State/INL Tajikistan Program

Funding FY 2007–2011:

• FY 2007 - $8,125,000 (FSA**) + $3,000,000 (INCLE**** ) = $11,125,000
• FY 2008 - $8,050,000 (FSA**) + $2,300,000 (1207***) = $10,350,000
• FY 2009 - $7,933,000 (AEECA*)
• FY 2010 - $8,813,000 (AEECA*)
• FY 2011 - $8,105,00 (AEECA*)

*AEECA: Assistance to Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia Funds
**FSA: Freedom Support Act
***1207: Section 1207 of the National Defense Authorization Act
****INCLE: International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement Funds

Program Goals:

• Tajikistan is an integral link in the illicit trafficking of opiates from Afghanistan to Russia and Europe, and it interdicts more Afghan heroin than all other Central Asian countries combined. Through its foreign assistance programs,

  Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) continues to support U.S. foreign policy objectives of disrupting extremist and criminal organizations and ensuring peace and stability.

• INL’s long-term activities sustain efforts to improve basic border security and narcotics interdiction programs aimed at drug trafficking from Afghanistan. INL’s strategy in Tajikistan to date has emphasized top-down law enforcement reform programs with the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), Drug Control Agency (DCA), and the Prosecutor’s Office. These programs are now complemented by new projects to reform civil law institutions and create grassroots community policing initiatives.

Program Components/Accomplishments:

• Law Enforcement Reform and Capacity Building: INL’s Law Enforcement Reform and Capacity Building program aims at institutional development of Tajikistan’s core law enforcement ministries to improve the ability of the police to investigate all types of crime, develop internationally recognized organizational standards, and promote information sharing between Tajik law enforcement and their Central Asian, European, and U.S. counterparts. Finally, INL is also implementing a community policing program that is improving community/police relations in several regions of Tajikistan.
• Counternarcotics: INL’s counternarcotics programs in Tajikistan consist of assistance to the DCA and drug demand reduction. The Tajik DCA, an independent agency similar to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, consistently receives recognition as the most effective drug control unit in Central Asia. Beginning in 1999, INL has funded a United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) project to develop the DCA’s organizational and operational capacity. INL is also addressing an increase in drug addiction in Tajikistan through its drug demand reduction outreach to vulnerable populations.
• Border Security: Tajikistan grows little poppy, but it is a major transit country for heroin and opium from Afghanistan to Russia and Europe. INL’s border security projects have focused on refurbishment and development of “green zone” border posts at locations between formal crossing points along the Tajik/Afghan border. Since the withdrawal of Russian forces in 2005, Tajikistan’s Border Guards have been Tajikistan’s only line of defense along its 1,344-km border with Afghanistan. Improving the basic living conditions and skills of Tajikistan’s Border Guards is an essential step in increasing interdiction of illegal goods such as narcotics and weapons while also preventing trafficking of persons.
• Justice Sector Reform: INL’s strategy in Tajikistan aims to reform the justice sector in tandem with improvements in traditional narcotics interdiction and law enforcement institution building. INL Dushanbe’s justice sector programs began in 2004. A major project implemented by the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative addresses reform of the defense bar and rule of law education. INL also develops rule of law in Tajikistan by conducting legal training for judges, defense attorneys, and law students; improving access to justice; strengthening local bar associations; reforming the existing criminal code; and monitoring court cases to ensure compliance with local and international norms.