Category: Impact Stories

Mam Sonando Release Reflects Coordinated Effort by EWMI Partners

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EWMI’s CSO partners in Cambodia coordinated their advocacy efforts to fight for the release of imprisoned broadcaster and democracy activist Mam Sonando [photo: LICADHO]

The dismissal on appeal of the most serious charges against broadcaster and democracy activist Mam Sonando and his subsequent release in March were in no small part the result of efforts made by both human rights and legal aid partners of EWMI’s Program on Rights and Justice II (PRAJ II).

During January and February, EWMI partners continued their advocacy efforts to draw attention to the case of imprisoned broadcaster and democracy activist Mam Sonando and fight for his release. On October 1, 2012, he had been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for alleged involvement in an alleged secessionist movement in Kratie. On January 15, CCHR launched the Mam Sonando Justice Calendar Campaign marking the six months since the broadcaster’s arrest. An accompanying campaign allowed individuals to enter design ideas for a postcard related to his case. In February, CCHR distributed 10,000 copies of the winning entry and people were encouraged to write messages of support and return them to the pick-up points. The messages were read during CCHR’s weekly radio broadcasts and the postcards delivered to the democracy activist in Prey Sar prison.

On the international front, Amnesty International issued a call to action on February 21 urging people to call on Prime Minister Hun Sen and other government officials to release Sonando ahead of his retrial in March. Calling Sonando a “prisoner of conscience,” the appeal also urged people to call on the authorities to “protect, respect and promote the right to freedom of expression in Cambodia.” Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan dismissed the effort, reiterating a long-held position that Cambodia is a sovereign state and would not bow to international pressure. This campaign was significantly influenced by EWMI partners, especially LICADHO, ADHOC, and CCHR, which gave Amnesty International information and strategy advice. 

In preparation for Sonando’s Appeals Court trial, EWMI staff spent significant time supporting the creation of a legal team that could effectively manage the intricacies of this case, involving multiple complex charges founded on a theory of secondary liability similar in nature to conspiracy and the (often conflicting) testimony of numerous witnesses, including fellow accused that had provided testimony in support of the prosecution, apparently for favorable treatment. 

EWMI recruited law graduates (who had previously participated in EWMI legal education programs) from the Royal University of Law and Economics to prepare a database of testimony, evidence and legal conclusions identified in the court judgment supporting the October 1, 2012 conviction, which was used by lawyers to develop a strong legal memorandum in favor of acquittal.  EWMI also engaged Vishnu Law Group lawyers (under its USAID-funded grant) in the preparation of witness requests, direct and cross-examination questions for witnesses, and a legal memo identifying contradictions in evidence and errors in law contributing to Sonando’s conviction.  As a result of actions taken by EWMI partners and others who supported the Sonando defense, his defense team was well prepared for trial and there was a wellspring of public support for his release.

On March 5, the appeal got underway to review the verdicts against Mam Sonando and two co-defendants, Touch Ream and Kan Sovann. There was standing-room only during proceedings, with around 55 people packing the courtroom including numerous international observers. Before the trial began, Sonando’s lawyers had requested the court postpone the proceedings due to the absence of key witnesses. The request was denied. 

Outside the building, around 600 members of the Association of Democrats, which Mam Sonando heads, as well as other activists, gathered to demand his release.  Their shouts were heard inside the courtroom. Numerous national and international representatives observed, inside and outside the courtroom. Monitors included staff from LICADHO, ADHOC, CHRAC, and CCHR. Demonstrators included members of PRAJ-supported CSOs, including IDEA and their affiliates CCFC and CYN, and CPN affiliates from Boeung Kak and Borei Keila.

On March 6, the prosecutor unexpectedly asked that two of the charges against Sonando, inciting insurrection and a charge relating to use of arms against officials, be dropped, but that an additional, less-serious, charge be added of illegally clearing state-owned land. (ADHOC described this new charge as supremely ironic, given Sonando’s work to educate Cambodians about their land rights – and it may have been intended to discredit him in this respect.) The prosecution asked that the remaining charges be upheld. On March 14, the Appeals Court reached its verdict, which tracked with the prosecutor’s recommendations, dismissing the most serious offenses and finding Sonando guilty of remaining minor offenses, as well as illegally clearing forest. The court reduced his sentence from twenty to five years. As four years and four months of the sentence were suspended, Sonando was released from prison. 

