Rule of Law and Access to Justice Programme

Rule of Law and Access to Justice Programme

The programme is aimed at contributing to better access to justice for marginalized and vulnerable persons, enhancing government and civil society capacities in advancing rule of law, and supporting Tajikistan’s accession to, and compliance with, international human rights conventions. The programme has four main components:

  • High level Rule of Law Policy dialogue meeting between State Institutions and CSOs;
  • Capacity development of duty bearers including the Ombudsman’s office, civil registry, notary office and Ministry of Justice staff, etc.;
  • Provision of free legal aid to poor and marginalized through established legal aid centres across Tajikistan;
  • Increasing legal literacy and public awareness of legal rights, and the ability of target groups to defend their rights, literacy and public awareness of legal rights, and the  ability of target groups to defend their rights.

Main achievements

-   Rule of Law Policy Dialogue. Established Rule of Law Policy Dialogue Platform chaired by the Minister of Justice Three National Rule-of-Law Forums[RN1]  were thus held in Dushanbe in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, where more than 1000 participants attended.

-   Free Legal Aid.  National Concept document for a state-funded free legal aid system was developed and adopted. The Concept sets out the vision and sequence of steps to be taken by the Government of Tajikistan in setting up a state-run and funded system of free legal aid. New State Agency for providing legal aid (SALAC) has been functional since January 2016. 18 state Legal Aid Centers were established and functioning across the country.

-   Capacity development. The programme worked to build capacity on several levels, including state institutions (Judges, Bailiffs, ZAGS (civil registry), jamoats (local self-governance), public notaries, and the Ombudsman’s Office by means of trainings, study tours, functional reviews and technical assistance.

-   International human rights obligations. Within the Rule of Law Programme, UNDP facilitated the development of the National Action Plan for 2017-2020 on the implementation of Universal Periodic Review  recommendations. The Government of Tajikistan has officially committed to making the Ombudsman eligible for “A” status by 2020. On March 2018, the President of Tajikistan signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities  in the UN headquarters. Thus, the Republic of Tajikistan joined the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 

-   Specialized Legal Aid Center for people with disabilities was established in Dushanbe. More than a thousand people with disabilities received legal aid through this center in 2017-2018.

Budget and donor

($10.5m, 2014-2021) financed by SDC, MFA Finland, and MFA Norway