GAO

United States General Accounting Office

Report to Congressional Requesters

June 1999 FOREIGN 

ASSISTANCE

Rule of Law Funding 

Worldwide for Fiscal 

Years 1993-98

GAO/NSIAD-99-158

Page 1 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

National Security and

International Affairs Division

B-282584 Letter

June 30, 1999

Congressional Requesters

In the early 1980s, the United States began helping Latin American 

countries improve their judicial and law enforcement organizations as a 

way to support democratic principles and institutions. Until 1990, the 

United States provided this “rule of law” assistance1

 primarily to countries 

in Latin America and the Caribbean. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, 

the Congress directed that part of the U.S. assistance to Central and 

Eastern Europe target the development of democratic institutions, 

including an independent judiciary.2

 Since then, the United States has 

provided rule of law and related assistance to these and other regions of 

the world.

You expressed concern that comprehensive information was not readily 

available about the various U.S. rule of law assistance programs and 

activities. At your request, we examined U.S. rule of law assistance 

programs and placed particular emphasis on rule of law activities in Latin 

America and the Caribbean. Specifically, we identified (1) the amount of 

U.S. rule of law funding provided worldwide (by region and country) in 

fiscal years 1993-98 and (2) the U.S. departments and agencies involved in 

providing rule of law assistance. As agreed with your offices, we are also 

providing more detailed information about the use of rule of law assistance 

in Latin America and the Caribbean. We are reporting separately on 

coordination efforts among the cognizant agencies in Washington, D.C.,

1

Until the early 1990s, the United States referred to its judicial reform programs in other countries as 

“administration of justice.” Throughout this report, we use the phrase “rule of law” to refer to U.S. 

assistance efforts to support legal, judicial, and law enforcement reform efforts undertaken by foreign 

governments. This term encompasses assistance to help reform legal systems (criminal, civil, 

administrative, and commercial laws and regulations) as well as judicial and law enforcement 

institutions (ministries of justice, courts, and police, including their organizations, procedures, and 

personnel). It includes assistance ranging from long-term reform efforts, with countries receiving 

funding over a period of years, to one-time training courses provided to the police or other law 

enforcement organizations.

2

The Freedom Support Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-511) and the Support for Eastern European Democracy Act 

of 1989 (P.L. 101-179) provided for U.S. assistance to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
B-282584

Page 2 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

and on the specific U.S. rule of law efforts in five Latin American 

countries.3

Data on U.S. rule of law funding was not readily available, and some 

entities could not provide funding data for all the years of interest or had 

other problems in compiling the information we requested. Also, because 

the departments and agencies involved did not have an agreed-upon 

definition of what constitutes rule of law activities, we relied on each 

agency to provide us information for those activities it considered rule of 

law. In addition, we requested obligation data but were told by agency 

officials that what we received was a mix of obligated amounts and actual 

expenditures.4

 Much of U.S. rule of law assistance supported long-term 

programs—sometimes over several years—that were funded by the U.S. 

Agency for International Development (USAID) (over 64 percent). 

Obligation data better reflected the magnitude of the funding involved in 

long-term and other programs because actual expenditures (or requests for 

reimbursements) often are not reported until subsequent years. However, 

other rule of law assistance provided, for example by law enforcement 

agencies, was relatively low-cost, short-term training or exchange 

programs. In this instance, obligations and actual expenditures were 

virtually synonymous. (See the scope and methodology section for a more 

complete discussion of these limitations.) 

Results in Brief Based on the funding data that cognizant departments and agencies made 

available, the United States provided at least $970 million in rule of law 

assistance to countries throughout the world during fiscal years 1993-98. 

The Latin America and the Caribbean region was the largest recipient of 

U.S. rule of law assistance over the period, accounting for $349 million, or 

more than one-third of the total assistance. In recent years, Central 

European countries received an increasingly larger share and, in 1998, 

Central Europe was the largest regional recipient, accounting for about 

one-third of all rule of law assistance. The United States provided at least 

some assistance to 184 countries—ranging from $138 million for Haiti to 

$2,000 for Burkina Faso. While most countries received less than

3

We examined the rule of law programs in Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama.

4

Obligations are commitments to provide federal funding resulting in the immediate or future outlay of 

funds. Actual expenditures are the transfer of federal funds to liquidate an obligation.
B-282584

Page 3 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

$1 million, 15 countries, including 7 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 

accounted for just over half of the total funding.

At least 35 entities from various U.S. departments and agencies have a role 

in U.S. rule of law assistance programs. The Departments of State and 

Justice and USAID are the principal organizations providing rule of law 

training, technical advice, and related assistance. The Department of 

Defense, the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), numerous law enforcement 

agencies and bureaus, and other U.S. departments and agencies also have a 

direct role.

Forty countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean region received 

some rule of law assistance. More than three-fourths of the $349 million in 

assistance was provided to seven countries. Haiti received nearly

$138 million, or about 40 percent of the regional total, largely in connection 

with U.S. and international efforts to restore order and democracy after a 

September 1991 military coup. Six other countries in the region—ranging 

from about $41 million for El Salvador to $12 million for Panama—

accounted for about $127 million, or nearly 37 percent of the regional total. 

Most of the rule of law assistance for Latin America and the Caribbean was 

provided to help the countries reform their criminal justice or law 

enforcement organizations, including training and technical assistance for 

prosecutors, public defenders, police officers, and investigators. A 

substantial amount was also dedicated to improving court operations, 

including modernizing court administration and enhancing public access to 

the judicial system.

Rule of Law Funding 

Worldwide 

During fiscal years 1993-98, the United States funded rule of law programs 

and related activities in countries throughout the world.5

 Over this period, 

rule of law assistance totaled at least $970 million. Figure 1 illustrates the 

worldwide U.S. rule of law funding for fiscal years 1993-98. Over the 

period, the total annual rule of law funding increased from $128 million to 

$218 million. Although funding appears to have declined substantially in 

1996, this may be largely explained by the fact that USAID could not readily 

provide rule of law funding information for fiscal year 1996 due to 

problems with its automated information system.

5

Based on information provided by State, we grouped countries receiving rule of law assistance into 

eight geographical regions.
B-282584

Page 4 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Figure 1: Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Source: Our analysis of U.S. agencies’ rule of law funding data.

On a regional basis, the Latin America and the Caribbean region received 

the largest share, with about 36 percent. Africa, Central Europe, and the 

newly independent states of the former Soviet Union received about 15 

percent each. (See table 1.)

0

50

100

150

200

250

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

Fiscal year

Dollars in millions
B-282584

Page 5 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Table 1: U.S. Worldwide Rule of Law Assistance by Region, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Note: Total does not add due to rounding.

a

We use “multiregional” to denote rule of law assistance provided to several countries in two or more 

regions or when such assistance was not broken out by recipient countries.

