AID grant no. 438-0002-G-00-3441-00 with The Asia Foundation in support of its proposal, entitled `Strengthening representative government and rule of law in Mongolia, a proposal from The Asia Foundation to the United States Agency for International Development for the period, April 1, 1993 to September 30, 1994", dated March 25, 1993 and revised June 9, 1993

This grant will finance activities in three areas: representative government; legal reform and education; and popular participation. TAF will support the institutional development of the new parliament, the State Great Hural. Emphasis will be on legislative responsiveness, effective support services, and public accountability. TAF will conduct consultancies to help parliament to develop an effective secretariat and to increase legislators" understanding of policy and of their role in the democratic process, as well as a study tour on parliamentary procedures and ethics, a workshop on budget and appropriations procedures, and fellowships for selected Secretariat staff. A variety of legal reform and education activities will be undertaken. To help develop an independent judiciary, TAF will work to educate both the judiciary and the general public. TAF will conduct seminars for judges on substantive law, distribute a manual on women"s rights for the Women Lawyers" Association (WLA), support a study tour on constitutional review. For the general public, TAF may facilitate the broadcast of western TV programs on the law and, possibly, support a civic education program planned by the WLA. TAF will also develop a comprehensive program of legal education through academic programs at the Law Institute and through in-service training of practitioners in government institutions, particularly the Ministry of Justice (MOJ); these efforts will include TA in curriculum reform at the Law Institute and fellowships for MOJ and Supreme Court personnel. In addition, TAF will work to establish an independent bar association; to this end, TAF will provide a consultant on bar association development, followed by a study tour of U.S. bar associations. Under the popular participation component, TAF will continue to support emerging indigenous NGOs (such as WLA). Activities will include a study tour of women"s entrepreneurship in Asia for the Association of Mongolian Business Women, seminars on democratization and market economics for the Central Asian Development Foundation, and a study tour of women"s NGOs in Asia for the Ulaanbaatar City Women"s Council. On a broader level, TAF plans to assess the legal, political, and financial barriers to NGO development and participation in Mongolian development. TAF is also conducting democratization activities in the areas of local government and international relations, which are funded by other donors.