LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – With the help of the Logar Provincial Reconstruction Team, government officials opened a a new law and justice library in Pol-e Alam, the capital of the Logar province, Aug. 14.
More than one hundred employees of the Provincial Court will use the new offices, meeting rooms and computer working stations with Internet access.
“This is a great asset for all the people in Logar, who are interested in law and justice. Not only for judges, prosecutors and officials, but also for students and the wider public,” said Logar province Gov. Atiqullah Ludin, during the opening ceremony.
The Provincial Department of Justice Gulab Muhammad also applauded the change.
“Until recently, the court shared one building with our department and with the public prosecutor. We had been requesting for quite some time a new working space. The new offices will not only serve the court, but the library will also be open to the employees of other bureaus, for example to the Department of Information and Culture,” said, Muhammad.
The new library offers better conditions for judges’ meetings and daily work, but also for their education. Logar officials plan to provide training, especially in the areas of corruption and human rights. Judges said they also hope the better conditions will help to get more qualified experts from the country to the province.
The project is a part of the Czech army-run PRT’s mission to support to the governance system in Logar, which is one of three main pillars of their activity.
“We consider a working government and justice system as a key condition toward a successful transition process in Afghanistan. A functional state also contributes to achieving economical development.Even such a small project as a new library can therefore impact the whole province,” said Petr Svacina, head of the civilian Logar PRT.
The Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team has been working in the Logar province since March 2008. It is comprised of 12 civilian experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and 293 troops from the Czech army. The activities of the PRT range from security, agriculture development, water construction projects and infrastructure construction to support education, health care and the independent media. The Czech team completed 157 projects in Logar so far, including several quick impact projects.