Source: Our analysis of U.S. agencies’ rule of law funding data.

From fiscal year 1993 to 1998, rule of law funding shifted primarily from the 

Latin America and the Caribbean region to other regions, mainly Central 

Europe. Funding for Central Europe grew from about $9 million in fiscal 

year 1993 to over $67 million in fiscal year 1998, accounting for 31 percent 

of the worldwide rule of law assistance that year. Over the same period, 

rule of law assistance in Latin America and the Caribbean declined from 

about $57 million (44 percent of the worldwide total) to $42 million (19 

percent). Rule of law assistance to Africa also declined from $38 million 

(30 percent of the worldwide total) in 1993 to $29 million (13 percent) in 

1998. Figure 2 illustrates these trends; appendix I provides more detailed 

data.

Dollars in millions

Region

Countries

receiving rule of

law assistance

Rule of law

funding amount

Percentage of

total funding

Latin American and 

the Caribbean

40 $349.1 36.0

Africa 45 145.8 15.0

Central Europe 15 144.9 14.9

Newly independent 

states

12 142.4 14.7

Near East 17 65.1 6.7

East Asia and the 

Pacific

28 41.0 4.2

South Asia 6 16.9 1.7

Western Europe 21 15.4 1.6

Multiregional 

activitiesa

Not applicable 49.8 5.1

Total 184 $970.5 100.0
B-282584

Page 6 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Figure 2: U.S. Rule of Law Funding, by Region, for Fiscal Years 1993-98

Source: Our analysis of U.S. agencies’ rule of law funding data.

During fiscal years 1993-98, we identified 184 countries that received at 

least some U.S. rule of law funding. However, over half of this assistance 

went to just 15 countries. Haiti received the most, primarily in connection 

with U.S. and international efforts to restore peace and stability to the 

country after a 1991 coup. Most countries (102 of the 184) received less 

than $1 million. Table 2 illustrates the top 15 recipients. (App. II provides 

detailed rule of law funding by region and country for fiscal years 1993-98.)

Dollars in millions



















0

50

100

150

200

250

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998



 Africa

Central Europe

Latin America and Caribbean

Newly independent states

All others
B-282584

Page 7 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Table 2: Largest U.S. Rule of Law Assistance Recipients, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Note: Total does not add due to rounding.

Source: Our analysis of U.S. agencies’ rule of law funding data.

U.S. Departments and 

Agencies Involved in 

Rule of Law Assistance

State’s Under Secretary for Global Affairs has overall responsibility for 

coordinating rule of law programs and activities.6

 At least 35 entities from 

the departments and agencies have a role in providing U.S. rule of law 

assistance programs. (See app. III.) Most U.S. rule of law funding is 

provided through the international affairs appropriations and is transferred 

Dollars in millions

Country Rule of law assistance

Percentage of

worldwide total

Haiti $137.9 14.2

Russia 63.7 6.6

El Salvador 40.7 4.2

Somalia 37.5 3.9

Egypt 33.0 3.4

South Africa 22.5 2.3

Bosnia-Herzegovina 21.6 2.2

Colombia 20.5 2.1

Bolivia 20.3 2.1

Nicaragua 18.8 1.9

Ukraine 17.9 1.8

Guatemala 15.1 1.6

Cambodia 14.1 1.5

Sri Lanka 13.8 1.4

Panama 12.0 1.2

Others (169 countries) 480.9 49.6

Total $970.5 100.0

6

In an effort to address long-standing congressional concerns that rule of law coordination efforts 

among the numerous departments and agencies in Washington, D.C., were ineffective, State appointed a 

rule of law coordinator in February 1999. The coordinator’s principal mandate is to work with all the 

U.S. departments and agencies providing rule of law assistance to develop a framework for future U.S. 

international rule of law assistance efforts. In addition, the coordinator will be the principal U.S. liaison 

to other donors and private sector organizations involved in rule of law activities. The status of the 

coordinator’s efforts is the subject of a separate review.
B-282584

Page 8 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

or reimbursed to the other departments and agencies, primarily by USAID, 

but to a lesser extent by State.

Departments and Agencies 

Providing Rule of Law 

Assistance

USAID and the Department of Justice oversaw the implementation of 70 

percent, or about $683 million, of all U.S. rule of law assistance programs 

and activities worldwide during fiscal years 1993-98. USAID focused on 

improving the capabilities of judges, prosecutors, and public defenders and 

their respective institutions as well as increasing citizen access to justice. 

Most of Justice’s rule of law activities were carried out by its International 

Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), which 

emphasized enhancing the overall police and investigative capabilities of 

law enforcement organizations.

State, the Department of Defense, and USIA accounted for about $258 

million, or about 27 percent, of the U.S. worldwide efforts. State’s activities 

focused on international narcotics and law enforcement and antiterrorist 

assistance. Defense provided rule of law training to foreign military 

servicemembers, but most of its rule of law assistance was provided to 

support its operations in Haiti. USIA focused on increasing the awareness 

and knowledge of rule of law issues through various educational programs, 

such as exchanges between host country judicial and law enforcement 

personnel and their U.S. counterparts. (See fig. 3.)
B-282584

Page 9 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Figure 3: U.S. Departments and Agencies Providing U.S. Rule of Law Assistance 

Worldwide, Fiscal Years 1993-98 (Percentage of total funding)

Source: Our analysis of U.S. agencies’ rule of law funding data.

Source of Rule of Law 

Funding

Funding for rule of law programs and related activities was provided 

primarily through the international affairs appropriations for USAID, State, 

and USIA. These three entities accounted for more than 91 percent of all 

rule of law funding, or $884 million, in fiscal years 1993-98. In addition, 

Defense provided about $58 million (6 percent). Although they provided 

small amounts of funding, almost all rule of law assistance provided by 

Justice, the Treasury, and other departments and agencies was funded 

through interagency transfers and reimbursements from USAID and, to a 

lesser extent, State. 

Rule of Law Assistance 

to Latin America and 

the Caribbean

As previously noted, the Latin America and the Caribbean region was the 

largest recipient of U.S. rule of law assistance in fiscal years 1993-98. As 

with the overall worldwide rule of law assistance, we identified the funding 

and recipients and the departments and agencies involved. In addition, we 

categorized the rule of law assistance provided to the region to help 

describe what the overall purposes of the assistance were.

USAID 48.2%

Others 3%

USIA 6.5%

Defense 9.2%

Justice 22.2%

State 11%
B-282584

Page 10 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Recipients of Rule of Law 

Assistance in the Region

In fiscal years 1993-98, the United States provided $349 million in rule of 

law assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean (about 36 percent of the 

worldwide total). Forty countries in the region received a portion of this 

assistance, although the funding was concentrated among a few countries. 

Seven countries accounted for about 76 percent of the total regional 

funding. Two of the seven—Haiti and El Salvador—accounted for just over 

50 percent of the regional total, with $137.9 million and $40.7 million, 

respectively. (See fig. 4.)

Figure 4: Ten Largest Recipients of U.S. Rule of Law Assistance in Latin America 

and the Caribbean, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Source: Our analysis of U.S. agencies’ rule of law funding data.

Haiti was a special case. The United States provided large amounts of 

assistance during this period in an attempt to restore order and democracy 

after a coup in 1991. Nearly one-third of the assistance for Haiti was a

$42.6 million, one-time commitment from Defense in 1994 for equipment, 

supplies, and other support to assist international police monitors and a 

multinational force. In subsequent years, Haiti continued to be the top 

recipient of rule of law funds in the region, receiving $35.5 million in fiscal 

year 1995, $16 million in 1996, and about $15 million in fiscal years 1997 and 

137.9

40.7

20.5 20.3 18.8 15.1 12.0 8.5 8.1 7.9

59.3

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Haiti

El Salvador

Columbia

Bolivia

Nicaragua

Guatemala

Panama

Ecuador

Peru

Honduras

Other Countries

Dollars in millions
B-282584

Page 11 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

1998. Most of this assistance was provided to develop and support a 

civilian national police force.

Rule of Law Assistance 

Activities in the Region

To help illustrate what rule of law assistance was used for in the Latin 

America and the Caribbean region, we grouped rule of law assistance into 

one of six categories based on descriptions provided by the cognizant 

agencies. Although we placed each program or activity into one primary 

category, many programs, USAID’s in particular, had multiple purposes that 

could be identified with more than one category. Figure 5 illustrates the 

distribution of rule of law assistance by these categories. (App. IV defines 

the categories we used and provides funding levels by country and 

category.)

Figure 5: Categories of U.S. Rule of Law Assistance in Latin America and the 

Caribbean, Fiscal Years 1993-98 (Percentage of total regional funding)

Source: Our analysis of U.S. agencies’ rule of law funding data.

The largest rule of law category was assistance for criminal justice and law 

enforcement. About $199 million—57 percent of the regional total for 

fiscal years 1993-98—was dedicated to these activities. We included 

assistance to police, prosecutors, public defenders, and other host country 

agencies (such as customs) that take on law enforcement functions, as well 

as antinarcotics and antiterrorism assistance, in this category. Almost 

Democracy and human

rights 6.3%

General/other 1.5%

Law reform 0.3%

Civil government and

military reform 13.6%

Criminal justice and

law enforcement

 57%

Judicial and court

operations 21.3%
B-282584

Page 12 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

every country in the region that received rule of law assistance had some 

criminal justice and law enforcement funding. Haiti received the largest 

amount of such assistance—$72.5 million. Other major recipients were El 

Salvador ($25.9 million), Colombia ($19.9 million), Panama ($11.2 million), 

and Bolivia ($9.8 million). Virtually all of the assistance provided through 

Justice and most of the funding provided by USAID and State was in this 

category.

Assistance for judicial and court operations was the second largest 

category, comprising $74.2 million (21 percent of the regional total). 

USAID provided 88 percent of the funding.

Assistance for civil government and military reform was the third largest 

category—$47.6 million (13.6 percent). We included assistance for 

governmental entities other than the courts and criminal justice and law 

enforcement systems in this category. The largest single element was $42.6 

million provided by Defense to Haiti in 1994. In addition, we included most 

of the military service training on topics such as civil-military relations and 

professional skills for maritime and military personnel.

Much less funding was devoted to the other categories—$22 million for 

democracy and human rights, $5.3 million for general and other activities, 

and $1.1 million for law reform. In the category of democracy and human 

rights, we included civic education activities, as well as some efforts that 

focused specifically on human rights, citizen participation, and related 

topics. In the general/other category, we included most of the legal 

education grants provided by USIA, as well as assistance on various topics 

such as intellectual property rights and drug education and rehabilitation.

Scope and 

Methodology

To determine how much U.S. rule of law assistance was provided 

worldwide in fiscal years 1993-98, and to identify the U.S. departments and 

agencies involved, we reviewed program documentation and interviewed 

officials at the Department of State, USAID, the Department of Defense, 

and USIA—the principal sources of funding for U.S. rule of law programs. 

These officials identified other departments and agencies with rule of law 

activities. We asked officials from each of these entities to provide funding 

and descriptive information for its activities over the period.

However, most of these departments and agencies did not have rule of law 

funding information readily available and had to initiate ad hoc efforts to 

compile data addressing our questions. Further complicating this effort 
B-282584

Page 13 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

was the fact that the departments and agencies did not have a commonly 

accepted definition of what constituted rule of law activities.7

 Therefore, 

we relied on each department and agency (and the bureaus and offices 

within those entities) to provide us information on the programs and 

activities it considered rule of law. In some instances, programs with an 

apparent rule of law element were not included. For example, USAID did 

not include all of its assistance for human rights, and State did not include 

all of its antinarcotics assistance.

Additionally, the funding data is a mix of obligated amounts and actual 

expenditures. For agencies (primarily USAID) that provided rule of law 

assistance over several years, obligation data better reflected the 

magnitude of the funding involved because actual expenditures (or 

requests for reimbursement) may not be reported until subsequent years.8

 

However, other rule of law assistance provided, for example by law 

enforcement agencies, was relatively low-cost, short-term training or 

exchange programs. In this instance, obligations and actual expenditures 

were virtually synonymous. Therefore, we used actual expenditures.

Because of the volume of data—almost 4,600 program and activity 

records—and the lack of documentation in some agencies, we did not 

independently verify the accuracy of the data provided. Some agencies 

could not provide data for the entire period—fiscal years 1993-98—or 

lacked funding amounts for some identified rule of law activities.

• USAID’s automated information system could not provide worldwide 

data for fiscal year 1996. The system was upgraded that year, and 1996 

information was not captured in the new system nor was it available in 

USAID’s prior system. At our request, USAID polled each of its missions 

in Latin America and the Caribbean to obtain rule of law funding data, 

including fiscal year 1996; however, because of the magnitude of the 

effort, we did not request that USAID do the same for the other regions 

of the world. To help mitigate this limitation, we used information from 

other agencies indicating USAID rule of law funding for 1996. However, 

7

In commenting on this report, USAID responded that rule of law “embodies the basic principles of 

equal treatment of all people before the law, fairness, and both constitutional and actual guarantees of 

basic human rights; it is founded on a predictable, transparent legal system with fair and effective 

judicial institutions to protect citizens against the arbitrary use of state authority and lawless acts of 

both organizations and individuals.”

8

In those cases when obligations covered more than 1 fiscal year, we spread the amounts evenly over 

the years if the time frame was provided; otherwise, the full amount was reported in the year obligated.
B-282584

Page 14 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

this information likely understates USAID’s assistance levels to regions 

other than Latin America and the Caribbean for the year.