A wide array of local NGOs and CSOs, including EWMI partners LICADHO, IDEA, and CCHR, were quick to issue statements welcoming his release and that of Touch Ream and Kan Sovann. Some pointed out that the release came in the wake of intense international and domestic pressure on the authorities for Sonando’s release, including statements by US President Barack Obama, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. (It was also noted in the press that, the week before, France had signed off on a multi-million dollar package of aid to Cambodia.)  The pleasure at seeing Sonando released was tempered by the awareness that unwarranted convictions still stand against the three men and that Mam Sonando will remain under judicial supervision for the next three years.  Nonetheless, the case stands as an example where EWMI human rights partners and a legal aid grantee worked together to obtain freedom, if not full justice, for a democracy activist who had obviously been imprisoned for expressing his thoughts, and encouraging others to think freely.

Montenegro Launches New Business Licensing e-Registry Portal

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Montenegro launches new e-Registry for national level business licenses and permits.

Montenegro’s Ministry of Finance and Chamber of Commerce along with representatives of EWMI’s Good Governance Activity in Montenegro held a joint press conference on January 25, 2013 announcing the formal launch of the new e-Registry for national level business licenses and permits in Montenegro. The new e-Registry, which is now accessible online at licenca.me and available to all citizens, was developed in order to reduce regulatory costs and risks to businesses though improved availability of authoritative information on licenses; improve transparency through one-stop-access to all relevant information related to licenses; and provide a basis for regulatory reviews and for monitoring regulatory performance through the vetting of new formalities before posting in the e-Registry.

The e-Registry is an inventory of over 540 different licenses, permits and permissions from some 36 government agencies. The creation of the e-Registry Portal marks the first time that a comprehensive inventory of this kind has been made available, and in one place. The registry provides links to the responsible agency’s application system or provides printable forms for completion, with an explanation of the legal basis for the license or permit. EWMI provided expert assistance to the Business Licensing Reform Working Group by helping to create an inventory of all licenses and permits currently under the Montenegrin law; determining which licenses and permits were appropriate for the e-registry; identifying where streamlining was possible; and gathering all of the relevant information on each license and permit to be included in order to place it on the e-Registry. Additionally, EWMI and USAID provided funding support for the creation of the new online registry site and the acquisition of some of the necessary hardware.

EWMI’s support of the business licensing e-Registry portal is a part of EWMI’s larger efforts to improve the overall business environment in Montenegro and encourage efficient and transparent business licensing and permitting practices that reduce costs and mitigate corruption. 

GIA Research Influences Pharmaceutical Policy Reforms

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GIA’s research and advocacy, funded by EWMI, contributed to policy reforms aimed at making prescription drugs in Georgia more affordable.

Healthcare expenses in Georgia have risen steeply over the last decade. By 2009, they constituted an average of 35% of household income, with 60% of these health expenditures going toward prescription drugs. However, little data exists in Georgia to guide the formation of pharmaceutical policies that would make prescription drugs more affordable.

To fill this information gap, EWMI provided the Georgian Insurance Association (GIA) with a grant to survey Georgian physicians, households, and insurance companies to investigate the reasons for rising drug costs in Georgia.

One of GIA’s most important findings was that physicians rarely consider cost effectiveness when prescribing medicines. Only 4% of prescriptions are for generic brands, even though doctors’ attitudes toward generics are generally positive and the price of generics is approximately one-third that of brand name products. The fact that generics are not widely available in Georgia compounds the problem.

The study also found that doctors in Georgia prescribe a relatively high number of drugs per patient visit (2.9 on average), compared to internationally accepted standards (2.0). This means that people could be paying for drugs they don’t need.

Through EWMI’s Policy, Advocacy, and Civil Society Development Project in Georgia (G-PAC) Mentorship Program, Professor John Hall of Arizona State University provided advice to GIA on how best to present its results and recommendations. With Professor Hall’s input, GIA developed a policy paper based on its research and analysis of existing policies. GIA’s paper presented a number of policy options that included controlling the prices of brand name drugs, providing incentives for the increased distribution of generics, developing preferred drug lists, creating guidelines for prescription practices, and regulating drug promotion efforts for brand name drugs.

GIA then conducted an advocacy campaign to raise public awareness about the implications of unnecessary prescriptions, including holding presentations and discussions for the media and the public and appearing on TV and radio talk shows to discuss the issue. GIA’s research and public awareness efforts have contributed to a series of reforms, including a quadrupling of insurance benefits for 900,000 people covered under a new government health insurance program and new regulations establishing a list of approved brand name and generic drugs, and new requirements that pharmacies have adequate supplies of all drugs on the list and that they dispense the drugs as prescribed.

The Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Assistance (MoLHSA), insurance companies, and medical service providers also collaborated on a list of prescription protocols for doctors, which took effect on January 1, 2013. Additionally, MoLHSA is developing an electronic prescription management system that will require all prescriptions to be registered and subject to audit by the end of 2012.

EWMI funded GIA’s project through G-PAC’s Think Tank Support Grant (TTSG) Program.

Inauguration of Newly Established Customer Center In the Old Royal Capital of Centinje

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The new One Stop Shop streamlines administrative procedures for business licenses and permits.

On December 18, 2012, the Old Royal Capital of Cetinje opened a new Customer Center One Stop Shop (CCOSS) in its historic municipal building. Opened in the presence of the US Ambassador and central and local government officials, the CCOSS was the culmination of a year’s work on multiple agendas by EWMI through the Good Governance Activity in Montenegro. EWMI helped streamline subnational administrative procedures, and sponsored the creation of user-friendly e-government software to turn them into electronic procedures. Working closely with Cetinje’s IT Department, EWMI established a new customer center as the single interface between clients and the municipal government. The subnational e-government / CCOSS program will be expanded to Ulcinj Municipality before the end of the GG Activity, and the CCOSS has already been linked to the national level licensing e-registry also engineered by EWMI. Overall support for the activities in the Old Royal Capital of Cetinje, was financed through the United States Agency of International Development (USAID).

Villagers Acquitted in Land Case Thanks to Effective Advocacy

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Vishnu lawyers provide legal advice to Porng Toek community members.

For the two farmers at the center of the Porng Toek land case, a guilty verdict could have catastrophic for their large families. The men, one with five children, the other with four, faced from six months to two years in jail in a case that should have been a civil matter, but which like many disputes over land ownership, ended up in criminal court.

The case involved a dispute over 2.1 hectares of land between 20 families and an individual who had the backing of the district chief. The claimant charged the two farmers with trespassing and property damage, although both they and the other families had been peacefully growing rice on the land for years. Other clients were later added to the case, charged with discrediting a court decision.

The public interest law group, Vishnu, a EWMI-Cambodia Program on Rights and Justice II (PRAJ II) grantee and partner, came to their aid to defend their interests and keep them out of jail. Three lawyers worked closely with community members, providing legal advice, collecting further evidence, and meeting with additional witnesses. They also carefully prepared the two defendants for the September 25 trial, which 100 community members attended.

Thanks to Vishnu’s strong legal advocacy and the quantity of well-grounded evidence, the Kampot Provincial Court of First Instance acquitted the two defendants and ordered that the case be resolved by the cadastral commission due to its civil nature.

“I was happy to have been able to represent the community members and help them obtain justice,” said Vishnu lawyer Sao Kagna.

The case represents a major success and even goes beyond the fact that these two men received justice. Vishnu’s lawyers succeeded in persuading the court that criminal proceedings were categorically invalid in a case where the underlying issue was the ownership of property. If this kind of litigation outcome were replicated across Cambodia, it would result in justice for many people facing criminal charges simply because they refused to yield to questionable evictions.

Improving legal aid, specifically indigent criminal defense, has been an important component of EWMI’s justice reform work in Cambodia. With this goal in mind, EWMI–PRAJ works to strengthen the capacity of Cambodia’s existing legal aid NGO providers and through its grant program assists the most vulnerable groups of people in Cambodia.

Georgia Bar Association Adopts Landmark Ethics Code Amendments

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GBA General Assembly (Prosecutor General Archil Kbilashvili- front row, second from left)

On December 8, the Georgian Bar Association (GBA) held its annual General Assembly. By the end of the meeting, the Assembly had adopted long awaited amendments to the Professional Ethics Code of Lawyers and the GBA’s Disciplinary Responsibility By-laws. These amendments were drafted over the course of last year by a working group of GBA members and with the technical assistance of EWMI’s Judicial Independence and Legal Empowerment Project (JILEP) and its experts, Professor James Moliterno of Washington and Lee University School of Law, USA, and Mr. Jim McCauley of the Virginia State Bar. The General Assembly discussion on the amendments lasted for nearly three hours; they ultimately adopted the amendments by a 234 to 5 vote.

During the Assembly, Georgia’s new Prosecutor General (and former GBA Ethics Committee member) Archil Kbilashvili, spoke to the membership about the need to reform the plea bargaining system, and forms of possible cooperation between his office and the GBA. He indicated his interest in giving GBA members access to the library of the General Prosecutor’s Office and signing some type of memorandum of cooperation with the GBA. Also during the meeting, Eka Gasitashvili, Chairman of Ethics Committee, and Zviad Kordzadze, Chairman of CLE Committee, reported on their committees’ work and mentioned their appreciation for assistance received from JILEP.

EWMI Publishes Best Practices Guide

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Participants of the 2012 National Judges Conference.

As part of its efforts to improve court administration, EWMI’s USAID-funded Separation of Powers Program (SPP), has been working closely with 10 Serbian courts– the Higher Courts in Belgrade, Novi Pazar, and Subotica, and the Basic Courts in Cacak, Nis, Sremska Mitrovica, Subotica, Uzice, Vranje, and Vrsac – to resolve cases quickly and efficiently, reduce the number of old cases, and prevent future processing delays. In July 2012, SPP published a handbook, USAID Best Practices Guide: Backlog Prevention & Reduction Measures for Courts in Serbia, detailing the most successful techniques and subsequent results achieved by the partner courts.

The guide is structured to facilitate improvements in other courts and was presented and distributed at the 2012 National Judges Conference held on October 8-10 in Zlatibor Mt Resort. As part of the Conference’s official program, SPP hosted two sessions, “Successful techniques for efficient trials,” for civil and criminal judges. Hosted and moderated by SPP, the sessions included presentations by six judges on how to successfully apply SPP recommended techniques that helped their courts effectively tackle backlogs and inflow of cases.

Welcoming the participants and guests at both sessions, SPP Chief of Party Patrick Wujcik presented the Separation of Powers Program and its activities of the past four years. He explained that SPP worked closely with 10 courts to improve court and case management, reduce backlogs and to improve case processing efficiency. After sharing international best practices and experiences with partner courts, Wujcik expressed SPP’s hope that the courts outside the Program will find the methodology presented in the Guide and discussions during the conference sessions useful in their daily efforts to reduce backlogs and increase efficiency in their courts.

EWMI Renovates Basic Court in Podgorica

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New LCD monitors will display schedule of hearings.

On September 12, 2012, the renovated user premises of the Basic Court in Podgorica were officially opened to the public, signifying the successful completion of the Court Improvement Plan that primarily involved improvements to internal court management and overall court transparency, as well as improvements in internal communication within the court administration.

The 1.5 year and 150,000.00 EUR improvement project included:

  • Introduction of a new Manual Case Management System, accompanied by provision of new shelves for case file folders and designing and printing of revised case file folders (expediting case handling procedures); introduction of internal case file location cards and calendar books into daily case management processes; 
     
  • Development and implementation of backlog case reduction plans to guide more efficient resolution of backlog cases facilitated by formation of “judges’ teams;”
     
  • Engagement of an “Archive Commission” to drive more efficient management and purging of archived cases from the court;
     
  • Better systematization of working posts and better distribution of the court workload;
     
  • Various activities for improvement of daily court operations: development of brochures prepared by the court and offering court clients essential information, provision of LCD monitors with schedule of hearings and provision of complaint/suggestion boxes that will guide court management in improvements of customer services and facilitate provision of better services to court clients; and
     
  • Renovation of court facilities in the customer service areas with the greatest customer flow (file registries, copy center, security desk, etc.), as well as partial renovation of court archive premises. The renovation will improve the efficiency of the court and increase its transparency, leading to better service to court customers.
     

The renovation will improve the efficiency of the court and increase its transparency, leading to better service to court customers.

Montenegro (2010-2013): Good Governance Activity in Montenegro

New Counterfeit Drug Program Builds on GBV Prosecution Success in Cambodia

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MoJ training promotes global health equity, e.g. prosecution of counterfeit drug traffickers & protection of persons with HIV.

