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THE 25 Years of The Carter Center: CARTER Changing Agenda, Enduring Principles b b u G e s i u o CENTER L NEWS FALL 2007 IN THIS ISSUE UP FRONT 25 Years of The Carter Center . 1 Small Measures Create Change . 2 PEACE Rural Justice in Liberia . 3 Human Rights Defenders . 4 Profile: Karin Ryan . 5 President Carter listens as the village elder who guards the dam in Savelugu, Ghana, East Timor Elections . 6 explains how he keeps the water source safe from Guinea worm through close monitoring. Campaign Finance in Latin America . 6 The Carter Center promotes active participation by community members in its work. Ecuador Elections . 6 The year 2007 marks the Carter Center’s 25th HEALTH trol, global health, and the environment, anniversary. In the following article, former with a special emphasis on Latin America. Group Brings Hope to Nigerians . 7 U.S. President Jimmy Carter reflects on the As programs expanded, so did our Uganda Attempts River Center’s evolution and his hopes for waging Blindness Elimination . .8 physical space—the current campus of the peace, fighting disease, and building hope into Carter Presidential Center opened in 1986, Borlaug Receives Congressional the future. Medal . 9 encompassing the Presidential Library and By Jimmy Carter Romanian Mental Health Fellows . 10 Museum and The Carter Center. As the Center took on new projects, a PHILANTHROPY y original concept for The Carter Center was a place for mediation, set of principles emerged: We would not Skoll Foundation . 11 a place where leaders of countries duplicate the effective efforts of other NEWS BRIEFS Mor regions in conflict could come to resolve organizations, we would be nonpartisan, we “Conversations” Webcast Live . 12 their differences. Looking at the work of would not let the possibility of failure deter Carter Subject of New Film . 12 the Center today, with programs that have us from making our best effort. Another touched lives in more than 70 countries unique characteristic of the Center was our promoting peace and good health, it is safe desire to be an action agency, not just a to say that the Center has far exceeded think tank. Since the basic character and Rosalynn’s and my initial dreams. purpose of the Center were unprecedented, we had to prove the worth of our efforts Beginnings step by step, expanding our financial The Center was established in 1982 soon resources as we demonstrated tangible after I accepted an offer from Emory results. University to be a distinguished professor. Today My assistants and I found ourselves work- ing out of the top floor of the Emory Although our past work has been quite var- One Copenhill ied, today the Center’s projects tend to fall 453 Freedom Parkway University library on projects and quickly into two buckets: peace and health. Our Atlanta, GA 30307 broadening our work to include compelling (404) 420-5100 issues in human rights, nuclear arms con- continues on page 12 www.cartercenter.org UP FRONT From Dr. John Hardman, President and CEO Small Measures Create Waves of Change b u a sanitation provided by latrines t f conflict, ill health, and poverty S y l i always seem to walk hand in hand, benefits the entire community m so do peace, health, and economic as the prevalence of diarrheal E Iopportunity. An improvement in one disease and intestinal worms aspect of a community’s well-being can diminishes—leaving people yield unforeseen dividends in other areas. healthier overall. At The Carter Center, we take on In Ethiopia and Sudan, projects to improve a specific facet of life our trachoma control efforts —monitoring elections to ensure citizens are combined with distribution have a say in how they are governed or of the antibiotic azithromycin. fighting a devastating disease. Happily, Although our primary goal we find that the results of our work often is to treat active cases of the expand beyond the initial project scope to disease, we are seeing deaths help improve the overall quality of life in from other bacterial infections a community, a ripple effect in which one dwindle as the drug fights positive change leads to others. upper respiratory, skin, and For instance, our trachoma program sexually transmitted infections promotes latrine construction in seven as well. African countries to control fly populations Similarly, election that spread the damaging bacterial eye observation can bring results disease. Beyond controlling trachoma, beyond one free and fair vote. h g i A girl stands in the doorway of her e l a family’s latrine in Motto, Ethiopia. R h a Latrines help control trachoma but also k e b e improve overall community health. R The Carter Center observed Jamaica’s elections in 1997 and 2002 to help deter violence and raise confidence in the elec- toral process. As the country’s democracy strengthened, we began closely working with Jamaican officials to promote govern- ment transparency, specifically the right of citizens to request information and documents from their government. Jamaica passed access to information legislation in 2002, giving more power to citizens to hold government accountable and creating a foundation for even greater good. It inspires me to see how many of our projects have gone beyond our initial goals to truly improve the quality of lives of Dr. John Hardman (right), Carter Center president and chief executive officer, and two those we assist. Small ripples can become members of the Center’s election observation team discuss an issue at a polling station in Jamaica in 2002. The Center’s involvement in two Jamaican elections led to its work big waves—spreading peace, health, and to help the country develop legislation giving citizens access to government documents. hope around the world. 2 PEACE what is being said, they are desperate to Project Strengthens Judicial System know as much as possible, and they ask question after question.” The Center awards small grants to its Across Rural, War-Torn Liberia organizational partners. These funds are ourteen years of civil war left Liberia’s Carter Center’s Conflict Resolution vital to their work and empower people in infrastructure, including its justice Program. “But what does this mean for tra- a place with so few resources. system, in shambles. As the country ditional people? Most Liberians live in Thomas Flah Cooper works as a moni- Fslowly rebuilds following four years of peace rural areas and have not heard of these new tor for one of the Center’s partners in River and a new government, the justice system steps. They don’t always trust that the jus- Gee County, one of the most underdevel- is starting essentially from scratch. There tice system has their best interests in oped counties in Liberia. Cooper monitors are few means to communicate or enforce mind.” the courts and prisons, visits outlying vil- new legislation beyond the capital city of The Carter Center aims to n i t s Monrovia. increase public confidence in a func- u A y e A new project by The Carter Center is tional rural judicial sector that r f f e helping the Liberia Ministry of Justice serves local needs; increase people’s J improve rule of law, especially in over- knowledge of their rights and looked rural areas. The Center has been responsibilities through public edu- closely involved with Liberia since 1991, cation and awareness, including when all sides of the country’s civil war women’s rights and basic human n i t rights; and develop awareness of the s u A local judicial mechanisms and con- y e r f f ditions, including statutory, tradi- e J tional, and informal processes. The Center is working with community-based organizations to The magisterial court clerk in the River Gbeh educate rural citizens about the for- district stands outside the court. River Gbeh mal justice system, new laws, and is a district in one of the most remote counties in Liberia. ways to increase access to justice. The groups conduct civic education activities including dramas and town hall meetings; they answer questions and lages, mediates petty disputes, encourages talk at length with village members. people to handle rape cases criminally, and At one such event performed in the draws attention to violations. He has no town of Cavalla, near the Cote d’Ivoire office, but he does commute to towns border, actors performed a series of dramas throughout his county on a cheap motorcy- about a woman’s right to inheritance and cle. Much of the county has no phone serv- anti-rape laws. Most villages have no tele- ice, so Cooper communicates with his vision sets, few books, and only sporadic regional headquarters by sending handwrit- Raymond Chie conducts a town hall ten notes with travelers moving up and meeting for residents of Big Suehn in radio coverage, so seeing people act out a Grand Kru County, sometimes called story is very entertaining. People howled down the dirt highway. “walking county” because it has so few with laughter. After each drama, the actors “I have seen him lead town hall meet- roads. Chie works for the Catholic Justice took questions and discussed with atten- ings, and he is excellent at engaging peo- and Peace Commission, one of the Carter dees what the law said about particular ple,” said Austin. “He asks questions and Center’s partners in Liberia. matters. seeks responses and has a genuine discus- “Women were particularly excited,” sion with people. Despite the hardships of invited the Center to assist in the peace said Jeffrey Austin, Carter Center consult- living in such a remote and underdevel- process. The Carter Center also observed ant in Liberia.

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