• State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs 

provided us funding information for fiscal years 1997 and part of 1998. 

Essentially, this office transferred rule of law funds to U.S. law 

enforcement and related agencies to assist their foreign counterparts. 

Therefore, for the other years, we relied on the U.S. recipients of this 

funding to report the amount of rule of law funding provided by the 

Bureau.

In addition, for many agencies, the fiscal year 1998 data provided to us was 

compiled before the fiscal year data had been finalized and may be 

incomplete. However, with the exception of not having complete USAID 

funding information for fiscal year 1996, we believe the funding levels for 

the other departments and agencies generally reflect their rule of law 

activities.

We performed our work from June 1998 to May 1999 in accordance with 

generally accepted government auditing standards.

Agency Comments The Departments of Commerce, Defense, Justice, State, and the Treasury; 

USAID; and USIA commented on a draft of this report. Defense and USAID 

provided written comments (see apps. V and VI); the others provided oral 

comments. USAID also provided its definition of rule of law. All of the 

agencies concurred with the report; some provided technical comments 

that have been incorporated, as appropriate.

Unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we plan no further 

distribution of this report until 15 days after its issue date. At that time, we 

will send copies of this report to the Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, the 

Secretary of State; the Honorable William S. Cohen, the Secretary of 

Defense; the Honorable Robert E. Rubin, the Secretary of the Treasury; the 

Honorable William M. Daley, the Secretary of Commerce; the Honorable J. 

Brian Atwood, the Administrator of USAID; the Honorable Penn Kemble, 

the Acting Director of USIA; and interested congressional committees. We 

will make copies available to others upon request.
B-282584

Page 15 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Please contact me at (202) 512-4128 if you or your staff have any questions 

about this report. Key contributors to this report are listed in appendix VII.

Benjamin F. Nelson

Director, International Relations and

 Trade Issues
B-282584

Page 16 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

List of Congressional Requesters

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden

The Honorable John Breaux

The Honorable Paul Coverdell

The Honorable Mike DeWine

The Honorable Bob Graham

The Honorable Charles E. Grassley

The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch

The Honorable Jesse A. Helms

The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy

United States Senate

The Honorable Benjamin A. Gilman

The Honorable Porter J. Goss

The Honorable Bill McCollum

The Honorable E. Clay Shaw

House of Representatives
Page 17 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding
Page 18 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Contents

Letter 1

Appendix I

Worldwide U.S. Rule of 

Law Funding Summary 

by Region, Fiscal Years 

1993-98

22

Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of 

Law Funding by Region 

and Country, Fiscal 

Years 1993-98

23

Appendix III

U.S. Departments and 

Agencies Involved in 

Rule of Law Activities

36

Appendix IV

U.S. Funding for Rule 

of Law Assistance 

Categories for Latin 

America and the 

Caribbean, Fiscal Years 

1993-98

38

Appendix V

Comments From the 

Department of Defense

42
Contents

Page 19 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Appendix VI

Comments From the 

U.S. Agency for 

International 

Development

43

Appendix VII

GAO Contacts and 

Staff 

Acknowledgements

45

Tables Table 1: U.S. Worldwide Rule of Law Assistance by Region, Fiscal

Years 1993-98 5

Table 2: Largest U.S. Rule of Law Assistance Recipients, Fiscal Years

1993-98 7

Table I.1: Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Assistance by Region 22

Table II.1: U.S. Rule of Law Funding by Region and Country, Fisca

Years 1993-98 24

Table IV.1: U.S. Funding for Six Rule of Law Assistance Categories in

Latin American and Caribbean Countries, Fiscal Years 1993-98 40

Figures Figure 1: Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding, Fiscal Years 1993-98 4

Figure 2: U.S. Rule of Law Funding by Region, Fiscal Years 1993-98 6

Figure 3: U.S. Departments and Agencies Providing U.S. Rule of Law 

Assistance Worldwide, Fiscal Years 1993-98 (Percentage of total

funding.) 9

Figure 4: Ten Largest Recipients of U.S. Rule of Law Assistance in

Latin America and the Caribbean, Fiscal Years 1993-98 10

Figure 5: Categories of U.S. Rule of Law Assistance in Latin

America and the Caribbean, Fiscal Years 1993-98 (Percentage of

total regional funding.) 11
Contents

Page 20 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Abbreviations

ICITAP International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance 

Program, U.S. Department of Justice

USAID U.S. Agency for International Development

USIA U.S. Information Agency
Page 21 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding
Page 22 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Appendix I

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding 

Summary by Region, Fiscal Years 1993-98 ApeInxdi

Worldwide U.S. rule of law assistance grew from about $128 million in 

fiscal year 1993 to about $218 million in fiscal year 1998. The growth was 

not uniform across the geographic regions, with Central Europe increasing 

from about $8 million to over $67 million during the period—supplanting 

the Latin America and the Caribbean region as the leading recipient of rule 

of law assistance. Table I.1 shows rule of law assistance by region for fiscal 

years 1993-98.

Table I.1: Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Assistance by Region

a

We used “multiregional” for rule of law assistance provided to several countries in two or more regions 

or when such assistance was not broken out by recipient countries.

b

Totals may not add due to rounding.

Source: Our analysis of U.S. agencies’ rule of law funding data.

Dollars in thousands

Fiscal year

Region 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Totalb

Africa $38,420 $29,700 $17,016 $6,169 $25,175 $29,327 $145,806

Central Europe 8,741 7,432 12,866 12,015 36,454 67,349 144,857

East Asia and the Pacific 2,805 3,490 8,375 8,690 8,657 9,002 41,019

Latin America and the Caribbean 56,715 77,043 68,275 51,296 53,642 42,178 349,149

Near East 395 4,348 30,382 9,027 7,414 13,549 65,115

Newly independent states 16,193 30,341 39,622 17,230 13,388 25,636 142,411

South Asia 63 2,811 3,210 3,379 3,586 3,894 16,943

Western Europe 1,794 1,890 840 3,861 3,674 3,309 15,368

Multiregionala 2,676 2,432 3,219 976 17,216 23,293 49,812

Totalb $127,802 $159,485 $183,806 $112,643 $169,207 $217,538 $970,481
Page 23 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98 ApeInxdi

In fiscal years 1993-98, the United States provided at least some rule of law 

assistance to 184 countries. The assistance ranged from multiyear 

institutional development programs to one-time, short-term training for 

police or other law enforcement personnel. Table II.1 shows the dollar 

value of the rule of law assistance provided to all the countries we 

identified as receiving some assistance. In some cases, the assistance was 

not identified with a specific country or was provided to countries in 

multiple regions—such assistance is identified as “regional” or 

“multiregional,” respectively.
Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 24 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Table II.1: U.S. Rule of Law Funding by Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Region Country

Africa Angola

Benin

Botswana

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cameroon

Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Congo (Brazzaville)

Congo (Kinshasa)

Djibouti

Eritrea

Ethiopia

Gambia

Ghana

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Ivory Coast

Kenya

Liberia

Madagascar

Malawi

Mali

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mozambique

Namibia

Niger

Nigeria

Rwanda

Sao Tome and Principe

Senegal

Seychelles
Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 25 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Fiscal year

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Total

0 0 0 $15,480 $170,892 0 $186,372

0 0 $28,000 2,165 15,416 $67,208 112,789

0 0 0 280 0 28,858 29,138

0 0 0 299 1,686 0 1,985

$410,000 $500,000 1,499,000 41,704 0 0 2,450,704

22,224 0 0 286 86,476 117,390 226,376

0 0 1,479 15,500 20,992 0 37,971

0 0 0 34,338 0 0 96,923

0 0 12,856 406 80,303 83,512 177,077

0 0 966 1,049 0 2,030 4,045

0 0 0 0 3,059 0 3,059

0 0 0 532 27,284 0 27,816

0 0 0 0 62,224 0 62,224

0 0 550,000 218,585 84,971 8,869 862,425

171,083 606,083 446,083 398,227 528,845 2,079,016 4,229,339

217,000 735,000 0 0 0 0 952,000

280,480 8,000 783,734 239,935 313,864 71,854 1,697,867

34,317 9,856 0 0 0 0 44,173

700,000 600,000 623,000 9,844 0 52,814 1,985,658

30,000 0 33,800 1,108 22,451 54,552 141,911

0 40,000 28,000 84,604 162,831 225,646 541,081

0 0 0 782 1,405,872 557 1,407,211

$75,842 0 0 $78,163 $1,047,292 $1,221,265 $2,422,562

885,000 1,560,000 1,379,000 750,000 842,194 750,000 6,166,194

0 0 158,240 99,558 854 36,721 295,373

0 0 0 1,718 1,890 0 3,608

6,055 6,806 0 0 5,368 53,518 71,747

1,200,000 1,775,000 0 54,575 102,033 36,416 3,168,024

11,315 0 425,000 29,686 152,748 12,444 631,193

0 30,667 24,111 266 854 21,103 77,001

19,000 29,000 94,508 49,138 10,816 202,462

36,712 33,880 654,786 1,313,606 2,278,162 104,342 4,421,488

0 0 5,547 0 0 0 5,547

50,460 28,000 87,348 148,204 532,101 97,502 943,615

39,317 0 0 9,618 19,660 1,176 69,771
Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 26 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Sierra Leone

Somalia

South Africa

Sudan

Swaziland

Tanzania

Togo

Uganda

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Regional

Africa total

East Asia and the Pacific Australia

Brunei

Burma

Cambodia

China

Fiji

Guam

Hong Kong

Indonesia

Japan

Korea

Laos

Malaysia

Nothern Mariana Islands

Mongolia

Nepal

New Zealand

Papua New Guinea

Philippines

Samoa

Singapore

Solomon Islands

Taiwan

Thailand

Tonga

Region Country
Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 27 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Fiscal year

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Total

34,825 16,648 0 63,581 19,902 46,000 180,956

25,000,000 12,500,000 0 0 0 0 37,500,000

5,910,000 7,210,000 5,365,672 773,225 856,839 2,362,299 22,478,035

0 0 0 1,718 1,890 0 3,608

0 0 0 3,150 11,300 2,077 16,527

568,000 1,116,000 1,067,000 743,350 108,444 187,178 3,789,972

4,000 0 0 636 18,275 26,344 49,255

248,000 441,000 75,000 54,002 411,880 54,898 1,284,780

250,000 300,000 698,000 31,010 89,739 123,593 1,492,342

0 44,676 25,910 37,175 262,876 76,000 446,637

2,216,000 2,138,000 2,952,000 816,300 15,374,109 21,311,049 44,807,458

$38,419,630 $29,699,616 $17,016,117 $6,169,173 $25,174,713 $29,327,047 $145,806,298

0 0 0 $52,803 $88,780 $969,498 $1,111,081

0 0 0 0 0 112,893 112,893

0 0 35,000 2,000 2,000 7,911 46,911

0 802,404 4,158,710 4,874,671 4,207,742 71,974 14,115,502

38,000 90,000 0 1,263,035 859,621 900,881 3,151,537

0 0 0 0 0 14,048 14,048

0 0 0 0 0 33,485 33,485

0 0 0 5,520 10,757 32,106 48,383

838,000 75,991 2,422,000 50,654 134,601 279,893 3,801,139

4,000 0 0 357,721 206,494 268,936 837,151

126,754 49,918 36,427 161,012 153,537 228,910 756,558

0 $36,000 $20,000 $47,072 $16,581 $52,927 $172,580

$382,988 260,817 33,622 73,567 1,004,105 3,171,827 4,926,926

0 0 0 0 0 7,680 7,680

0 0 0 20,095 116,921 144,988 282,004

1,049,000 2,109,000 524,000 528,799 488,000 47,703 4,746,502

0 0 0 42,000 48,960 53,450 144,410

41,157 0 8,200 76,772 60,968 30,357 217,454

302,503 18,336 572,154 64,079 87,634 179,193 1,223,899

0 0 8,200 8,637 27,140 24,000 67,977

0 7,612 0 0 70,738 22,016 100,366

0 0 17,093 0 9,971 40,180 67,244

0 11,624 12,193 17,100 26,830 78,495 146,242

0 28,000 407,001 420,448 327,394 738,802 1,921,645

22,250 0 8,200 0 0 34,409 64,859
Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 28 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Tuvalu

Vanuatu

Vietnam

Regional

East Asia and the Pacific total

Near East Algeria

Bahrain

Egypt

Israel

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Malta

Morocco

Oman

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Tunisia

United Arab Emirates

Yemen

West Bank/Gaza

Regional

Near East total

South Asia Afghanistan

Bangladesh

India

Maldives

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

South Asia total

Western Europe Austria

Belgium

Canada

Cyprus

Denmark

Finland

Region Country
Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 29 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Fiscal year

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Total

0 0 0 0 0 8,333 8,333

0 0 8,200 9,799 0 16,332 34,331

0 0 35,000 112,359 325,131 633,447 1,105,937

0 0 69,000 502,316 383,082 797,500 1,751,898

$2,804,652 $3,489,702 $8,375,000 $8,690,459 $8,656,987 $9,002,173 $41,018,974

0 0 0 0 $28,485 0 $28,485

$42,281 0 0 $38,643 1,890 $15,658 98,472

20,007 $1,493,352 $23,024,092 5,161,949 1,557,701 1,731,337 32,988,438

6,846 0 1,141,189 923,697 1,494,229 409,106 3,975,067

0 1,996,228 143,304 1,384,857 1,959,131 1,147,318 6,630,838

32,570 0 0 13,839 1,890 986,236 1,034,535

0 2,676 2,978 62,329 339,596 1,036,091 1,443,670

0 0 12,500 50 30,450 0 43,000

18,514 58,554 24,296 53,665 903,324 528,967 1,587,320

0 2,431 0 19,379 2,866 808,951 833,627

0 0 0 1,718 1,890 732,144 735,752

0 0 0 141,000 213,115 1,299,877 1,653,992

0 0 0 1,718 1,890 0 3,608

0 69,200 971,561 948,640 371,205 1,062,205 3,422,811

0 $20,538 0 $18,753 $1,890 $120,000 $161,181

0 0 30,000 6,718 6,890 3,216,585 3,260,193

0 705,000 5,000,000 0 0 142,455 5,847,455

$275,000 0 32,000 250,176 497,362 312,328 1,366,866

$395,218 $4,347,979 $30,381,920 $9,027,131 $7,413,804 $13,549,258 $65,115,310

0 0 0 0 0 $15,152 $15,152

0 $139,566 $11,800 $189,317 $147,525 47,847 536,055

$1,037 1,122 189,335 800,373 887,259 286,302 2,165,428

9,562 30,000 0 18,563 9,861 22,336 90,322

0 39,062 0 84,684 47,760 160,895 332,401

52,847 2,600,758 3,008,714 2,285,714 2,493,842 3,361,931 13,803,807

$63,446 $2,810,508 $3,209,849 $3,378,651 $3,586,247 $3,894,463 $16,943,165

0 0 0 $67,537 $37,995 $12,000 $117,532

0 0 0 28,000 0 102,409 130,409

0 0 0 62,600 31,200 83,539 177,339

$438,669 $89,696 $228,518 785,809 948,533 1,013,712 3,504,937

11,551 23,245 1,356 59,935 34,562 67,827 198,476

0 0 0 34,040 58,744 60,000 152,784
Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 30 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

France

Germany

Greece

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Portugal

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

United Kingdom

Regional

Western Europe total

Central Europe Albania

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

Estonia

Hungary

Latvia

Lithuania

Macedonia

Poland

Romania

Serbia/ Montenegro

Slovakia

Slovenia

Regional

Central Europe total

Latin America and the Caribbean Anguilla

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Region Country
Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 31 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Fiscal year

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Total

0 0 24,377 43,422 154,991 120,448 343,238

42,193 33,375 32,302 328,581 368,007 314,393 1,118,851

892,027 1,066,598 16,373 314,625 70,479 39,745 2,399,847

0 0 0 0 5,000 20,000 25,000

0 0 0 40,000 304,968 6,100 351,068

0 0 0 253,468 640,387 241,956 1,135,811

0 0 0 7,948 0 0 7,948

0 0 0 37,400 38,000 50,070 125,470

1,818 0 0 200 53,416 91,128 146,562

0 0 0 0 22,615 9,000 31,615

16,506 0 7,525 66,766 62,920 23,616 177,333

0 0 0 0 0 17,935 17,935

36,754 0 36,877 39,150 15,000 0 127,781

304,279 676,891 483,564 1,589,050 618,245 838,398 4,510,427

0 0 9,498 37,620 71,134 89,356 207,608

50,000 64,761 138,279 107,011 360,051

$1,793,797 $1,889,805 $840,390 $3,860,912 $3,674,475 $3,308,643 $15,368,022

$278,816 $288,167 $937,726 $655,889 $946,484 $1,502,670 $4,609,752

0 0 57,000 3,269,290 6,949,727 11,334,127 21,610,144

721,464 441,646 1,315,108 285,610 432,718 1,263,064 4,459,610

183,012 183,012 219,012 2,794,858 259,080 192,569 3,831,543

0 73,500 139,160 413,321 136,464 154,253 916,698

556,543 1,297,288 322,154 222,023 209,696 456,540 3,064,247

1,100,211 374,651 204,793 312,310 144,844 826,511 2,963,320

772,449 765,327 202,723 412,863 326,361 781,171 3,260,896

704,618 692,359 1,662,516 404,245 361,826 3,432,783 7,258,348

94,595 229,595 992,763 695,506 316,359 442,766 2,771,583

1,597,468 705,461 4,068,026 859,234 313,302 712,465 8,255,958

241,376 266,376 342,010 1,066,627 714,287 1,066,960 3,697,633

0 0 0 49,927 55,411 63,652 168,990

0 51,094 338,300 153,623 171,232 359,169 1,073,418

0 0 0 81,883 110,576 301,610 494,069

2,490,179 2,063,179 2,065,179 337,679 25,005,522 44,458,660 76,420,401

$8,740,732 $7,431,656 $12,866,471 $12,014,889 $36,453,890 $67,348,971 $144,856,609

0 0 0 0 $4,716 0 $4,716

0 0 0 0 43,833 $29,706 73,539

$416,200 $1,261,726 $724,324 $2,026,922 927,537 175,444 5,532,153
Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 32 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Aruba

Bahamas

Barbados

Belize

Bermuda

Bolivia

Brazil

British Virgin Islands

Cayman Islands

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Cuba

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

El Salvador

Grenada

Guatemala

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Jamaica

Mexico

Netherlands Antilles

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Lucia

St. Vincent and Grenadines

Suriname

Trinidad and Tobago

Turks and Caicos

Uruguay

Venezuela

Region Country
Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 33 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Fiscal year

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Total

0 0 0 0 4,716 0 4,716

2,439 25,000 0 720 44,768 0 72,927

129,728 0 4,822 45,016 29,041 11,390 219,997

32,092 17,000 6,060 33,429 56,401 29,023 174,005

0 0 0 0 4,716 0 4,716

3,546,549 4,730,874 2,762,100 3,028,581 3,743,175 2,478,792 20,290,070

452,028 154,286 154,735 727,743 1,971,389 791,950 4,252,131

0 0 0 0 4,716 0 4,716

0 0 0 0 6,172 0 6,172

644,008 816,287 916,065 321,896 458,120 102,039 3,258,415

11,127,685 4,560,907 99,503 2,284,697 384,453 2,082,495 20,539,740

106,298 107,590 174,386 154,587 180,875 163,281 887,017

0 100 180 132 486 1,263 2,161

0 15,000 6,842 0 12,582 0 34,424

129,238 76,835 124,249 81,898 1,685,156 2,650,243 4,747,619

2,288,406 607,567 1,684,557 1,489,370 820,456 1,566,195 8,456,551

9,176,904 3,029,757 12,506,304 9,207,185 4,198,363 2,589,397 40,707,910

8,000 8,000 8,023 7,008 13,791 9,428 54,250

3,578,054 1,291,404 357,368 1,759,622 5,721,037 2,358,987 15,066,472

2,000 882,622 7,201 502,709 876,512 428,863 2,699,907

7,000,000 49,600,000 35,471,500 16,036,389 14,859,757 14,940,858 137,908,504

450,147 1,165,792 774,229 1,762,694 2,877,553 833,001 7,863,416

1,088,578 650,853 264,000 278,240 11,972 58,950 2,352,593

236,775 1,201,272 810,148 585,674 2,849,475 1,690,991 7,374,337

0 0 0 0 10,816 0 10,816

8,078,000 3,676,494 606,044 1,688,366 1,707,446 3,083,854 18,840,204

2,233,820 156,807 4,429,514 3,075,216 1,204,601 930,439 12,030,397

751,323 667,033 944,891 224,856 584,537 179,343 3,351,983

52,520 1,774,024 945,458 1,871,366 1,341,950 2,156,384 8,141,702

6,283 0 99,070 53,635 14,621 0 173,609

0 15,000 0 7,075 19,506 0 41,581

0 0 0 17,541 4,716 0 22,257

0 28,000 35,609 17,000 40,284 18,837 139,730

140,051 23,478 40,575 115,375 135,549 75,778 530,806

0 0 0 0 4,716 0 4,716

289,790 32,441 759,064 233,339 57,675 38,467 1,410,776

808,162 341,575 807,738 337,079 1,099,236 362,498 3,756,288
Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 34 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Source: Our analysis of U.S. agencies’ rule of law funding data.

Regional

Latin America and the Caribbean total

Newly independent states Armenia

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Georgia

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyz Republic

Moldova

Russia

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Ukraine

Uzbekistan

Regional

Newly independent states total

Multiregional total

Grand total

Region Country
Appendix II

Worldwide U.S. Rule of Law Funding by 

Region and Country, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 35 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Fiscal year

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Total

3,940,025 124,958 2,750,078 3,320,692 5,625,054 2,340,089 18,100,895

$56,715,103 $77,042,682 $68,274,637 $51,296,052 $53,642,476 $42,177,984 $349,148,934

0 $494,000 $300,000 $997,356 $113,888 $622,453 $2,527,697

0 162,000 0 121,133 83,362 277,793 644,288

$40,000 225,000 730,406 129,330 262,065 135,280 1,522,081

527,296 793,636 309,539 292,192 641,688 2,564,350

1,998,000 1,104,000 399,321 338,065 342,536 4,181,922

190,958 2,379,958 1,130,958 402,093 196,292 745,685 5,045,943

269,309 606,309 673,309 571,773 353,907 1,150,866 3,625,471

5,254,311 15,828,311 23,858,827 9,091,998 2,685,884 7,023,812 63,743,144

0 570,000 942,000 122,919 49,687 141,899 1,826,505

0 148,000 114,000 93,416 135,390 408,928 899,734

869,628 4,129,510 3,898,189 2,214,431 2,837,954 3,995,858 17,945,570

0 1,020,000 449,000 281,675 84,408 693,384 2,528,467

9,569,000 2,253,000 5,628,000 2,495,000 5,954,799 9,456,057 35,355,856

$16,193,206 $30,341,384 $39,622,324 $17,229,983 $13,387,893 $25,636,239 $142,411,028

$2,676,000 $2,432,000 $3,219,000 $975,991 $17,216,163 $23,293,045 $49,812,199

$127,801,784 $159,485,332 $183,805,710 $112,643,242 $169,206,648 $217,537,824 $970,480,540
Page 36 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Appendix III

U.S. Departments and Agencies Involved in 

Rule of Law Activities ApIenxdi

In compiling the rule of law assistance data for this report, we identified

7 cabinet-level departments and 28 related agencies, bureaus, and offices 

involved in providing rule of law assistance. Many are law enforcement 

agencies providing training and technical assistance to their counterparts 

overseas. These are listed below.

Department of Commerce 

• International Trade Administration

• National Telecommunications and Information Administration

• Office of General Counsel, Commercial Law Development Program

• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

Department of Defense

• U.S. Air Force

• U.S. Army

• U.S. Marine Corps

• U.S. Navy

Department of Energy

Department of Justice

• Drug Enforcement Administration

• Federal Bureau of Investigation

• Immigration and Naturalization Service

• Criminal Division

• International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program 

• Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and 

Training

Department of State

• Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Office of Antiterrorism Assistance

• Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs 

• Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (formerly Bureau of 

Inter-American Affairs)

Department of the Treasury

• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Appendix III

U.S. Departments and Agencies Involved in 

Rule of Law Activities

Page 37 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

• U.S. Customs Service

• Office of International Affairs

• Office of Investigations

• Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

• Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

• Internal Revenue Service

• U.S. Secret Service

Department of Transportation

• U.S. Coast Guard 

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

U.S. Information Agency (USIA)
Page 38 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Appendix IV

U.S. Funding for Rule of Law Assistance 

Categories for Latin America and the 

Caribbean, Fiscal Years 1993-98 ApVenIxdi

To develop an overview of the types of activities being funded for the Latin 

America and the Caribbean region, we grouped the U.S. rule of law 

assistance program data for the region into six categories based on activity 

descriptions provided by the cognizant departments and agencies. 

Although we placed each program or activity into one primary category, 

many programs, USAID’s in particular, had multiple purposes that could be 

identified with more than one category. The following definition for each 

category we used and the types of activities we included.

Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement: Assistance to help criminal justice 

or law enforcement organizations make reforms or improve their 

capabilities to carry out their responsibilities in a professional and 

competent manner. We included technical assistance and training for 

police, prosecutors, public defenders, and other personnel in law 

enforcement-related agencies (such as Customs) in this category. 

Assistance for police often focused on investigative capabilities and 

management improvements. Technical assistance and training topics 

included detection and identification of firearms, development of criminal 

investigation units, maritime law enforcement, and detection of counterfeit 

currency. We also included antinarcotics and antiterrorism assistance.

Judicial and Court Operations: Assistance to help reform or improve 

operations of judicial and court systems. We included activities that 

focused on modernizing court administration, training in oral advocacy 

skills, training judicial personnel, and establishing procedures for judge 

selection and a career ladder for judges. In addition, we included programs 

intended to improve access to the justice system and establish legal aid 

services and justice centers; to institute alternative dispute resolution, 

mediation, or arbitration procedures in various sectors; and to provide 

exchange opportunities, training, or research related to the judicial or legal 

system in general.

Civil Government and Military Reform: Assistance to help promote reform 

in other than judicial and law enforcement government agencies, improve 

cooperation and understanding between civil and military agencies, or 

develop responsive or responsible government institutions and officials. 

The majority of the activities were training courses provided by the military 

services on topics such as civil-military relations, professional skills for 

maritime and military personnel, and military law, although the largest 

single item was the funding to support multinational forces and police 

monitors in Haiti. We also included training and related programs on 

government ethics and corruption in this category.
Appendix IV

U.S. Funding for Rule of Law Assistance 

Categories for Latin America and the 

Caribbean, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 39 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Democracy and Human Rights: Assistance to promote democracy, 

electoral reforms, or respect for human rights. We included USAID human 

rights activities and many USIA-funded activities that focused on civic 

education, citizen participation, free press, and related topics in this 

category.

General/Other Activities: Assistance that did not fit into other categories or 

was not clearly described. We included legal education grants provided by 

USIA and training or exchange programs on an assortment of topics such 

as intellectual property rights, drug education and rehabilitation, and 

domestic and gender violence. In addition, we included assistance that had 

no description.

Law Reform: Assistance to help develop, document, or revise 

constitutions, laws, codes, regulations, or other guidance that institute and 

strengthen the rule of law. We included activities primarily focused on law 

reform, including judicial or criminal procedures code reforms. However, 

some law reform activities may be included in other categories as a 

component of a larger program—especially USAID programs that had 

multiple goals.

Table IV.1 illustrates the distribution of the rule of law assistance by the 

categories we developed among the countries in Latin America and the 

Caribbean. Well over half of all U.S. rule of law assistance to the region 

was technical assistance and training for criminal justice and law 

enforcement personnel—police, prosecutors, public defenders, and others.
Appendix IV

U.S. Funding for Rule of Law Assistance 

Categories for Latin America and the 

Caribbean, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 40 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Table IV.1: U.S. Funding for Six Rule of Law Assistance Categories in Latin American and Caribbean Countries, Fiscal Years 

1993-98

Dollars in thousands

Country

Criminal justice

and law

enforcement

Judicial and

court

operations

Civil

government

and military

reform

Democracy

and human

rights

General/

other Law reform Totala

Anguilla $5 0 0 0 0 0 $5

Antigua and Barbuda 57 0 $17 0 0 0 74

Argentina 4,857 $191 110 $168 $207 0 5,532

Aruba 5 0 0 0 0 0 5

Bahamas 63 0 10 0 0 0 73

Barbados 194 0 26 0 0 0 220

Belize 137 0 37 0 0 0 174

Bermuda 5 0 0 0 0 0 5

Bolivia 9,785 9,822 579 0 105 0 20,290

Brazil 2,569 647 70 403 563 0 4,252

British Virgin Islands 5 0 0 0 0 0 5

Cayman Islands 6 0 0 0 0 0 6

Chile 2,840 86 92 38 202 0 3,258

Colombia 19,945 0 318 39 238 0 20,540

Costa Rica 236 102 218 7 322 2 887

Cuba 0 0 0 0 2 0 2

Dominica 20 0 15 0 0 0 34

Dominican Republic 1,339 2,809 424 66 109 0 4,748

Ecuador 5,456 2,645 189 105 60 1 8,457

El Salvador 25,945 13,783 615 125 236 4 40,708

Grenada 31 0 23 0 0 0 54

Guatemala 8,356 6,403 177 43 88 0 15,066

Guyana 57 2,571 73 0 0 0 2,700

Haiti 72,541 22,430 42,621 217 100 0 137,909

Honduras 4,964 2,615 208 62 14 0 7,863

Jamaica 191 2,089 14 0 57 1 2,353

Mexico 2,398 3,422 401 332 821 0 7,374

Netherlands Antilles 11 0 0 0 0 0 11

Nicaragua 1,249 2,963 15 13,509 104 1,000 18,840

Panama 11,220 292 11 138 369 0 12,030

Paraguay 1,853 854 161 240 234 9 3,352

Peru 2,406 290 267 4,967 183 28 8,142
Appendix IV

U.S. Funding for Rule of Law Assistance 

Categories for Latin America and the 

Caribbean, Fiscal Years 1993-98

Page 41 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

a

Totals may not add due to rounding.

Source: Our analysis of U.S. agencies’ rule of law funding data.

St. Kitts and Nevis 136 0 38 0 0 0 174

St. Lucia 20 0 22 0 0 0 42

St. Vincent and 

Grenadines

5 0 18 0 0 0 22

Suriname 57 0 73 0 0 11 140

Trinidad and Tobago 398 18 29 51 35 0 531

Turks and Caicos 5 0 0 0 0 0 5

Uruguay 1,133 53 119 30 75 0 1,411

Venezuela 2,937 146 382 5 282 5 3,756

Regional 15,488 0 224 1,443 946 0 18,101

Totala $198,922 $74,230 $47,596 $21,991 $5,349 $1,060 $349,149

Dollars in thousands

Country

Criminal justice

and law

enforcement

Judicial and

court

operations

Civil

government

and military

reform

Democracy

and human

rights

General/

other Law reform Totala
Page 42 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Appendix V

Comments From the Department of Defense ApenVdxi
Page 43 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding

Appendix VI

Comments From the U.S. Agency for 

International Development ApenVxdiI
Appendix VI

Comments From the U.S. Agency for 

International Development

Page 44 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Funding
Page 45 GAO/NSIAD-99-158 Rule of Law Fundgin

Appendix VII

GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgements ApenVxdiI

GAO Contacts Jess Ford, (202) 512-4268

A.H. Huntington, III, (202) 512-4140

Acknowledgements In addition to those named above, Ann L. Baker, Mark B. Dowling, Marcelo 

Fava, Wyley Neal, and Richard Seldin made key contributions to this 

report.

(711360) Lret
Ordering Information

The first copy of each GAO report and testimony is free.

Additional copies are $2 each. Orders should be sent to the 

following address, accompanied by a check or money order made 

out to the Superintendent of Documents, when necessary, VISA and 

MasterCard credit cards are accepted, also.

Orders for 100 or more copies to be mailed to a single address are 

discounted 25 percent.

Orders by mail:

U.S. General Accounting Office

P.O. Box 37050

Washington, DC 20013

or visit:

Room 1100

700 4th St. NW (corner of 4th and G Sts. NW)

U.S. General Accounting Office

Washington, DC

Orders may also be placed by calling (202) 512-6000

or by using fax number (202) 512-6061, or TDD (202) 512-2537.

Each day, GAO issues a list of newly available reports and 

testimony. To receive facsimile copies of the daily list or any list 

from the past 30 days, please call (202) 512-6000 using a touchtone 

phone. A recorded menu will provide information on how to obtain 

these lists.

For information on how to access GAO reports on the INTERNET, 

send an e-mail message with “info” in the body to:

info@www.gao.gov

or visit GAO’s World Wide Web Home Page at: 

http://www.gao.gov
United States

General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548-0001

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

Address Correction Requested

Bulk Rate

Postage & Fees Paid

GAO

Permit No. GI00