Following three years of measurable impact from EWMI gender-based violence prosecution programs, this year the EWMI’s Cambodia Program on Rights and Justice II (PRAJ II) expanded the work to address the growing global problem of drug resistance caused by counterfeit and substandard pharmaceuticals. Through a program supported by the USAID/Cambodia Health Office, in September 2012 PRAJ began to develop expanded prosecution training and case tracking to support the joint work of the Ministries of Health and Justice in investigating and prosecuting these crimes. The launch of the EWMI activities marks the first systematic effort to train justice and health officials side-by-side on the investigation and prosecution of counterfeit and substandard drugs and illegal drug services.

Malaria and tuberculosis alone kill more than 2 million people a year, while millions more are infected but do not die because they take malaria and TB drugs. Worldwide, these drugs are failing at alarming rates due to drug resistance, with resistance to the only known successful anti-malaria drug, artemisinin, traced to the Cambodian province of Pailin. The sale of counterfeit and substandard drugs and the operation of illegal pharmacies are regularly identified as primary causes of drug resistance. Counterfeit drugs are a 45 billion dollar a year business, and while laws are in place to combat these illegal drugs and services, global health efforts have focused mainly on defensive efforts to stop their spread: free mosquito nets, free drugs, and direct observation treatment. Limited attention focuses on offensive measures: investigating, prosecuting, and tracking those responsible for their production and sale.

EWMI has based its new prosecution training and tracking program on the successes of two previous programs in Cambodia. The EWMI trafficking in persons (TIP) prosecution training and case tracking program, begun in 2009, led to a 300% increase in convictions – a rate sustained over three years. In 2011, EWMI expanded this program beyond TIP cases to include all GBV prosecutions (nearly 20% of criminal cases), and in just one year the overall clearance rate for these cases, and the number of convictions, doubled. Taken together, these activities have trained several hundred officials from the Ministries of Justice and Women’s Affairs, while closely tracking thousands of court cases. The 2011 GBV program alone covered every Cambodian province, and trained over 500 officials.

Drawing on these three years of documented success, in 2012 EWMI and USAID turned to a third area of criminal conduct facing impunity – illegal pharmaceuticals — and expect to see similar measurable improvements in prosecutions over the coming years.

Rescuing Domestic Worker Stranded in Malaysia

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B.T. (full name withheld for privacy), a Cambodian domestic worker in Malaysia, was repatriated to her home country with the help of LICADHO, a partner-grantee of EWMI’s Cambodia Program on Rights and Justice II (PRAJ II), despite having been coerced by her Malaysian employer and a labor agency to extend her contract for an additional year.  

B.T. had registered to work as a domestic in Malaysia with the Ung Rithy Group. After training and English classes, she left for Malaysia on April 28, 2010, and for all intents and purposes, disappeared. Repeated attempts by B.T.’s mother to contact her daughter were unsuccessful, and she could not get any information about her child’s whereabouts or health. 

In Malaysia, B.T. told the local labor agency that she wanted to leave at the end of her contract. However, she was not allowed to do so and instead was coerced into signing on for another year. She finally managed to call her mother and express her desire to come back home. When her mother called the Ung Rithy Group in Cambodia, she was refused help. 

So her mother filed a complaint with the LICADHO office, requesting intervention. In June of 2012, LICADHO staff contacted the Ung Rithy Group, pressing them to take action, following up in July by repeating the demand that B.T. be allowed to return. The company represented that it would bring the young woman back in July and pay her salary. But given the poor reputation many labor agencies have earned in recent years, LICADHO staff met with the third secretary of the Cambodian embassy during a mission to Malaysia, requesting intervention in the case. 

With the embassy’s support, and the persistence of LICADHO staff, B.T. was repatriated to Cambodia on July 31. One day later, she received her $3,700 in back wages from the Ung Rithy Group.

While there have been several tragic stories of domestic workers in Malaysia, B.T. happily did not become one of them. Thanks to continued pressure from LICADHO, including discussions with Cambodian government officials in the receiving country, B.T. was reunited with her mother and obtained the full compensation she was due.

Human trafficking remains a serious issue in Cambodia. In addition to supporting the work of LICADHO, EWMI’s PRAJ II program works closely with government partners and other civil society organizations to address this crime through data collection, legal representation of victims, public outreach, legal training and advocacy.