serious concerns regarding the protection of human rights and lack of an independent judiciary in the first instance. 4.5 Programme partnerships Partnerships with other organizations when organizing a trial-monitoring programme are a strategy to build local monitoring capacity, as well as to raise the profile and effectiveness of trial-monitoring by creating a coalition of groups engaged in activities and advocacy. From an operational point of view, partnerships are also a mechanism to share organizational responsibilities for programme management. In the OSCE, project programmes have compensated for a lack of staffing by partnering with other organizations to fulfil basic programme functions such as drafting training materials and manuals, providing training, and writing reports. When forming partnerships, programmes should formalize the relationship by entering into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set out mutual obligations and programme aims and outputs. MoUs serve as a reference for operations and set out timelines for activities and responsibilities. When choosing a partner for a programme, it is important to come to agreement on the programme’s purpose, methodology, and time frame. The act of discussing and negotiating an MoU is an important part of this process. The Moldova programme: using partnerships to support trial-monitoring operations In organizing its project-based trial-monitoring programme in 2006, the OSCE Mission to Moldova joined forces with two primary implementing partners, both of which made significant contributions to the organization of the programme. First, the programme partnered with ABA-CEELI, an international NGO that has engaged in legal and criminal law reform in Moldova for several years. As a partner in the programme, ABA-CEELI contributed with both expertise and resources, including preparing the programme’s monitoring guidelines and providing office space for the OSCE project co-ordinator. It is also anticipated that ABACEELI’s staff will assist in the process of drafting trial-monitoring reports and recommendations in the future. The Moldova programme also partnered with the Institute for Penal Reform (IPR), a leading Moldovan NGO in the field of criminal law and criminal law reform. With the assistance of IPR’s director, a criminal law expert, IPR helped with the drafting of the programme’s legal manual, as well as organized and led the competitive process by which national monitors were hired. The director of IPR also served as an expert trainer on fair-trial standards during the initial trial-monitoring training sessions. Overall, the sharing of programme responsibilities not only widened the participation of civil society in monitoring, but allowed for a sharing of managerial responsibilities subject to ultimate OSCE responsibility for the programme, thereby greatly reducing the need for OSCE staff. 54 Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners