Rule of law

The Electoral Justice Principles for Trust in the Electoral Process project sought to raise the integrity standard of the electoral processes in Africa by addressing the relations between the key electoral justice institutions and their relevance and accessibility to the electorate. Its main objectives were to: produce a set of electoral justice principles drafted by a group of chief justices and senior electoral and political leaders from Africa and other continents; and support the implementation of these principles in two African countries. Its intended outcomes were to increase trust in electoral justice authorities; reduce violence related to electoral dispute settlements, and to have political parties, candidates and civil society organizations (CSOs) in the pilot implementation country able to claim, advocate and defend rights for public integrity consultations. The project undertook minimal consultations with the large and dynamic electoral assistance sector and missed opportunities to tap its experience, explore collaboration and develop synergies with other efforts, such as the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security that promote the integrity of elections. The norms themselves were not disseminated as planned so awareness of them is extremely limited and they were not endorsed by any international organization as anticipated. Most of those interviewed felt the principles needed wider consultations and did not have the weight required to make significant changes. The project was not Africa-specific and African involvement was limited primarily to the launch in Ghana and the APEJ-SL. The principles and guidelines were global in scope, and were not tailored to Sierra Leone for the pilot. It also focused on general electoral integrity issues and lacked a clear focus on electoral justice and how specifically this could be achieved through the creation of a steering committee.

The Electoral Justice Principles for Trust in the Electoral Process project sought to raise the integrity standard of the electoral processes in Africa by addressing the relations between the key electoral justice institutions and their relevance and accessibility to the electorate. Its main objectives were to: produce a set of electoral justice principles drafted by a group of chief justices and senior electoral and political leaders from Africa and other continents; and support the implementation of these principles in two African countries. Its intended outcomes were to increase trust in electoral justice authorities; reduce violence related to electoral dispute settlements, and to have political parties, candidates and civil society organizations (CSOs) in the pilot implementation country able to claim, advocate and defend rights for public integrity consultations. The project undertook minimal consultations with the large and dynamic electoral assistance sector and missed opportunities to tap its experience, explore collaboration and develop synergies with other efforts, such as the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security that promote the integrity of elections. The norms themselves were not disseminated as planned so awareness of them is extremely limited and they were not endorsed by any international organization as anticipated. Most of those interviewed felt the principles needed wider consultations and did not have the weight required to make significant changes. The project was not Africa-specific and African involvement was limited primarily to the launch in Ghana and the APEJ-SL. The principles and guidelines were global in scope, and were not tailored to Sierra Leone for the pilot. It also focused on general electoral integrity issues and lacked a clear focus on electoral justice and how specifically this could be achieved through the creation of a steering committee.

The Electoral Justice Principles for Trust in the Electoral Process project sought to raise the integrity standard of the electoral processes in Africa by addressing the relations between the key electoral justice institutions and their relevance and accessibility to the electorate. Its main objectives were to: produce a set of electoral justice principles drafted by a group of chief justices and senior electoral and political leaders from Africa and other continents; and support the implementation of these principles in two African countries. Its intended outcomes were to increase trust in electoral justice authorities; reduce violence related to electoral dispute settlements, and to have political parties, candidates and civil society organizations (CSOs) in the pilot implementation country able to claim, advocate and defend rights for public integrity consultations. The project undertook minimal consultations with the large and dynamic electoral assistance sector and missed opportunities to tap its experience, explore collaboration and develop synergies with other efforts, such as the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security that promote the integrity of elections. The norms themselves were not disseminated as planned so awareness of them is extremely limited and they were not endorsed by any international organization as anticipated. Most of those interviewed felt the principles needed wider consultations and did not have the weight required to make significant changes. The project was not Africa-specific and African involvement was limited primarily to the launch in Ghana and the APEJ-SL. The principles and guidelines were global in scope, and were not tailored to Sierra Leone for the pilot. It also focused on general electoral integrity issues and lacked a clear focus on electoral justice and how specifically this could be achieved through the creation of a steering committee.

