USAID's Response: Democracy & Governance

USAID improves the lives of Bangladeshis by strengthening selected democratic institutions and making them more responsive to citizen needs. USAID and its partners help local government, parliament/parliamentary secretariat, political parties, and civil society organizations to:

• build an active constituency for strong elected local government;
• create accountability and transparency in the public sector by enhancing civil society and organizational participation;
• increase political parties' responsiveness to citizen's input; and
• reduce the high prevalence of domestic violence in Bangladesh and other related human rights violations

Strengthening Local Government

Building on more than a decade’s worth of USAID local government strengthening programs in Bangladesh, the Strengthening Democratic Local Governance (SDLG) in Bangladesh Project combines research and policy advocacy, capacity development for local government associations, and training and technical assistance for local government units at Union Parishad, Upazila Parishad and Municipal levels.  SDLG focuses on creating tools and practices that enable local governments to become more democratic, gender sensitive, effective, and responsive institutions of governance. It supports policy reforms to promote a gradual transfer of basic service delivery functions from central government authorities to elected local governments that are responsive to local priorities. The project works to:

·         Expand the roles and authorities of local governments by stimulating evidence-based policy dialogue at the national level, testing and disseminating innovative practices and partnerships with local governments, and demonstrating the benefits to policymakers;

·         Strengthen and expand the capacity of local government associations by working with the existing union and municipal local government associations to articulate emerging policy dialogue issues and advocate for legal and policy reform on behalf of their constituencies. Programs also support the formation of a unified association of Upazilas;

·         Improve and expand the service delivery and resource mobilization of local government units: The program will work to expand existing capacities in Union Parishads (UPs) and municipalities. The program will also help the newly forming Upazila-level governments to define and test service delivery and resource mobilization alternatives. At the same time the program supports elected women officials in clarifying their roles and responsibilities and strengthening their capacities; and

·         Ensure accountability and transparency of local governments in finances and decision making by increasing the participation of citizens, including women and youth, through citizen participation forums, newly-legislated UP Ward Committees, Standing Committees of Upazilas and other local participatory strategies.

Promoting Transparency and Accountability

A key area of intervention for the U. S. Government is reducing corruption by promoting greater transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.  USAID’s approach has emphasized combating corruption by increasing the watchdog capabilities of government oversight institutions as well as civil society organizations and the media.

Since 2007, USAID and its partners have begun work to help:

• increase Parliament’s capacity to analyze, monitor and influence national policy and budgetary priorities and strengthen its oversight capacity,
• increase the effectiveness of internal procedures of selected public institutions dealing with public finance monitoring and auditing,
• build new, and strengthen existing, civil society coalitions, networks and public-private partnerships to increase awareness of corruption practices,
• increase opportunities for citizen participation in, and oversight of, the national budget and government decision-making processes,
• increase media capacity to report on transparency and corruption issues and advocate for legal reforms, and
• improve the dissemination of information by selected public institutions at both the national and local levels to increase citizen access to improved government information.

The primary objective of USAID’s anti-corruption program is to bring together government agencies, civil society organizations (CSOs), NGOs and media outlets on the same platform to promote improved governance of public resources and work together toward a fairer, more just, and better governed society.

Building Parliamentary Accountability

USAID supports efforts to strengthen the capacity of Bangladesh’s Parliament and its Members to better fulfill their legislative, representational, and oversight responsibilities.  USAID works with legislative committees, units of the parliamentary secretariat, and Members of Parliament directly to improve their ability to provide the leadership required to address issues of importance to Bangladesh’s citizens.  As part of this effort, USAID also enhances the role of civil society in political governance as advocates to, watchdogs of, and partners with Parliament. 

Increasing Political Party Development

Throughout Bangladesh’s recent political history, the country’s long-established political parties have invested great authority in their leaders but struggled over how best to encourage participation and incorporate input from their large and diverse memberships.  Political parties now recognize a need to increase their meaningful interactions with voters between elections and to develop inclusive strategic visions for the future.  In an effort to support broad-based political development and inclusion, USAID continues to support Bangladesh’s political parties to develop solution-oriented policies responsive to citizens’ needs before and after elections.  Engagement with political parties complements USAID’s ongoing work with the Parliament, the Bangladesh Election Commission, civil society, and local governments.  USAID is working to increase opportunities for participation in and leadership by women and youth in political parties, to develop the capacity of parties to conduct and utilize research in their decision-making, and to respond to the needs of political parties for stronger internal communication, organizational best practices, and compliance with electoral law. 

Community Based Policing

USAID supports a comprehensive program that features integrated and mutually reinforcing activities that target police, communities, and policy makers to:  (i) increase collaboration and positive relations between police and communities through police-driven community policing activities and joint community-police activities for increased public security; and (ii) enhance citizen effectiveness and accountability in community policing through training and on-going financial, and technical support. These goals will be further supported through district, divisional, and national-level dialogues with community policing implementers and policy makers.

Protecting Human Rights

USAID/Bangladesh seeks to reduce the high prevalence of domestic violence in Bangladesh and other related human rights violations (e.g. sexual harassment, child marriage, and other root causes of domestic abuse). To achieve this goal, human rights program will engage in an array of activities that will encourage policy reform and advocacy, enhance public awareness, and increase public dialogue between the government and civil society on issues of domestic violence and other associated human rights abuses.

1. Advocacy: Enhance advocacy efforts of civil society organizations and coalitions to support the adoption and enforcement of legislation and national policies that protect women, children, and other vulnerable groups from domestic violence and associated human rights abuses.

2. Capacity Building: Strengthen the capacity of key actors, such as police, judges, and civil society organizations to investigate and monitor domestic violence and other related human rights violations, and protect survivors of domestic abuse.

3. Access to Justice: Expand access to justice for abused women and other vulnerable groups through informal and formal mechanisms, including alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

4. Survivor Services: Increase support for services for survivors of domestic violence and other human rights abuses, including, but not limited to, physical and mental health education, and vocational training.

5. Mass awareness and educational campaign: Expand public awareness and educational campaigns to increase understanding of human rights, with particular emphasis on the impact of domestic violence.