ACTIVITY DATES: September 2005 - June 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA/ROLI), Public Interest Law Institute (PILI), Russian-American Rule of Law Consortium (RAROLC)

REGION(S): Arkhangelskaya oblast, Karelia Republic, Khabarovskiy kray, Komi Republic, Krasnodarskiy kray, Leningradskaya oblast, Moskovskaya oblast, Novgorodskaya oblast, Pskovskaya oblast, Rostovskaya oblast, Sakhalinskaya oblast, Samarskaya oblast, St. Petersburg, Tomskaya oblast, Vologodskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This program (formerly known as ABA/CEELI) provides assistance and training to professional legal organizations and individuals to improve their capacity and competence. The program has several components: 1) capacity building with the Chamber of Advocates, focusing on regulating private law practice, providing continuing legal education, implementing ethics codes and disciplinary procedures, and implementing mandatory malpractice insurance; 2) institution building and technical assistance to organizations that provide legal aid; 3) trainings on international and domestic standards and legislation related to gender equality and gender-based violence; 4) promoting partnerships between American and Russian legal communities to provide access to information and support the development of legal infrastructure through the Russian American Rule of Law Consortium (RAROLC); and 5) promoting pro bono culture in Russia jointly with the Public Interest Law Institute (PILI). Since October 2008, this project is working through ABA/ROLI's Vladivostok office primarily on gender issues.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Domestic Violence and Gender Equality:  More than 100 social advocates (non-lawyer activists) trained to help use the legal system on behalf of victims of domestic violence.  Trainings of lawyers and NGOs on gender-related topics through the ROLI office in Vladivostok. Assessment Tool for the Russian Federation, measuring de facto and de jure compliance with the UN Convention to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women, published with findings and recommendations.

Assistance to the Chamber of Advocates:  Primary bar association for criminal defense lawyers assisted to develop legislation on practice of law and improve its capacity to implement continuing legal education and support the implementation of ethics codes and disciplinary procedures.

Access to Justice:  Clinical legal education expanded in Russia, increasing the number of law school clinics from a handful to over 160 and creating informal associations of specialized law school clinics providing free assistance to juveniles, refugees and prisoners.  In cooperation with the Federal Bar Chamber and Association of Russian Jurists, legislation for Civil Legal Aid Standards in Russia is currently in development and a Civil Legal Aid Board is being established in the pilot region of St. Petersburg.

Promoting Russian-American Partnerships:  In cooperation with the Open World program, RAROLC has enabled 700 Russian lawyers and judges to visit their American partners since 1994, plus dozens of visits by U.S. lawyers to partners regions in Russia.  RAROLC partnerships established between legal communities in 10 U.S. states and 10 subjects of the Russian Federation, resulting in legal clinics, juvenile justice reform, efforts to combat domestic violence, training on changes to Russian legislation, reform of law school curricula, and limited publication of court decisions.

Promoting Pro Bono Culture:  Working with subgrantee PILI, a Pro Bono Clearinghouse in Moscow acts as an intermediary between law firms and NGOs coordinating the provision of pro bono legal aid on key issues.

ACTIVITY DATES: May 2004 - September 2010

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Center for Social and Labor Rights (CSLR

REGION(S): Kaliningradskaya oblast, Kamchatskaya oblast, Moscow, Novosibirskaya oblast, Primorskiy kray, St. Petersburg, Sverdlovskaya oblast, Voronezhskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The project promotes the protection of social and labor rights by strengthening a network of eight legal centers and a professional network of labor lawyers, as well as strengthening the legal defense capacity of trade unions and NGOs.  The project also expands available data about labor conditions and promotes trade union education and capacity.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

CSLR has become a recognized national resource for independent labor unions, labor lawyers, NGOs and others working to defend the rights of workers.  

With CSLR help, the Labor Lawyers Professional Association (LLPA) was registered as a legal entity in 2006. By September 2007, the Association's membership had grown to 134 members and subscribers to the LLPA monthly information Bulletin surpassed 500.  To date, LLPA has prepared and distributed over 700 commentaries on labor regulations, draft laws, and important Supreme Court labor law cases, and has developed an internet database of "Court Decisions on Social and Labor Cases" that includes over 900 important court rulings.

In the last four years, lawyers provided 16,735 consultations to individuals and trade unions. Law centers represented nearly 5,000 individuals and members of 110 trade unions in 2,132 court hearings. The hearings resulted in 723 court rulings, of which 469 were positive.  Meanwhile, the European Court of Justice has ruled on more then 60 cases submitted by CSLR.

Law centers disseminated information on labor rights, legislation, and the implementation of key labor laws to over 2,000 legal specialists and union employees through 99 training courses on over 20 labor-related topics.

CSLR has established relationships with federal media outlets, including TV channels and newspapers, in order to significantly increase the profile of labor issues in mass media. To date, CSLR has made over 310 media presentations on labor-related issues.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2002 - May 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Faith, Hope and Love (FHL)

REGION(S): Dagestan Republic, Moscow, Stavropolskiy kray

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
This project aims to help migrants and socially vulnerable populations in the Northern Caucasus protect their basic rights by consolidating existing human rights centers that provide legal assistance and informational support into a united network. The network also conducts activities to increase the effectiveness of the centers' use of public relations and the mass media. The project conducts training workshops for lawyers and advocates, and also established a Consultation Center for filing complaints to the European Court of Human Rights.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Centers participating in the project have provided more than 32,000 pro bono legal consultations to migrants and other socially vulnerable citizens. Among these, 4,000 cases were submitted to courts with 97% of the cases resolved favorably.  The Consultation Center established under the project has provided 340 consultations on applications to the European Court of Human Rights and 15 cases were submitted to the Court.

As part of the effort to improve public information, brochures on "Defend Your Rights," "Law in Your Hands," and "Migrants have the Right..." were published and distributed to target beneficiaries. Public awareness about the issues facing refugees and migrants was raised through the production of 610 TV and radio programs and over 1500 articles published in the local press.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2007 - September 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: International Memorial

REGION(S): Astrakhanskaya oblast, Irkutskaya oblast, Khabarovskiy kray, Kirovskaya oblast, Komi Republic, Krasnodarskiy kray, Krasnoyarskiy kray, Mariy-El Republic, Moscow, Murmanskaya oblast, Permskaya oblast, Pskovskaya oblast, Rostovskaya oblast, Ryazanskaya oblast, St. Petersburg, Sverdlovskaya oblast, Tomskaya oblast, Tulskaya oblast, Tverskaya oblast, Vologodskaya oblast, Voronezhskaya oblast, Penzenskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This project supports the establishment of a new, well-equipped educational and historical facility to protect the physical integrity of International Memorial's archives, which includes the personal effects, artwork and correspondence of political prisoners from GULAGs. These materials will be used for public education and to conduct systematic work with young human rights researchers, volunteers and students focused on issues of civic activism, rule of law, justice-based social development, and human rights. An educational series will be launched to better link the work of regional and Moscow-based human rights organizations, and 25 regional organizations in Memorial's human rights network will receive assistance on educational outreach and civic mobilization.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Work is underway to renovate the educational center and assist regional organizations.  By the end of the project, it is expected that Memorial's Educational Center will host over 2100 visitors a month. Educational and awareness-building platforms will be established and operating in the regions and human rights educational kits and exhibitions will be developed for use in the Educational Center and by regional organizations. These materials will feature key human rights issues, highlighting materials from Memorial's archives about repressive aspects of the Soviet-era.

ACTIVITY DATES: July 2003 - July 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Perspektiva

REGION(S): Altaiskiy kray, Arkhangelskaya oblast, Buryatiya Republic, Chelyabinskaya oblast, Komi Republic, Moscow, Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Rostovskaya oblast, Samarskaya oblast, St. Petersburg, Sverdlovskaya oblast, Tomskaya oblast, Tverskaya oblast, Vladimirskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Under this project Perspektiva works to:

• Establish a network of legal advocates protecting the rights of disabled persons through the clarification and enforcement of existing federal and regional laws.
• Strengthen the capacity of regional NGOs to more effectively advocate for the human and legal rights of children and adults with mental or physical disabilities.
• Strengthen community coalitions of disability NGOs, legal advocates, professionals, and parents to ensure that all children with disabilities, including children remaining in institutional care, can exercise their right to a free and appropriate education.
• Increase networking and sharing of lessons learned among disability rights NGOs, legal advocates, professionals, and parents, to encourage the replication of model activities and programs, such as the development of inclusive primary schools or university courses.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Perspektiva has become a nationally-recognized leader, advocate, and resource for the promotion of disability rights in Russia, effectively influencing local and federal policy, public and private programs, to fully incorporate disabled people into mainstream life. As a result, Perspektiva has attracted more than $100,000 from local donors, including private businesses, to support project activities.

Public and government awareness about discrimination against disabled people has increased as a result of Perspektiva's events, including, for the first time in Russia: a national seminar on "Protection of Legal Rights of Disabled People" in 2003; an inclusive education forum, "Education for All;" an international "Education for All" conference in 2004; and a national "Inclusive Education Week" in 2005.  These events educated participants about their right to equal education and established coalitions among parents' groups, lawyers, educators and decision makers to improve access to education. In total over 12,000 school children, parents, teachers, government officials, media representatives, and legal and community activists participated in educational activities about disability issues in more than 770 local and national seminars.

Perspektiva's "Education for All" coalition expanded from 4 to 16 regions, with network members recognized as experts on disability rights able to effectively influence local legislation.  Of note, 136 Disabled Youth Activists were trained as trainers to advocate for the legal rights of the disabled in schools and for equal access to education at all levels.  Effective models for inclusive education are being replicated in Moscow, Ukhta, Samara and Nizhny Novgorod, and Perspektiva is working with regional partner NGOs and educational authorities to launch inclusive schools.  At the university level, a Disability Rights course was developed and adopted by universities in Moscow, Nizhniy Novgorod, Ukhta and Samara, with more than 400 students participating so far.

Ten professional lawyers and 12 law students have been trained to provide assistance in court and in drafting legislation.  To date, legal assistance has been provided to 3,000 parents and people with disabilities - resulting in 40 court cases, of which eight were successful.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2005 - June 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University

REGION(S): Moscow

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This project provides scholarly opportunities in the U.S. to Russian human rights activists and scholars. Two fellows per semester receive a stipend and other support to be in residence at the Davis Center at Harvard University.  Fellowships are open to scholars of law and human rights, innovative history and civics educators, respected human rights activists, and recognized journalists reporting on human rights for independent media organizations.

Fellows focus on the development of democracy in Russia, preserving the historical memory of resistance to totalitarianism in the former Soviet Union, publicizing crimes against humanity, and safeguarding civil liberties and human rights in Russia.  Upon their return to Russia, Fellows share their experience through events at the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center in Moscow.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Eight fellows from a variety of disciplines and geographical regions have completed residencies at Harvard (two each in the Spring and Fall semesters of 2006 and 2007).

The two fellows in residence for Spring 2007 are: Eliza Musaeva, a psychologist and a human rights researcher at the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, who is monitoring the general state of human rights in the North Caucasus; and Evgenia Lezina, a dissertation candidate on strategies of overcoming a totalitarian system at the Political Systems and Institutional Change Program of the Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies in Italy.

The two fellows selected for the Fall semester of 2008 are: Alyona Roshko, the head of the international relations and funraising department of the group "For Human Rights," who will study NGO fundraising; and Alexandra Polivanova, a project manager in the cultural section of the Swedish Embassy in Moscow, who will study overcoming totalitarian patterns in the education system and revision of school curricula.  They will be the last fellows under the current project.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2002 - September 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG)

REGION(S): Bashkortostan Republic, Buryatiya Republic, Chuvashiya Republic, Irkutskaya oblast, Kemerovskaya oblast, Kirovskaya oblast, Komi-Permyatskiy autonomous okrug, Krasnodarskiy kray, Krasnoyarskiy kray, Mariy-El Republic, Mordoviya Republic, Moscow, Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Novosibirskaya oblast, Orenburgskaya oblast, Permskaya oblast, Primorskiy kray, Rostovskaya oblast, Sakhalinskaya oblast, Samarskaya oblast, Saratovskaya oblast, Sverdlovskaya oblast, Tatarstan Republic, Tomskaya oblast, Tverskaya oblast, Udmurtiya Republic, Ulyanovskaya oblast, Volgogradskaya oblast, Yaroslavskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This project supports the work of the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) by strengthening its network of 45 regional human rights organizations and coalitions to become more effective and influential advocates and providers of quality legal assistance.  Project activities also support the development of a human rights movement through educational and awareness-raising materials and campaigns. MHG prepares monitoring reports on the human rights situation in Russia and posts the information on its web-portal, which also hosts the websites of regional NGOs and an archival resource.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

During the project, 39 organizations have provided legal clinic services to almost 50,000 people and 3,000 law students have helped draft over 20,000 legal documents and initiate more than 4,000 legal cases related to human rights violations, mainly illegal actions performed by state officials.  

Two years ago, MHG launched the first public oversight system of the Russian prison system in 12 regions.  Public inspectors were trained to conduct site visits of prisons and penitentiaries, and to provide legal advice to people in closed institutions.  Relations with penitentiary system agencies were established and a dialogue with law enforcement authorities on solving problems in the sphere of human rights observance has begun.    

Last year alone, MHG and network members held 615 educational events on basic human rights principles for teachers, students, schoolchildren, NGOs, and representatives of different social groups. In Fall 2007, MHG also launched a new Human Rights School for young civil activists.  In addition, MHG has conducted over 500 public actions on human rights violations, involving almost 25,000 people in 40 Russian regions.

MHG network partner coalitions operate in dozens of regions, cooperating with local authorities to protect basic citizen rights.  Some highlights of their work during the project include:

• The coalition "For Protecting the Freedom of Associations!" published a report in 2007 with recommended changes to the Federal Bill on NGOs and Federal Bill on Public Assemblies. The report was given to the Presidential Council on Assistance to the Development of Civil Institutes and Human Rights, and a number of the recommendations are expected to be considered by the State Duma.
• In Orlov Oblast, the coalition "Consolidation as a Means for Increasing NGO Effectiveness" helped establish a Public Council.
• In 2006 MHG member coalitions played an active role in a mass civil campaign at Lake Baikal against construction of the pipeline "East Siberia-Pacific," which resulted in a change in plans for the pipeline.

Finally, MHG publishes an annual report on the "Situation of Human Rights in Russia's Regions" that is distributed to: regional authorities and NGOs; members of the State Duma, Federation Council, Public Chamber, Federal Ombudsman, and Presidential Council; international NGOs; and international governmental bodies, including the Council of Europe, EIDHR of OSCE,  and European Commission.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2002 - September 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: International Memorial

REGION(S): Astrakhanskaya oblast, Komi Republic, Permskaya oblast, Rostovskaya oblast, Ryazanskaya oblast, Stavropolskiy kray, Tulskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The project seeks to build the capacity of human rights organizations and develop the skills and influence of a new generation of human rights leaders.  Memorial is conducting public awareness campaigns that draw on survey data and designing targeted public outreach and social marketing strategies to engage the general public in promoting human rights.  

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Under the project, Memorial trained 75 young human rights activists in new social marketing skills.  As a result, human rights public campaigns (based on survey data) were conducted in Perm, Ryazan, Rostov-on-Don, and Novocherkassk, reaching more than 1.3 million citizens.

In Ryazan, over 3,000 people attended campaign activities, including a photo exhibition about the war in Chechnya entitled "The Road to Nowhere."

In Perm, a public campaign on Children's Rights was created in close coordination with the local administration. The campaign resulted in more than 500 meetings on children's rights issues with parents in oblast schools, trainings for over 200 oblast teachers on children's rights issues, and the participation of more than 800 children from oblast orphanages in celebrations for the "Day of the Child."

Over 800 legal consultations were provided in Novocherkassk in Rostov Oblast on issues of family law, labor law, selection for military service, and Russian citizenship. Additionally, over 100 public awareness activities promoting the Rights of Youth - including theater performances, radio programs, and posters in public transportation - were conducted in the above mentioned towns.

Additionally, 45 new human rights activists are being trained in modern social marketing and strategic communication techniques in 7 new regions. So far, young activists in Tula and the Komi Republic are addressing the interaction of youth and the police and have conducted focus groups and surveys on public attitudes toward the police. They have created websites (http://www.molodrk.com/ and http://mpg.ucoz.ru/) with useful resources and published newsletters that address improving police-youth relations.