Public Disclosure Authorized Working Paper Public Disclosure Authorized UNITED NATIONS / WORLD BANK JOINT IRAQ NEEDS ASSESSMENT Government Institutions, Civil Society, The Rule of Law and Media Public Disclosure Authorized TASK MANAGER: OSCAR FERNANDEZ TARANCO, UNDP AGENCIES PARTICIPATING: UNDP, UNCHR, UN/DPI, UNESCO Public Disclosure Authorized October 2003 Joint Iraq Needs Assessment Working Paper – Government Institutions, Civil Society, The Rule of Law & Media 1 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... 3 METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................................... 4 CONSTRAINTS......................................................................................................................... 5 A. LOCAL GOVERNANCE.................................................................................................. 6 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................. 6 Main Findings:..................................................................................................................6 Main Recommendations .................................................................................................... 8 WORKING ASSUMPTIONS........................................................................................................ 9 CURRENT STATUS AND ISSUES ............................................................................................... 9 General.............................................................................................................................. 9 Local Governance Pre-March 2003................................................................................ 10 The Capacity of Local Government................................................................................. 15 “Popular Representation” Pre-March 2003 .................................................................. 16 Local Governance in the Post-War Period ..................................................................... 17 Corruption....................................................................................................................... 24 The Special Case of Northern Iraq.................................................................................. 25 Can One Set Regional Priorities?................................................................................... 26 NEEDS AND PRIORITIES FOR THE SECTOR ............................................................................. 26 Supporting the Interim Governing Council and the Constitutional Committee: ............ 27 Establishing a Professional Civil Service:...................................................................... 28 Support to the Ministry of Public Works:........................................................................ 29 Capacity building in governorates and municipalities:.................................................. 30 Strengthening the capacity of Local (Legislative) Councils: .......................................... 30 Combating Corruption and Strengthening Financial Management: .............................. 31 Budget Summary ............................................................................................................. 34 B. CIVIL SOCIETY ............................................................................................................. 34 CURRENT STATUS AND ISSUES ............................................................................................. 34 General............................................................................................................................ 34 Current Institutional and Policy Framework.................................................................. 36 NEEDS AND PRIORITIES FOR THE SECTOR ............................................................................. 37 NGO Fund for Humanitarian Assistance........................................................................ 37 Support for a Culture of Civil Society............................................................................. 38 Strengthening Organizational, Human and Financial Resource Management .............. 38 Strengthening the Capacity of Civil Society for Transitional Justice and Human Rights39 Capacity Development in Constitutional Processes and Legal Reviews ........................ 39 Strengthening the Accountability of Government Institutions Through CSOs................ 40 Improving Access to Justice ............................................................................................ 40 Budget Summary ............................................................................................................. 40 C. THE RULE OF LAW...................................................................................................... 41 CURRENT STATUS AND ISSUES ............................................................................................. 41 General............................................................................................................................ 41 Joint Iraq Needs Assessment Working Paper – Government Institutions, Civil Society, The Rule of Law & Media 2 The Constitution .............................................................................................................. 42 The Judiciary...................................................................................................................42 The Public Prosecutor..................................................................................................... 43 The Legal Profession....................................................................................................... 44 Legal Education .............................................................................................................. 44 Law Enforcement............................................................................................................. 45 Approaches To Transitional Justice................................................................................ 45 Status of Physical Infrastructure..................................................................................... 46 Current Institutional Framework.................................................................................... 46 Amendments to Applicable law ....................................................................................... 47 NEEDS AND PRIORITIES FOR THE SECTOR ............................................................................. 47 Review and Reform of the Legal Framework.................................................................. 47 Strengthening the Independence of the Judiciary ........................................................... 48 Strengthening Legislative Drafting Capacity.................................................................. 48 Developing The Capacity of Correctional Institutions ................................................... 48 Developing The Capacity of The Judiciary and Prosecutors.......................................... 49 Developing The Capacity of The Judicial Institute ......................................................... 49 Developing The Capacity of Defenders........................................................................... 49 Developing Capacity of the Forensic Institute................................................................ 50 Developing Monitoring Capacity.................................................................................... 50 Strengthening Capacity for Approaches to Transitional Justice .................................... 50 Support for Institutions for Legal Education .................................................................. 51 Budget Summary ............................................................................................................. 51 D. MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS ............................................................................ 52 CURRENT STATUS AND ISSUES ............................................................................................. 52 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 52 The Present Iraqi Media Sector ...................................................................................... 52 Status of the Physical Infrastructure............................................................................... 53 Human Resources............................................................................................................ 53 Current Policy Framework/Current Institutional Framework ....................................... 53 NEEDS AND PRIORITIES FOR THE SECTOR ............................................................................. 54 2004 needs; Policy and institutional changes................................................................. 55 Medium and long term needs and policy and institutional changes ............................... 56 Proposed Budget Summary ............................................................................................. 57 Joint Iraq Needs Assessment Working Paper – Government Institutions, Civil Society, The Rule of Law & Media 3 Introduction i. This needs assessment mission was one of 14 mounted to Iraq by UN Agencies,