Democracy and Human Rights (Government institutions)

This presentation is taken from the outcome assessment of the results and lessons learned of Swedish development cooperation with Nicaragua 2001 – 2008 – for full text and detailed references see document Outcome Assessment 2001-2008.

This section summarises results of programs related to the first thematic area of Swedish cooperation – “democratic and transparent governance through change in central government institutions”. Three of the programs referred to below (National Police, Rural Judicial Facilitators and Demining) have achieved good results in relation to their objectives and thereby contributed to better governance, especially at the local level. The Public Sector Reform was partly successful in improving financial management, but in other areas of the Public Sector Reform and in the support to the Public Prosecutor results were limited.

This section includes summaries and assessments of the following programs:

Public Sector Reform Program (2004-2009)

National Police (2002 – 2011)

Rural Judicial Facilitators (2001 -2008)

Public Prosecutor’s Office (2006-2009)

Demining (2003-2006)

 

Public Sector Reform Program

(2004-2009; 32 MSEK)

A Public Sector Reform Program initiated by a World Bank Public Sector Technical Assistance Credit (PSTAC) has been implemented 2004-2008 (extended to 2009). The aim of PSTAC has been to achieve a modern and efficient public sector with a reliable and transparent management of public expenditure and an administration of human resources based on performance and results. The total amount contributed to the Program from the World Bank and bilateral donors (Denmark, Holland, UK and Sweden) was 42 MUSD. The Swedish contribution was 32 MSEK.

A Midterm Review in 2006 noted some advances at the technical level in the form of integrated administrative and financial system (SIGFA), covering 70% of public expenditure. At the same time, the review notes weaknesses in the design of the Program, coordination between subcomponents, limited space for actors to influence procedures and the need for advances in other areas than the information system. There was criticism against the large number of consultants financed within the program, many of whom should have been included in the civil service and financed with government funds.

In 2007 the SIGFA system was consolidated and a de-concentration of the system initiated including four executing units of the Ministry of Health. The implementation of the civil service reform had been slow but the establishment of the Appeal Council was considered a significant advancement. New salary regulations for civil servants were introduced with considerable reduction in consultancy fees, which contributed to increased financial sustainability, but also to the loss of some key personnel.

An evaluation in 2009 concludes that there had been good results in terms of financial management (SIGFA), but that there were still weaknesses in financial audits and other areas. The administration of human resources had advanced somewhat, but the problems with too much external financing of regular staff and extensive use of highly paid consultants had continued.

 

National Police

(2002 – 2011; 130 MSEK)

Sweden has given support to the National Police in Nicaragua since 1998. For the period 2002 – 2006 the amount contributed was 45 MSEK and for the period 2006 - 2011 a contribution of 85 MSEK has been agreed.

The objective of the support is to strengthen democratic governance in Nicaragua through the restructuring of the police organization, improvement of the police training system and the extension of the territorial coverage of the police services at the community level and in rural areas. The emphasis of the support since 2006 is on the implementation of the strategic plan 2005-2009 of the National Police, with special focus on improved public safety and legal security especially for poor and vulnerable groups. Technical assistance by the Swedish National Police Board (Rikspolisstyrelsen) constitutes an integrated part of the program to strengthen the preventive approach through the proactive community police model and the modernisation of the training system.

An external evaluation of the Swedish support in 2006 concluded that the objectives of the program had been achieved to a high degree. In spite of national budgetary limitations, it had been possible to lay a sound foundation for future technical assistance and better synergy among projects and resources provided by international cooperation agencies.

The program was considered to have had an important impact on the democratic development of the Police. Human rights and community participation were reflected in improved attention and training of staff attending the public, not least in relation to victims of domestic violence. Only a small percentage of the 2000 employees participating in the training had left the Police by the end of the program period. The internal control system of the Police had been strengthened through a system of regional inspectors, and a model for evaluation of the quality of police services had been developed. The special police stations for women and children (started in 1997 as a separate project), had gradually been incorporated into the regular police organisation.

In 2008, a total of 35 special police stations for women and children were in operation at the municipal level. A system of local facilitators from civil society organisations supporting these police stations had been established. An important result of the advocacy efforts of the Police in coordination with civil society organisations was the increase in penalties for gender based violence in the new Penal Code approved by the National Assembly in 2007. The percentage of women policemen in Nicaragua (27%) is higher than in most other countries (including Sweden) and the proportion of women students at the Police Academy is even higher (34%). In 2008, the Academy started a specific postgraduate course on gender and gender based violence.

Rural Judicial Facilitators

(2001-2008; 46 MSEK)

From 1997 to 2002 Sweden gave support through the Organisation of American States (OAS) for the peace and democratisation process in rural conflict areas of Nicaragua through Peace Commissions (Comisiones de Paz) composed of local leaders, which also became legal and economically independent organisations. One of the activities of this program was focused on improving the judicial services. OAS subsequently provided assistance to the Supreme Court of Justice to develop the Rural Judicial Facilitators Program with support from Sweden.

The Program is aimed at strengthening the rule of law by improving access to justice in the northern, central and Atlantic regions of Nicaragua. The Program has created a network of local community leaders and local judges. The facilitators work on a voluntary basis to address conflicts through mediation, prevent violence and give advice in the community on legal issues and the right to be assisted by local judges. Sweden has contributed 46 MSEK to the Program.

The Midterm Evaluation in 2006 concluded that the Program had achieved excellent results improving the access to justice for the rural population, reducing conflicts, preventing crimes and initiated collaboration between the formal and the traditional (indigenous) justice systems. 46 000 cases had been handled by the Facilitators since 2002, including 14,000 mediations.

In 2008, the planned results of the Program had been surpassed. Over 1,300 facilitators had been trained and were actively serving their communities in 120 municipalities in the country. A quarter of the facilitators were women.

Public Prosecutor’s Office

(2006-2009; 10 MSEK)

Since 2006, Sweden has supported a program for strengthening the competence of public prosecutors in terms of gender violence and sexual crimes against women and children with 10 MSEK. The Program was established as a complement to the special police stations for women and children affected by violence (see under 4.2.1 above). The implementation process was slow, and in 2007 there were yet no results to be noted. The support to the Prosecutor’s Office was terminated in April 2009.

 

Demining

(2003-2006; 33 MSEK)

Sweden supported the OAS (Organisation of American States) Mine Action Program in Nicaragua during two periods 1996-2002 (20 MSEK), and 2003-2006 (33 MSEK). The demining was performed by the Nicaraguan army and supervised by international observers. Other major donors to the program were Denmark, Norway, Canada and the United States.

A tangible result of the demining program was a substantial decrease in accidents mutilating children and adults during the period 2003-2006. From the start in 1996 to the end of 2006, 95% of registered mines had been destroyed and mine risk training had been performed in 150 communities.