Rule of Law in Afghanistan: U.S. Agencies Lack a Strategy and Cannot Fully Determine the Effectiveness of Programs Costing More Than $1 Billion
Abstract
Since 2003, the U.S. government, through the Departments of Defense (DOD), Justice (DOJ), and State (State), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has worked to develop the rule of law in Afghanistan. This effort has focused on are as such as the judicial system, corrections system (detention centers and prisons), informal justice system, legislative reform, legal education, public outreach, and anticorruption efforts. The objectives of this audit were to determine the extent to which (1) the strategies and objectives guiding U.S. government support are current and have consistently defined the scope of rule of law assistance; (2) U.S. agencies can fully identify and account for U.S. government programs and funding; (3) current rule of law programs performance management systems are measuring progress made in achieving program objectives and in contributing to achieving U.S. strategic objectives; and (4) the U.S. government has encountered challenges in achieving its objectives and the extent to which it has addressed these challenges. This report contains four recommendations. SIGAR recommends that the Secretary of State, in coordination with other U.S. agencies managing rule of law programs in Afghanistan, ensure that a new strategy is finalized that includes an agreed-upon scope of activities and a plan to measure performance and performance metrics to evaluate U.S. progress in meeting strategy objectives. SIGAR also recommends that the Secretary of Defense require that components implementing future rule of law efforts track their activities and funding and report this information to the Secretary of State, in recognition of States capacity as lead coordinator of U.S. rule of law development assistance in Afghanistan.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1140118
Entities
People
- John Sopko
Organizations
- Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction