VZCZCXRO6039
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0099/01 0181200
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181200Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0112
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 3273
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1088
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0959
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1528
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2129
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000099 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, EUR/ACE, DRL 
AID/W FOR EE/EA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EAID KDEM TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN:  INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS 
ACCEPTS USAID PROPOSALS FOR COOPERATION 
 
REF: A. ASHGABAT 1130 
 ¶B. ASHGABAT 1346 
 ¶C. ASHGABAT 1391 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (U) SUMMARY: On January 16, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
delivered a positive reply to USAID's October 29 proposal for 
cooperation with the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights. 
Areas for cooperation included information exchange, the provision 
of legal and technical expertise, and support for increased access 
to information.  Almost all of the specific joint activities 
proposed by USAID were accepted, aside from co-funding and selected 
community-level activities (most likely since the Institute has 
limited funds and no regional branches).  As a next step, USAID will 
meet with Institute staff to discuss specific joint activities 
during 2008.  END SUMMARY. 
 
PROPOSAL FOLLOWED CONSTRUCTIVE MEETING WITH DIRECTOR 
 
¶3.  (U) Following a productive meeting on October 18 between 
Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (IDHR) Director Shirin 
Ahmedova and USAID/CAR Office Director for Democracy and Media Kim 
Delaney (Ref. A), USAID submitted a proposal to the IDHR on October 
29 that outlined possible areas for cooperation.  The offer included 
access to legal information and legal analyses, support for local 
government bodies, cooperation with local government officials at 
the community level, and the promotion of internet access and 
professional use of information communication technology.  In 
addition, USAID outlined possible joint activities related to 
information exchange, the provision of legal and technical 
expertise, support for increased access to information, and possible 
grant funding. 
 
RECENT DELEGATIONS TOLD TO EXPECT POSITIVE RESPONSE 
 
¶4.  (U) Both Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) Barks-Ruggles and 
USAID Regional Mission Director Bill Frej were told by government 
officials that cooperation with USAID was desirable.  IDHR Director 
Ahmedova told DAS Barks-Ruggles on December 7 (Ref. B) that she had 
just submitted her feedback on USAID's proposal to the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs and that she was "very positive" about the expected 
cooperation.  First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Wepa Hajiyev 
told Frej on December 13 (Ref. C) that the proposal was in line with 
the Institute's priorities and reflected the current situation in 
Turkmenistan.  Hajiyev said that the next step was to discuss 
implementation questions in follow-up meetings after transmission of 
this message through formal channels. 
 
¶5.  (U) The Institute's response, drawn directly from USAID's 
October 29 letter to Ahmedova following Delaney's visit, indicated 
that it was possible to identify joint activities in the following 
areas: 
-- Providing comparative information on international legislation in 
areas of interest; 
-- Promoting internet access and professional use of information 
communication technology; 
-- Disseminating international best practices and standards in the 
governance area through conferences, workshops, roundtables and 
publications; 
-- Organizing in-country workshops and roundtables with the 
Government, Mejlis, and local experts on relevant topics; 
-- Supporting participation in regional, and international events to 
share practices and allow for increased information exchange; 
-- Supporting professional exchanges, study tours and technical 
visits to other countries to review practices on a range of 
governance issues; 
-- Recruiting regional and international experts for policy 
workshops to provide concrete examples of reform successes and 
challenges in other countries of the region; 
-- Providing regional or international expert technical assistance 
on legislative drafting techniques and related to specific technical 
 
ASHGABAT 00000099  002 OF 002 
 
 
areas of draft legislation; 
-- Developing brochures and other publications related to laws and 
regulations; 
-- Supporting the production of an online legal database; 
-- Organizing an international seminar in cooperation with USAID's 
partner International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL); and 
-- Providing reference materials for use by Institute specialists. 
 
¶6.  (U) The only areas proposed in USAID's October 29 letter that 
the Institute did not name as areas for joint activity in its reply 
were: 
-- Expanding internet access at the community level; 
-- Supporting legal hotlines and free legal consultations for 
specific communities; 
-- Providing co-financing for community and youth initiatives that 
support local rural development; 
-- Support community resource centers to increase access to 
information and provide a location for hosting community events; and 
 
-- Providing training through local, regional or international 
individuals or organizations for community groups, local 
governments, and other relevant entities. 
 
¶7.  (U) COMMENT: The acceptance of most of USAID's proposal is a 
significant breakthrough in a U.S. relationship with the Institute. 
Its director, Ms. Ahmedova, has voiced her enthusiasm for joint 
activities to recent high-level delegations on several occasions, 
and her ability to gain formal intergovernmental approval for 
cooperation is another sign of her broad mandate to work with a 
variety of international organizations in this sphere.  Further, it 
reflects President Berdimuhamedov's publicly stated goal of moving 
Turkmenistan toward international standards of democracy and 
humanrights.  For next steps, USAID will meet with Institute staff 
to identify specific activities that can be incorporated into the 
Institute's 2008 workplan.  END COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND