For example, in the Dominican Republic, support was provided to strengthen NGO advocacy for more open selection of Supreme Court justices to assure their competence and independence. The rights of assembly, free association, and free expression often are the rights first attacked by non-democratic regimes. A current example is assistance in Indonesia to support a broad range of NGOs and other citizen groups building popular support for democratic reforms. The ultimate goal of many civil society actors is to prompt the development of democratic and publicly accountable government institutions. Monitoring levels of government openness and accountability often provides useful measures of the degree to which a government violates citizens rights.
Corruption is a barrier to good government.
Substantial expenditures in Russia have focused on teaching judicial ethics, working on financial disclosure, and reforming government procurement methods. The freedom to take part in one s government, either directly or through elected representatives, is a basic political right. It is also the means by which a person can verify that the government passes laws to protect and further rights and, in turn, implements those laws. Programming to support a culture of political participation is essential to assuring the legitimacy of the political process. Seventy-four percent of the eligible population voted in the last election, compared with 55 percent five years earlier.