Programa Andino de derechos humanos y democracia

Transcription

1 Programa Andino de derechos humanos y democracia human european consultancy in partnership with the Netherlands Humanist Committee on Human Rights and the Danish Institute for Human Rights January 2006 By Christiane Tuijtelaars, Hilde Hey and Evan Fox-Decent

2 This report is the outcome of an evaluation commissioned by the European Commission on projects financed in the field of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). The EIDHR is a European Union programme that aims to promote and support human rights and democracy in third countries. Information on activities and actions can be found on the EIDHR website: human european consultancy Hooghiemstraplein AZ Utrecht The Netherlands Tel Fax office@humanconsultancy.com The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Commission.

3 Table of content List of abbreviations 1 Executive summary 3 1. Introduction Background Research questions Methodology Structure and preparation of this report The regional character of the Programa Andino Introduction Relevance of design of the Programa Andino as a regional programme Efficiency of the Programa Andino as a regional programme Effectiveness of the Programa Andino as a regional programme Impact of the Programa Andino as a regional programme Sustainability of the Programa Andino as a regional programme Lessons learned The country projects of the Programa Andino Human Rights context Relevance of the (design of) country projects Efficiency of the country projects The effectiveness of the country projects The impact of the country projects Sustainability of the country projects Gender component and EC visibility in the country programmes Lessons learned and recommendations Regional project on justice of the peace Context, the RPJP s justification within the PA, objectives and logframe Relevance (design) of the regional project Efficiency (implementation) of the regional project Effectiveness (results) of the regional project Impact of the regional project Sustainability of the regional project Gender component and EC visibility of the regional project Lessons learned and recommendations 111

4 5. Regional project on training and information in human rights Introduction Relevance of the regional project Efficiency of the regional project Effectiveness of the regional project Impact of the regional project Sustainability of the regional project Gender component and EC visibility in the regional project Lessons learned and recommendations 137 Annex A: Terms of reference for the External Evaluation of the Programa Andino 141 Annex B: Breve descripción de organizaciones implementadoras de los proyectos país 155 Annex C: Interviews 163

5 1 List of abbreviations ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution AECI Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional APRODEH Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos BID Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo BM Banco Mundial CAN Comunidad Andina de Naciones CCAJAR Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo CEJ Corporación Excelencia en la Justicia CEJIS Centro de Estudios Jurídicos e Investigación Social CERIAJUS Plan Nacional de Reforma Integral de la Administración de Justicia CIDES Centro sobre Derecho y Sociedad CINEP Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular CNAI Corporación Nuevo Arco Iris CNDDHH Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos COFAVIC Comité de Familiares de Víctimas de los sucesos del 27 de Febrero y Marzo del 89 COSUDE Agencia Suiza para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación CPME Coordinadora Política de Mujeres Ecuatorianas EC European Commission EIDHR European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights EJRLB Escuela Judicial Rodrigo Lara Bonilla ESCR Economic Social and Cultural Rights EU European Union FEDHU Frente Ecuatoriano de Derechos Humanos IDL Instituto de Defensa Legal ILDIS Instituto Latinoamericano de Investigaciones Sociales ILO International Labour Organisation (OIT) INREDH F Undación Regional de Asesoría en Derechos Humanos IPC Instituto Popular de Capacitación IU Interlocutor Unico M & E Monitoring and Evaluation NGO Non Governmental Organisation OAS Organisation of American States OIT Organización Internacional del Trabajo (ILO) ONAJUP Oficina Nacional de Apoyo a la Justicia de Paz OVI Objectively Verifiable Indicator PA Programa Andino

6 2 PADH POA POG PROVEA RCO RNM RPJP SERPAJ SNPS SO UASB UG Programa Andino de Derechos Humanos Plan Operativo Anual Plan Operativo Global Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos Regional Coordination Office Red Nacional de Mujeres Regional Programme on Justice of the Peace (PA) Servicio Paz y Justicia Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social Specific Objectives Universidad Andina Simón Bolivar Unidad de Gestión

7 1 List of abbreviations ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution AECI Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional APRODEH Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos BID Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo BM Banco Mundial CAN Comunidad Andina de Naciones CCAJAR Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo CEJ Corporación Excelencia en la Justicia CEJIS Centro de Estudios Jurídicos e Investigación Social CERIAJUS Plan Nacional de Reforma Integral de la Administración de Justicia CIDES Centro sobre Derecho y Sociedad CINEP Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular CNAI Corporación Nuevo Arco Iris CNDDHH Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos COFAVIC Comité de Familiares de Víctimas de los sucesos del 27 de Febrero y Marzo del 89 COSUDE Agencia Suiza para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación CPME Coordinadora Política de Mujeres Ecuatorianas EC European Commission EIDHR European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights EJRLB Escuela Judicial Rodrigo Lara Bonilla ESCR Economic Social and Cultural Rights EU European Union FEDHU Frente Ecuatoriano de Derechos Humanos IDL Instituto de Defensa Legal ILDIS Instituto Latinoamericano de Investigaciones Sociales ILO International Labour Organisation (OIT) INREDH F Undación Regional de Asesoría en Derechos Humanos IPC Instituto Popular de Capacitación IU Interlocutor Unico M & E Monitoring and Evaluation NGO Non Governmental Organisation OAS Organisation of American States OIT Organización Internacional del Trabajo (ILO) ONAJUP Oficina Nacional de Apoyo a la Justicia de Paz OVI Objectively Verifiable Indicator PA Programa Andino

8 2 PADH POA POG PROVEA RCO RNM RPJP SERPAJ SNPS SO UASB UG Programa Andino de Derechos Humanos Plan Operativo Anual Plan Operativo Global Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos Regional Coordination Office Red Nacional de Mujeres Regional Programme on Justice of the Peace (PA) Servicio Paz y Justicia Secretariado Nacional de Pastoral Social Specific Objectives Universidad Andina Simón Bolivar Unidad de Gestión

9 3 Executive summary This report presents an evaluation of the Programa Andino de Derechos Humanos y Democracia This regional human rights programme included five country projects, based in the member states of the Comunidad Andina de Naciones (CAN): Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela as well as two regional projects, one on Justice of the Peace with headquarters in Lima and one on Training and Information in Human Rights with headquarters in Quito. An evaluation team, composed of three international and five local experts, visited all seven projects and their components in the five countries during November and December A desk study carried out before the start of the field missions determined the methodology for the five country missions. Revision of documents, interviews with EU officials and focus groups with beneficiaries were parts of the evaluation mission. Conclusions The regional character of the Programa Andino There are few documents that sustain the way the regional Programa Andino (PA) was identified and designed. These documents state that the design of this regional human rights programme in the Andean Region was meant as a means of lessening the administrative burden related to the implementation of human rights activities in the region. Interviewed EU officers state that there was also the intention to achieve synergies and a greater impact by the means of a regional approach. According to some of these documents, the preparation of the regional programme included analysis of human rights situations and participation of local institutions. However, this is not reflected in the design of the PA and not confirmed by the implementing organisations, especially in the country projects. The objectives of the PA are very relevant to the needs of the Andean countries in human rights matters. However, these needs were not analyzed properly. Identification, design and planning of the regional programme did not follow all the steps of the project management cycle. Design of the programme and projects on regional and on national levels was done mostly through European services, without a thorough analysis of problems and needs and without a baseline study. If some of these took place, there was not enough transparency or clarity about the process and there was too little participation of the involved institutions in the final definition of the PA s design.

10 4 On the other hand, the two regional projects on Justice of the Peace and on Training and Information in Human Rights did have a regional design; in the first, partner organizations of the five countries participated in the design, while the latter was designed by the leader of the consortium. Since the PA was conceived by European officers, its appropriation by local projects and organisations only took place after implementation started. The fact that there was no budget foreseen for the realization of regional events and exchange between countries and the different components of the programme is another indication it was not designed as a regional programme. The conclusion is that the Programa Andino was not created as a regional programme. The only regional aspect foreseen was the regional coordination of seven projects in the region. The administrative burden was transferred from Brussels services to a single entity in the region. Added value of the regional approach The results of the PA at the regional level are mostly unforeseen since no common activities were planned from the start. The only space where all implementing organisations met were Regional Encounters and this is where some regional results originated. All involved organisations and the final beneficiaries who benefited from the regional projects celebrate the opportunity that the PA gave them to improve their knowledge and to exchange experiences with organisations in other Andean countries. This positive effect could have been stronger if regular contacts and exchange as well as common activities were planned and promoted from the start of the programme. It is also felt that general objectives were to widely formulated and that more specific common topics could have generated more interest among the involved organizations and inspired more regional coordination. The impact of the PA on a regional level was the establishment of closer collaboration and interaction between NGOs and grassroots organizations, creating positive synergies. PA NGOs have developed a joint analysis of the regional human rights context and have, in some countries, reached joint positions and carried out common activities. Similarly, regional networks of NGOs working in the same area of activity have been strengthened due to the regional Justice of the Peace and Human Rights Training and Information projects. The conclusion is that a regional approach was not planned and only partially achieved due largely to regional encounters and exchanges that were planned and carried out only once the PA began. The regional approach prepared participating institutions for implementation of regional projects.

11 5 Added value of the Regional Coordination Office (RCO) The RCO took over the administrative burden of the Brussels desk officers and had an important role in the promotion of the regional character of the PA. It was the RCO that took the initiative to organize regional encounters where all implementing organisations of the seven PA projects could meet to exchange experiences, increase their knowledge and deepen their insights through joint analysis of national and regional problems, leading to an increased awareness of the importance, convenience and possibility of regional activities. The RCO also took the responsibility to review reports, train and support the country projects and regional projects coordinators and to provide ongoing administrative support to them. After deconcentration of the EU cooperation services took place, EC Delegations took over part of the RCO s role, which caused inconveniences for the implementing organisations. An important added value of the RCO in this confused and difficult process is that it has maintained the institutional memory, the expertise and the contacts that were built up during the previous years. The conclusion is that the added value of the RCO was that it took over administrative tasks from Brussels officials, that its activities facilitated the execution of the projects and permitted the Programa Andino to develop a regional character. The Country Projects The five country projects were mostly a sum of different parts and not a tightly integrated project. In these projects already existing activities of several organizations were continued, creating an opportunity to expand them to others topics or to other territories. In every country, 4 to 6 implementing organisations worked together, totalling 26 organisations in the five countries, with very different characteristics. The definition of human rights activities on the local level was done by each participating organisation, and later these various designs were forced into a common planning matrix by externally contracted consultants. Hence, the participation of the implementing organisations in the design of the activities was limited to their own participation, which often was altered in the final design of the country project.

12 6 The experience and professionalism of the individual members of the country projects have permitted an acceptable implementation of these projects, making an adequate use of existing human and financial resources. They also showed significant skill in managing external and internal obstacles and in adapting their strategies and activities in order to continue executing the projects successfully. The results of almost all individual parts of the country projects are important, but these were mostly achieved through independent activities of the consortiums members. In some cases, there was increased impact through agreements and cooperation with other members of the consortium and/or other organisations. These results contributed to the specific objectives of the different country projects that aim at better human rights conditions and improvement of the democratic culture in the countries. The objectives of the country projects are very wide and general; therefore, it is difficult to measure the extent to which the projects results have achieved a permanent impact. Nevertheless it is possible to observe and appreciate impacts because of the efforts of individual implementing organizations; also, important impacts of the country projects as such can be observed in the cases where the consortiums partners decided to unite forces. This was also the case with joint efforts engaged in with other organisations or networks. The greatest impacts that will continue to be felt beyond the life of the project are in those areas where the NGOs have been able to engage and secure commitments from local or national authorities. An unforeseen positive impact of the country projects is the strengthening of the implementing organisations, which passed through a learning process that prepared them for this kind of project and made their coordination and execution better than they were before. They learned that in spite of different backgrounds and experience, it is possible to execute common activities and improve their impact. The country projects only partially achieved their specific objectives because the implementation period was too short to achieve substantial changes in democratic culture. Therefore, a longer implementation time or a second phase of the PA would have been necessary to cement more durable changes to democratic culture.

13 7 The country projects ceased to exist with the end of EU funding. Three countries presented proposals for the continuation of their activities to the EU, but these were not accepted. In the other two countries, no attempts were made to continue the joint activities. However, many of the activities will enjoy continuation with other funding, but not in the framework of the PA consortium of organizations. The conclusion is that the country projects were the sum of different individual projects, which accomplished their objectives and contributed to the country projects and the PA s objective. The country projects objectives are similar to the PA s objectives. The general PA objective presupposes results in different countries. Regional Project Justice of the Peace The Regional Project on Justice of the Peace (RPJP) is a project in support of Justice of the Peace and community-based justice in the five Andean countries. The decision to support this project within the context of the PA was well-founded because this is an exceptionally cost-effective way to support access to justice, and access to justice is a fundamental human right. The selection of the Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL) as Interlocutor Unico was justified for its leadership in the field and its location in Peru. Experience and institutional capacity also justified the selection of IDL s NGO partners. Design of the RPJP was consultative and collaborative, giving the implementing organisations early ownership of the project. Communication between IDL and the EU was fluid in the design stage, as was communication between IDL and its partners. The RPJP executed more activities than were envisioned in the POG, and executed virtually its entire budget. Delays in financial distributions adversely affected some national coordinating organisations, and this was most pointedly the case during the deconcentration. The results of the RPJP varied by country, given local dynamics and political circumstances. Nonetheless, the RPJP achieved impressive results in each country that exceeded a reasonable interpretation of the results set out in the POG. Valuable best practices were developed and the Red Andino network has established itself as a major and indispensable player in its field. The RPJP has had considerable impact, albeit to varying degrees, across the Andean region. The impact of the RPJP has been at the local level through the work of direct beneficiaries, at the state institutional level, and at the level of policy.

14 8 Impact has been positive and significant in terms of consolidating a culture of human rights and democracy. The conclusion is that this regional programme made a significant and durable contribution to the objective of strengthening Justices of the Peace and community-based justice, which in turn made a significant and durable contribution to the PA s general objective of promoting human rights and consolidating democracy. Regional Project Training and Information on Human Rights The Regional Project Training and Information in Human Rights is an educational project carried out by the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar (UASB), in coordination with other local universities, and aims at the formation of students and specialists in the area of human rights in the Andean region. This project did not result from a needs assessment or a stakeholder analysis. As a result, the logic of the interventions is not always clear. This project known as Programa Andino de Derechos Humanos (PADH) is the result of a human rights political vision of the UASB on the Andean region. Most importantly, the dominance of human rights activism and the lack of a systematic approach to human rights in the Andean region initiated the academic human rights programme. The lack of a needs assessment and a stakeholder analysis make it difficult to judge whether the defined objectives of the project are the most relevant for the needs and whether the institutes selected are the best. The regionalism of the PADH consisted in that institutions from the Andean countries together planned the content of the activities planned. Furthermore, the PADH implemented one educational course in each of the five Andean countries. In addition, the human rights specialization course implemented in Quito had participants from all the Andean countries. The project initiated by the UASB in Quito, sought cooperating institutes in the Andean region once the project obtained funding. The cooperating institutions were not involved in the design of the project but collaborated in the design of content of the activities. This regional project has been very efficient in implementing the activities planned; it has implemented five human rights training courses, one in each of the participating countries, two human rights specialization courses, an Internet based human rights information centre and three regional academic conferences.

15 9 The participating institutions cooperated to develop joint curricula and facilitated the development of an Andean human rights web page. The UASB in Quito lead the PADH, but the other participating institutions played a vital role in facilitating the project. The UASB in Quito was responsible for the administrative and financial reporting to the EU and as such, it maintained contacts with the RCO. The human rights specialization course at the UASB in Quito is an excellent academic programme of post-graduate education. The most successful elements of the course are the interdisciplinary character, the replica and most importantly the regional dimension. The methodology of the specialization course is interdisciplinary. This interdisciplinary approach supports the notion that human rights are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. The most valuable element of the specialization course has been the regional component. The Revista Andina addresses regional human rights issues. Revista Andina initiated as an informal collaborative effort, national coordinators sought contributions by local authors, and today it is a central element in the web page of the PADH and has become institutionalized. The impact of this regional project is at the level of the students and at the policy level. The sustainability of the project was only partly achieved. The UASB in Quito will continue to implement human rights specialization courses for Ecuadorian students and in Bolivia the UASB commences to implement a human rights specialization course for Bolivian students. The UASB considers human rights as one of their central areas of academic studies. However, the regional element of the specialization course is not maintained. The conclusion is that this regional project carried out all its planned activities and accomplished its objectives. It also contributed to the overall objective of the PA. Coordination between projects at the national and regional level Inside the country projects, implementing organisations coordinated their activities in Mesas de Participación what lead to exchanges and deepening of ideas and concepts and in some cases to joint activities between organizations or on the part of the consortiums as a whole. At the finalisation of the country projects, these joint efforts are often seen as an important and unexpected result of the country projects.

16 10 Inside the two regional projects, coordination of activities between member organisations was planned and took place on a regular basis. However, there was no coordination of activities between the two regional projects. There was little or no coordination between country projects, and little coordination of the two regional projects with the country projects. There was exchange of experiences and joint analysis by the seven projects, during regional encounters, created by the RCO. Most of the implementing organisations are now conscious of the importance of regional coordination, prepared and willing to implement regional activities. The conclusion is that there was little coordination between the seven projects; this reflects the lack of a regional approach of the Programa Andino. Recommendations The lessons learned during the implementation and evaluation of the seven projects are translated into recommendations for the implementation of future projects that might be considered by the EIDHR. 1. The identification, design and planning of human rights projects with EU funding must follow all the steps of the project management cycle, and not as a mere formality. From the beginning, this process must be clear to all stakeholders, and participation of implementing organisations and other beneficiaries in the identification of needs and necessary activities is vital to the success of the projects. 2. A correct identification and design includes at least a well defined Global Operational Plan with verifiable indicators for objectives and results, coherent assumptions and monitoring and evaluation methods. It should also include considerations about the sustainability of the activities at the end of the project. 3. Consultation and collaboration early in the design process promotes ownership of the programme on the part of the implementing organisations. Training and assistance to the organisations might be necessary to achieve the correct design and planning of the activities and this must be considered in the time schedule and budget of the programme. 4. Working across a region with sufficiently similar characteristics can provide significant opportunities for productive synergies to develop through regional exchanges. A future regional human rights programme should consider more bi-lateral or multilateral areas in which to exploit synergies based on common themes and issues.

17 11 5. Efforts should be made throughout the life of a project to avoid delays in remitting funds to implementing organisations, including proactive precautionary measures if a major administrative change is foreseeable. 6. A future regional human rights programme must be an answer to problems that exist in the entire (Andean) region and at the same time be flexible to respond to the specific problems of every country. Permanent regional and national coordination offices are an important requisite for the successful implementation of a regional programme. 7. Working in a consortium permits exchange of experiences and capacity building of participating organisations. If the consortium is well established, synergies and more impact will be the result. The incorporation of strong and experienced NGOs and networks, with conceptual and political affinity, facilitates the achievement of planned results, impact and sustainability. Including small and less experienced NGOs will contribute to their capacity building. 8. Adequate budgets must be provided for the functioning of the coordinating and decision making instances including travelling if the organizations are located or work in different regions; and for exchange and meetings of participants at a regional level. 9. Working at multiple levels the legal framework and policy level, the institutional level, and in the field permits the best opportunity to achieve lasting results and impact. 10. In order to assess the increase of knowledge and awareness, and thus the real impact of training and education activities, it is necessary to implement a monitoring system to know how the beneficiaries are using what they learned in their daily practice and in their organisation. 11. Training workshops and seminars will produce more durable results if participants are invited to a series rather than to a single session, and therefore consider designing training programmes from the outset as a series of workshops or seminars. 12. Providing scholarships for post-graduate studies and integrating work with studies are an essential component of post-graduate studies, especially if these programmes have a regional dimension. 13. The EU should consider fine-tuning its data collection and reporting methodology so that its partners can report the actual total number of beneficiaries reached, as well as the extent to which beneficiaries participated in more than one activity. Similarly, the EU should consider requiring its partners to plan and budget for M & E systems and the required personnel to implement them, since only such systems are capable of tracking indicators systematically over the course of a multi-year project. 14. The gender perspective must be defined and socialized among the implementing organisations at the start of a new human rights project, in order to have transparency and clarity not only about what is desired, but also about the necessary common actions and strategies to achieve the objectives.

18 Many of the beneficiaries of human rights projects are not familiar with the EU Logo and maybe even are unaware of what the European Union stands for. Therefore, it is necessary to find other more creative ways and methods to spread information about the EU and to increase its visibility. 16. For the sake of sustainability, when working in regions beset with political turmoil, consider extending the life of comprehensive programmes to five or six years, even if this means doing less each year, or plan a reduced and contingent phase two as a follow up. 17. A regional human rights programme must have independence from governments and also from the regional authority (SG-CAN), in order to monitor national and regional authorities compliance with local, regional and international norms. To increase impacts, alliances with public institutions must be sought, but should be structured in such a way that they do not imperil the independence and impartiality of human rights organisations that perform an important monitoring role. 18. It is very important that the EU services in all circumstances demonstrate their unconditional support to the consolidation of democracy and the defence of human rights, maintaining a coherent supportive relationship with the organizations that received EU funding for the same objective.

19 13 1. Introduction 1.1 Background The purpose of this evaluation is to assess the overall regional approach of the Programa Andino and consider the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability of the seven projects the Programa Andino encompasses. 1 The evaluation also considers issues related to gender and EU visibility. The Programa Andino includes five country projects, based in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela; and two regional projects, one on the administration of justice with headquarters in Lima and one on human rights education with headquarters in Quito. The countries of the Andean Community have similar human rights problems. Civil society is still weak and often unable to secure human rights protection through state institutions. Non-governmental organizations active in the field of human rights are committed but often lack the capacity and the skills to promote human rights and engage the state in human rights protection. The state institutions often lack the capacity, the expertise or the willingness to act in accordance with international or constitutional human rights standards. Therefore, the idea behind consolidating human rights efforts in the Andean countries into a joint programme was to allow coordination of efforts and thereby diminish administrative efforts and costs. Another possible motivation is the strengthening of local human rights initiatives by means of regional initiatives and exchanges of best practices between projects at the different levels. The overall objective of the Programa Andino is defined as to contribute to the promotion and dissemination of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Andean Community countries and, ultimately, to the development and consolidation of democracy. 2 The programme is designed to promote information, campaigns, policy initiatives, training and education by supporting civil society organizations and, through them, to make people in these countries aware of what human rights are and the instruments for applying and safeguarding such rights. The idea of a Programa Andino materialized after a mission undertaken in 1998 by the European Commission services. 3 The Directorate Latin America of the Directorate General for External Relations, of the European Commission, wished to consolidate efforts in the area of human rights assistance in the Andean Community. At the time, the EIDHR (European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights) did not yet provide funding for human rights projects in Latin America and as a consequence, the identification of the Programa Andino did not have its origin within EIDHR, but rather within the Directorate Latin America of the Directorate General for External Relations. However, the funding for the Programa Andino is obtained from the 1999 EIDHR budget. 1 See: TERMS OF REFERENCE for the External Evaluation of the Programa Anindo (Draft of 26 October 2005) TITLE: Programa Plurianual para la Democracia y los Derechos Humanos en la Comunidad Andina REFERENCE: EuropeAid/B7-701/1999/ EIDHR, Programa plurianual para la Democracia y los derechos Humanos en la Comunidad Andina, Programme Summary Sheet, 1999 funding. 3 Interview Deputy Head of Unit, Directorate Latin America, External Relations Directorate-General, European Commission, Brussels 17 November 2005.

20 14 The decisions for funding the Programa Andino were made when numerous changes were taking place within EC European Commission with regard to the funding of human rights initiatives in developing countries. In April 1999, the Council approved two regulations (975/1999 and 976/1999), which established the legal basis for the work of the EU in the area of human rights and democratisation. With these regulations in place, a Human Rights and Democracy Committee was established. This Committee advises the Commission on EIDHR funding of projects over 1 million euro, such as the Programa Andino. A further change that affected the initiation of the Programa Andino was that in January 2001, the EuropeAid Co-operation Office was created to coordinate all external aid programmes. EIDHR remains independent but is integrated into the EuropeAid Co-operation Office. The Programa Andino had a very long preparatory phase. The idea for the programme materialized in 1998, funding for the programme was approved from the 1999 EIDHR budget, but contracts with the implementing organizations were only signed in November and December 2001, and the activities of the different projects did not start until early The grant totalled Euro, and by the end of 2005 a contribution of a total of euro had been made. 4 The programme s structure is based on seven projects, each with a specific budget and a selected implementation organization responsible for coordination. The activities of the seven projects were carried out over a period of 48 months 5 and were completed by 31 December As a means to coordinate and administer the Programa Andino, a Regional Coordination Office (RCO) was set up in Bogotá, Colombia. 1.2 Research questions The regional approach of the Programa Andino is unique for the work of the EIDHR. Only one other regional programme exists for human rights and democratisation in Central America. Because the Programa Andino is unique in its regional nature, EIDHR is interested in knowing what lessons can be learned from this regional approach. Furthermore, the EIHRD is interested in learning whether the seven projects have achieved their objectives. As the RCO played an important role in coordinating the Programa Andino, its function is also of interest. To assess these elements, the evaluation of the Programa Andino addressed the following main questions: 1. Was the Programa Andino created as a regional programme? 2. What has been the added value of the regional approach? 3. What has been the added value of the Regional Coordination Office (RCO) for the implementation of the Programa Andino? 4 EIDHR, Programa plurianual para la Democracia y los derechos Humanos en la Comunidad Andina, Programme Summary Sheet, 1999 funding and ToR. 5 Some of the programmes were initially planned to run for just over three years (e.g., the Regional Programme on Justice of the Peace was supposed to run for 41 months), but were extended to compensate for delays caused by the deconcentration of human rights activities to local EC Delegations.

21 15 4. To what extent have the two regional projects, one on education/ awareness building and one on the administration of justice/ access to justice, accomplished their project objectives? 5. To what extent are the project objectives of the five country projects integrated into the overall approach of the Programa Andino? 6. To what extent have the five country projects accomplished their projects objectives? 7. What level of coordination exists at the national level and the regional level between the seven projects? 1.3 Methodology The methodology used for the evaluation included the review and analysis of a wide range of documents: Global Operational Plans, Annual Plans, financial and activity reports, prior evaluations, communication between the RCO and the different projects, research and educational materials produced by the projects, as well as policy and legislative proposals and results that flowed from Programa Andino activities. The evaluation team also conducted interviews with the EU staff in Brussels, the RCO, EC Delegations in each of the Programa Andino countries, the national and regional implementing organizations, trainers, beneficiaries, national public officials working in related fields, and other donors. With the implementing organizations, each of the components of the various projects were addressed. However, as a means to judge the effectiveness and the impact of the seven projects, one specific component of all seven projects was analysed in detail. All seven projects engaged in human rights education, therefore this activity was analysed in depth with implementing organisations and beneficiaries across the Programa Andino. The evaluation team has reviewed and analysed the material produced for the human rights education activities, and the implementing organisations and beneficiaries were asked in detail about the activities, results and impact of human rights education. With the beneficiaries of the different human rights education activities, focus group interviews were planned. In many cases it was impossible to bring together numerous beneficiaries to participate in such groups due to the fact following reasons: the projects had been completed and contact with beneficiaries no longer existed, and the national local experts who formed part of the evaluation team had very little notice and time to prepare focus groups. While in some cases 10 or more beneficiaries of a single programme were interviewed in a single country, in other cases single beneficiaries were interviewed. The international evaluation team was composed of Christiane Tuijtelaars, (team leader), Evan Fox- Decent and Hilde Hey.

22 16 Members of the team visited all five of the Andean countries and were assisted by local experts. The composition of the country teams was as follows: Bolivia, Christiane Tuijtelaars and Viviana Dipp between 26 November 1 December and 9 10 December 2005; Colombia, Christiane Tuijtelaars and Fernando Medellin, between 2-8 December 2005; Ecuador, Hilde Hey and Kathia Ferrufino, between 25 November - 1 December 2005; Peru, Evan Fox-Decent and Tutty Barandiaran, between 5-10 December 2005; Venezuela, Evan Fox-Decent and Mariana Alcalay, between December The international team met in Bogotá on 2-4 December Christiane Tuijtelaars and Hilde Hey held interviews in Brussels on November Prior to the in-country missions, Hilde Hey wrote a Desk Study that summarised the purpose of the evaluation and the background of the Programa Andino. The Desk Study also established the evaluation s methodology and set out tentative agendas for the in-country missions. Lastly, the Desk Study formulated an outline of this report s structure. The Desk Study was submitted to Brussels and met with approval. The international evaluation team made some minor revisions to the report s proposed structure during its meeting in Bogotá, the most significant one being the inclusion of a separate chapter (chapter 3) on the regional characteristics of the Programa Andino. 1.4 Structure and preparation of this report Christiane Tuijtelaars wrote chapter three (The regional character of the Programa Andino) and chapter four (The Country Projects of the Programa Andino) of this report. Evan Fox-Decent wrote chapter five (Regional Project on Justice of the Peace), and Hilde Hey wrote chapter six (Regional Project on Training and Information in Human Rights or PADH). At the conclusion of the in-country missions, the country teams described above prepared preliminary reports for the relevant international experts on the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability of the different projects of the Programa Andino in their respective countries. These preliminary reports played an indispensable role in the drafting of this report because they alone permitted each international expert to take account of the major results and impacts of the various projects in each of the five Programa Andino countries. Christiane Tuijtelaars and Viviana Dipp reported on Bolivia s chapter of the Regional Programme on Training and Information in Human Rights (PADH) to Hilde Hey.

23 17 This same team reported on Bolivia s implementation of the Regional Project on Justice of the Peace (RPJP) to Evan Fox-Decent. Christiane Tuijtelaars and Fernando Medellin reported on Colombia s implementation of the PADH to Hilde Hey, and on the RPJP to Evan Fox-Decent. Evan Fox-Decent and Tutty Barandarian reported on Peru s Country Project to Christiane Tuijtelaars, and on the PADH to Hilde Hey. Evan Fox-Decent and Mariana Alcalay reported on Venezuela s Country Project to Christiane Tuijtelaars, and on the PADH to Hilde Hey. Hilde Hey and Kathia Ferrufina reported on Ecuador s Country Project on Christiane Tuijtelaars, and on the RPJP to Evan Fox-Decent. While the international experts wrote the substantive chapters in this report, they wish to acknowledge the substantive contributions of the local experts to the drafting of the preliminary intrateam reports that made this report possible.

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25 19 2. The regional character of the Programa Andino 2.1 Introduction The European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, EIDHR was founded in 1994 following an initiative of the European Parliament in order to have an instrument or financial budget to support democratization initiatives and/or activities for the promotion and defense of human rights all over the world. It is part and a complement of the European Union s larger set of cooperation instruments and programs. To implement the initiatives, NGOs as representatives of civil society are considered the essential counterparts. The Andean Community of Nations (CAN), founded by the Cartagena Agreement in 1969, comprises five countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Since the 1970s CAN has been supported with development cooperation by the European Community. Comprising numerous initiatives in various areas of activity (e.g. fishing and agriculture), EC cooperation with the Andean region has focused on economic initiatives relating to the construction of the common market (customs, standards and specifications, competition rules, etc.), on the promotion of human rights, on humanitarian assistance and the fight against drugs. The EC is the main source of funding for Andean regional projects, the other sponsors having tended to opt for a national approach. The EC Regional Strategy Paper for the CAN ( CSP) shows that its focus is now on two priorities. The first is to support the Andean integration process through the various direct participants in that process, helping CAN to develop a single market and to project itself as a player on the international stage. The second is to support the creation of an Andean peace zone by concentrating on various potential sources of conflict, such as the fight against drugs and the management of natural resources. The regional indicative programme for the period from 2002 to 2006 proposes three initiatives in the following domains: involvement of civil society, harmonisation of statistics and prevention of natural disasters. The Programa Andino (PA) for Democracy and Human Rights was conceived by the Directorate Latin America of the Directorate General for External Relations and later financed and implemented by the EIDHR in the regional context 6 and is considered a target project, which means that it did not follow the normal procedures for the presentation and approval of projects through a call for proposals. Several years passed between the initial idea of implementing a regional human rights program in the Andean Region in the mid nineties and the start of its implementation 7. As early as 1997 and 1998, visits were made to the five Andean countries by Brussels officials to find out through informal conversations the interest of some NGOs in implementing a regional Human Rights project. These visits were followed in 1999 by consultant missions to draft project proposals. 6 A similar program was implemented in Central America in the same conditions 7 Some of the origins of the programme cannot be traced because documents were not kept or disappeared somehow in the fundamental reorganization of the European Union s cooperation sections that took place before and during the implementation of the program. Much of the following is based upon interviews with project officials both in Brussels and in the different countries.