Aiming to improve human rights protection of citizens in Kazakhstan, the project developed a human rights education course for introduction into the curricula of Kazakh institutions training future police officers. The project involved training staff involved in educating police recruits. Outputs aimed to ensure that graduates from this human rights training programme exercise their functions taking into account international human rights standards. However, the project's ultimate impact - the mandatory introduction of human rights training into the police academies' curriculum - remained unachieved.

Aiming to improve human rights protection of citizens in Kazakhstan, the project developed a human rights education course for introduction into the curricula of Kazakh institutions training future police officers. The project involved training staff involved in educating police recruits. Outputs aimed to ensure that graduates from this human rights training programme exercise their functions taking into account international human rights standards. However, the project's ultimate impact - the mandatory introduction of human rights training into the police academies' curriculum - remained unachieved.

Aiming to improve human rights protection of citizens in Kazakhstan, the project developed a human rights education course for introduction into the curricula of Kazakh institutions training future police officers. The project involved training staff involved in educating police recruits. Outputs aimed to ensure that graduates from this human rights training programme exercise their functions taking into account international human rights standards. However, the project's ultimate impact - the mandatory introduction of human rights training into the police academies' curriculum - remained unachieved.

The project aimed to develop the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into a functional institution able to protect and enforce human rights in line with Ethiopian laws and international norms and standards. As the EHRC was a relatively young institution, the grantee did not only focus on the development of human rights protection skills, but prioritized in the project’s initial phase also the development of operational management capacity. The grantee could have adjusted the initial project plan to avoid overlap with activities already implemented under the Democratic Institutions Programme managed by UNDP. The relevance of the project was further limited by the grantee’s weak risk assessment and mitigation. The original design failed to appreciate the risks surrounding the project, most importantly the international grantee took permission to set up an office in Addis for granted which it then did not obtain. The project also appeared unprepared to address the challenging political environment in which the EHRC operated.

The project aimed to develop the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into a functional institution able to protect and enforce human rights in line with Ethiopian laws and international norms and standards. As the EHRC was a relatively young institution, the grantee did not only focus on the development of human rights protection skills, but prioritized in the project’s initial phase also the development of operational management capacity. The grantee could have adjusted the initial project plan to avoid overlap with activities already implemented under the Democratic Institutions Programme managed by UNDP. The relevance of the project was further limited by the grantee’s weak risk assessment and mitigation. The original design failed to appreciate the risks surrounding the project, most importantly the international grantee took permission to set up an office in Addis for granted which it then did not obtain. The project also appeared unprepared to address the challenging political environment in which the EHRC operated.

The project aimed to develop the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into a functional institution able to protect and enforce human rights in line with Ethiopian laws and international norms and standards. As the EHRC was a relatively young institution, the grantee did not only focus on the development of human rights protection skills, but prioritized in the project’s initial phase also the development of operational management capacity. The grantee could have adjusted the initial project plan to avoid overlap with activities already implemented under the Democratic Institutions Programme managed by UNDP. The relevance of the project was further limited by the grantee’s weak risk assessment and mitigation. The original design failed to appreciate the risks surrounding the project, most importantly the international grantee took permission to set up an office in Addis for granted which it then did not obtain. The project also appeared unprepared to address the challenging political environment in which the EHRC operated.

The project aimed to develop the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into a functional institution able to protect and enforce human rights in line with Ethiopian laws and international norms and standards. As the EHRC was a relatively young institution, the grantee did not only focus on the development of human rights protection skills, but prioritized in the project’s initial phase also the development of operational management capacity. The grantee could have adjusted the initial project plan to avoid overlap with activities already implemented under the Democratic Institutions Programme managed by UNDP. The relevance of the project was further limited by the grantee’s weak risk assessment and mitigation. The original design failed to appreciate the risks surrounding the project, most importantly the international grantee took permission to set up an office in Addis for granted which it then did not obtain. The project also appeared unprepared to address the challenging political environment in which the EHRC operated.