Latvia to support rule of law project in Afghanistan

On 16 July 2008 in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, Latvia's Special Representative in Afghanistan and political and development advisor to the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rudolfs Bremanis signed, with authorisation from the Foreign Ministry, an agreement with the Agency for Technical Co-operation and Development (ACTED) on procedures for the allocation of financing and execution of works in relation to the next Latvian assistance project in Afghanistan, in the province of Faryab, on the construction and furnishing of three court buildings, and training for judges and employees. The Head of ACTED in Afghanistan, Zeenat Garewal, signed the agreement on the part of the Agency. In parallel, an agreement was signed between ACTED and the European Commission on the co-financing of this project.

The costs of the project total EUR 500.000, of which EUR 100.000 are allocated by the Latvian Government and Foreign Ministry, and EUR 400.000 are co-financed by the European Commission, which has declared the strengthening of the rule of law to be one of its priorities in Afghanistan.

The project envisages the construction of new, furnished two-storey court buildings in three administrative districts of the Faryab province – Qaysar, Gurziwan, and Shirin Tagab - with a brick fence around the territory of the court house and security buildings. In addition to the construction works, a specific training course for judges and other employees in the sector will be provided, so as to broaden understanding and knowledge about the basic principles of the rule of law and judicial procedures.

The decision to select the above districts of Faryab was based on two main selection criteria set by the European Commission, namely: the court needs to own a specific plot of land on which buildings can be erected, and priority is given to the courts with the largest number of cases heard. It must be mentioned that the court sittings and case hearings in these and other districts of Faryab, as well as in most of the country, have to date taken place in very poor and inadequate conditions in war-torn buildings.

Support for the implementation of the project was also received from the leadership of Afghanistan's Highest Court in Kabul, and from the Governor of the province of Faryab, Abdul Haq Shafaq. If the project is realised successfully, there is a possibility of carrying out similar projects in other administrative districts and provinces as well.

The above project, it must be noted, has been conceived and developed since Latvia's participation in Afghanistan with its civil advisers. This is the second project in Afghanistan to be supported by Latvia. The first Latvia-financed development project on water supply was implemented and successfully completed on 29 May in the Almar district of the province. The Foreign Ministry plans to proceed with other assistance projects in Afghanistan, so as to attract more funding for the province.

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