26 20 In the same year, on , the European Commission approved financing the AML/B7-703/IB/ 99/095 Programme Democracy and Human Rights in the Andean Community for an amount of The original contract deadline with the recipients was and this deadline had to be extended until 31 December 2001, to give the EC time to draft and sign the implementation contracts. The delay was mostly due to the various modifications of the procedures, the introduction of successive models of contracts and extra work of certain units 8. Finally, contracts were signed with the seven projects that integrated the regional PA Programme by the end of 2001 and activities started between November 2001 and January The program was executed over four years between 2002 and 2005, and the last of the activities were closed by the end of This chapter analyzes the regional character of the Programa Andino and endeavours to establish if it was envisaged and designed as a regional programme from the start, and if there was an added value contributed by the regional nature of the programme. This chapter emphasizes the design of the programme and its regional coordination, as its implementation by the seven integrating projects will be discussed in the following chapters. 2.2 Relevance of design of the Programa Andino as a regional programme The Programa Andino included five country projects, based in the member states of the CAN: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela as well as two regional projects, one on Justice of the Peace with headquarters in Lima and one on Training and Information in Human Rights with headquarters in Quito. The overall objective of the Programa Andino is defined as to contribute to the promotion and dissemination of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Andean Community countries and, ultimately, to the development and consolidation of democracy. 9 The objectives of the five country projects and the two regional projects all repeat or include aspects of this general objective of the regional programme, and refer to the contributions they will make to a democratic culture, with respect for human rights and fundamental rights and in two cases (Ecuador and Venezuela) to a decrease in impunity for violations of human rights. The two regional projects also aim to make a contribution to the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law (estado de derecho) and to the promotion of fundamental and human rights. 8 Communication to Mr Pattens s Commission B7-703 Heading, p.1 9 EIDHR, Programa plurianual para la Democracia y los derechos Humanos en la Comunidad Andina, Programme Summary Sheet, 1999 funding.

27 21 The programme was designed to promote information, campaigns, training and education by supporting civil society organizations and, through them, to make people in these countries aware of what human rights are and the instruments for applying and safeguarding such rights. The ways the identification of needs and the selection of the implementing organisations took place are not very clear. Organisations in all five countries state that they were contacted by European Union cooperation officials (Directorate Latin America of the Directorate General for External Relations) who invited them to present a programme for human rights promotion, and/or to form consortiums for the formulation of a country project. Identification and design On the basis of the few available documents and interviews with EU officials and NGO officials in both Brussels and in the involved countries, it is clear that European officials conceived the idea of implementing a regional programme, and there were initiatives to examine and make use of existing interest in the Andean countries. According to one document 10, in preparing this programme, the results were considered of a study performed in the CAN countries during 1998 and particulary the experts recommendations about strategic priorities (ejes estratégicos) in every country. It also says that this programme was prepared in collaboration with the EC Delegations in the CAN member states and coordinated with the member states representatives who participated in different meetings to define priorities and establish a coordination system, after evaluating the specific situation of each country. It also states that since 1993 the democratization process in the Andean region was supported by a series of actions to promote human rights and the consolidation of democratic institutions. According to this document the specific objectives for each country project were the same and were defined previously. For every country a specific priority action line is defined, as will be explained in chapter 4. A methodology is described for defining the general objective of the PA 11 : an analysis in every country of the human rights context and of ratification of international instruments. Fichas (summaries) were prepared about the situation found in every country. An assessment of the specific situation in every country regarding respect and promotion of human rights; this evaluation did not only consider the de facto situation, but also the dialogue initiated in the framework of the Agreements with the Andean Pact. The elaboration of a pluriannual action plan ( ) in every country of the Andean Community. Every country project defines the priorities of the actions to be implemented taking into account the analysis and evaluations that were carried out, previous experiences in the execution of projects and the dialogue that was taking place in every society. 10 Propuesta de Decisión de Financiación de acuerdo al Artículo B7-703 del Presupuesto, IB/0058/99-ES, Bruselas, 15 de junio de Documento Interno. Section 2 11 Ibid, section 4.1