Weekly Report for June 4 - 9, 2011: Iraq Access to Justice Program

The program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), aims to address the needs of women, widows, orphans, detainees, minorities, the impoverished, and internally displaced persons and returnees. Component 1 of the program focuses on improving knowledge of legal remedies. This component has submitted the Iraqi Clinical Legal Education Assessment, a report that supports national curriculum reform and the introduction of practical training opportunities. Additionally, Component 1 has continued to develop non-competitive grants with several partners and drafted a government engagement tool to map support for strategic communication initiatives. Component 2 of the program aims to improve legal education and services. This component has finalized and submitted a report on Clinical Legal Education in Iraq, which is part of the program's support to the Deans' Council. The report is the third building block for Access to Justice engagement with curriculum reform, and it establishes a framework for both Access to Justice and the Government of Iraq (GOI) investment into law school curriculum reform and the development of law school clinics. Component 3 of the program focuses on advocacy and improved government services. This component has continued efforts to map the nature of Access to Justice issues affecting women, meeting with various government ministries to develop a plan for next week. The Iraqi Bar Association has also requested assistance with developing an advocacy plan to support revisions to the Law of Lawyers, which dates back more than three decades and restricts the evolution of the legal profession to meet the needs of vulnerable groups today. The Grants Team has completed training on the Grants Application Process in the Basrah Region and screened non-competitive grants for several organizations. Two non-competitive grants have been submitted to the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) for approval. The team has also started drafting a Financial Procedures Manual for grantees to use and revised forms for non-competitive grant applications and the NGO requirements checklist. The program has also made progress in training, with the start of work on a Training Needs Assessment to inform a training plan for the Iraqi Bar Association. In addition, the program has transitioned Component and PSU workplans to MS Project and worked with Operations to develop an operational budget projection. The Linguist is working on circulation drafts for the Arabic version of the Iraqi Clinical Legal Education Assessment and final Arabic versions of Deans' Council conference materials. The Administration/Operations component has been processing market research analysis for the Regional Office in Basrah, evaluating offers for the provision of office supplies, and processing employment documentation for the Basra Regional Director Position. The IT component has drafted an Office IT Policy and installed a Windows update server to reduce internet bandwidth usage. The Finance component has updated the Operating Budget and completed the Monthly Financial Report for May 2011.