Between August 31 and September 05, 2009, APAP conducted a needs-assessment survey at the town of Jinka, in the SNNPRS. The survey was done to find out how aware the officials of the justice sector and the members of the zonal and woreda Councils were about human rights, the law of the land and good governance, with a view to identifying the institutional problems, if any, that have adversely affected their performances.

The assessment was done by employing various methods, taking into consideration the differences in the backgrounds of the informants. To mention but a few, the methods used included one-on-one interviews, focused-group discussions, observations and document analyses.

APAP is now making use of the findings of the needs-assessment survey in the implementation of the project titled Enhancing Access to Justice in the South Omo Zone, which is funded by Christian Aid Ethiopia. The project, of course, is aimed at enhancing the human, institutional and technical capacities of the law-enforcing agencies and the administration of the zone.