For many years, USAID and the Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) Center have undertaken numerous studies to improve rule of law (ROL) programming around the world, from impact evaluations to cataloguing technical approaches.
In June 2022, they released this report, Rule of Law Achievements Review 2005-2020 , which highlights 16 countries across the globe that had strong, diverse examples of ROL programming. The DRG Center worked with Social Impact (SI) to conduct this review through the DRG Learning, Evaluation, and Research Activity II (DRG LER II) mechanism. The SI team catalogued 340 USAID-funded activities implemented in 83 countries that had significant components that fell within USAID’s ROL technical approaches typology, including traditional justice system programming, human rights, citizen security, and anti-corruption programming.
During their research, the SI team sought to answer the central question:
What concrete and sustained achievements have USAID ROL assistance activities made or contributed to since 2005?
The report shares five achievements and common themes that were found during the study,
- Greater Judicial Independence
- Enhanced Administration of Jusitce
- Improved Access to and Trust in the Justice System
- Protection for Defenders, Women, and Vulnerable Groups
- Enhanced Ability to Combat Crime, Corruption, and Insecurity
The review highlights the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) and its work in Indonesia from 2011-204 under the Strengthening ASEAN's Human Rights System program. Through this program, ABA ROLI worked with Indonesian lawyers and Southeast Asian civil society partners in laying the foundation for a strong, independent regional human rights system in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Established in 2009, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights adopted the ASEAN human rights declaration in November 2012. ABA ROLI’s program in Indonesia helped to enhance regional legal advocacy and civil society engagement to help strengthen regional commitments to human rights.