of literature on NGO organization that would other­wise be unavailable to most groups.

Human Rights Center
$36,425
To improve the observance of due process of the law in Tajikistan by conducting courtroom monitoring. The Center will maintain four monitoring groups in two locations and train members in monitoring changes to the criminal code. The informa­tion produced by the monitoring will be analyzed in a report on access to justice. The organization will also conduct trainings in human rights for judges and prosecu­tors, and teach a course for law students.

National Association of Independent Mass Media in Tajikistan
$47,750
To provide legal assistance to journalists in the capital Dushanbe and in two provincial cities, Khujand in the north and Qurghon­teppa in the south. The organization will provide legal aid and monitor violations of journalists’ rights, provide legal train­ing for journalists, publish reports about violations of journalists’ rights in Tajikistan, and produce a television program about journalists’ rights and responsibilities.

News Agency Asia Plus, LLC
$40,795
To maintain a network of eight regional correspondents whose reporting will be included in the organization’s exist­ing Internet and print publications. The network of regional correspondents will facilitate an exchange of information among regions and between the regions and the capital. Asia Plus will complete development of a multimedia web portal for its news services and train the regional correspondents to utilize these features.

NGO “The Fourth Power”
$15,050
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 Internet and other office sup­port for media in Khujand and will publish a weekly news bulletin. Fourth Power will supply local broadcasters with interna­tional and national news from the BBC on a weekly basis. Fourth Power will also organize a five-day training course for 15 young journalists in Khujand.

NGO “The Fourth Power”
$33,800
To run a media resource center in Khu­jand. Fourth Power will provide Internet and other office support for media in Khujand and will publish a weekly news bulletin. Fourth Power will supply local broadcasters with a 25-minute block of international and national news from the BBC on a weekly basis. Fourth Power will also organize three two-day train­ing courses on media relations for 25 representatives of political parties.

NGO Women Voters
$41,400
To promote activism among women. The club will organize weekly meetings and monthly discussions in Dushanbe, and roundtable discussions in four regions of Tajikistan. Possible topics include women’s responses to labor migration, women’s unemployment, women’s role in the fight against corruption, equal access to education and equal pay for women, and poverty reduction programs. Finally, NGO Women Voters will publish a monthly bulletin and articles in the local press.

Public Association “Youth of the 21st Century”
$34,720
To increase the participation of young people from the regions of Tajikistan in discussion and implementation of youth policy. The Association will sup­port youth leadership centers in eleven regions, organize a summer camp for youth leaders, and hold national debates and conferences on important issues to engage young people in politics.

TV-Radio Broadcasting Company “Vatan”
$29,000
To provide news and information for the population of Tajikistan, the radio station Vatan will expand its radio program­ming, and broaden its network of regional correspondents. Vatan, which currently broadcasts in Dushanbe and Qurghon­teppa, will acquire the necessary equip­ment to begin transmitting its programming in Panj. To improve its reporting abilities and make its programming relevant to a new audience, Vatan will also iden­tify and train three new correspondents from throughout Khatlon District.

Young Lawyers Association “Amparo”
$42,669
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 will inform draftees and their fami­lies about their rights under Tajikistan’s legislation. Amparo will investigate the possibilities for an alternative civilian service, produce a draft law, and in­form the public about its findings.

The grant listings posted here are from the 2010 Annual Report, published in August 2011.