RWI Zimbabwe Human Rights Capacity Development Prog 2019-2021

The following are the results achieved and outlined in annex 6 of the "Zimbabwe Human Rights Capacity Development Programme 2019- 2024 Final Report 12 March 2019 - 31 March 2024" Output 1: Enhanced knowledge and skills among targeted academic institutions for the design, delivery, and administration of high-quality human rights education, with a focus on women's rights and gender equality. A total of 22 educators (16 male and 11 female) improved their skills and knowledge regarding human rights teaching methodologies and the creation of a supportive and high-quality teaching and learning environment. This was achieved through two-day workshops on teaching methodologies and Winter School planning held in Harare in 2019, 2020, and 2023. These educators, representing each of the five academic partner institutions, were appointed as academic coordinators for the Winter School on Human Rights each year. Five representatives, comprising three males and two females, from the academic partner institutions in Zimbabwe engaged in an exchange of experiences, thereby enhancing their skills and knowledge in clinical legal education (CLE), which is characterized by its interactive teaching methodology. A group of 22 representatives (10 male and 12 female) from the academic partner institutions, the Supreme Court, the Judicial Service Commission, the Law Society of Zimbabwe, the International Commission of Jurists, and the Council for Legal Education collaborated to share experiences and identify necessary actions for further developing their CLE initiatives with support from RWI and other entities. Contributions to the Zimbabwean Law Clinicians Manual were made by clinicians from the five academic partner institutions, guided by a regional expert in clinical legal education. Financial support for law clinics' outreach initiatives, comprising 12 small-scale grants, significantly improved the delivery of human rights education to students via experiential learning, while also facilitating access to justice for marginalized groups, including women. Each academic partner institution executed outreach activities, which included, among others, a Street Law Workshop, radio broadcasts, community engagement efforts, and a help desk located at the Magistrates Court. Five thematic short courses on human rights were developed by the five academic partner institutions with guidance from an expert at RWI. These short courses were introduced in 2022 to equip students with a more profound understanding of human rights protections for individuals in vulnerable situations, such as children and women, thereby complementing the skills gained through regular university courses. Five law clinicians (four males and one female) from the academic partner institutions enhanced their expertise in designing, delivering, and managing clinical legal education programs following a study visit to law clinics at the University of Witwatersrand, University of Johannesburg, and University of Pretoria in South Africa in 2022. The GZU Law Clinic has established a permanent Help Desk at the Masvingo Magistrates Court to provide assistance to low income individuals in completing maintenance forms, protection orders, domestic violence cases, and various other court-related documents. In 2023, a total of 729 low income individuals received support through mobile help desks located in Gutu, Bikita, Zaka, and Chivi, resulting in the granting of over 500 maintenance and peace orders. A Street Law Manual was produced and published in 2023, aimed at educating students and clinicians on the essential principles of street law, promoting it as a teaching methodology, and fostering a sense of social justice among law students. Support was provided for a law clinician from Midlands State University (MSU) to attend and present at the 32nd session of the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (UN CCPCJ) in May 2023, which took place in Vienna, Austria, at the Vienna International Centre. The clinician showcased the initiatives undertaken by the Faculty of Law Legal Aid Clinic at MSU aimed at enhancing access to justice within Zimbabwe's criminal justice system. Output 2: Enhanced opportunities for Zimbabweans to pursue studies in human rights at academic institutions. A total of 29 students (11 male and 18 female) from underprivileged backgrounds, including members of the LGBTQ community, received full scholarships to enroll in the Master's Programme in Human Rights, Peace, and Development at Africa University in Mutare during 2020 and 2021. Furthermore, 134 students (68 male and 66 female) from five academic partner institutions and Lund University were granted the opportunity to engage in lectures, study visits, and a debate competition during the two-week Winter School on Human Rights and the Summer School on Human Rights, which were conducted in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Support was extended to TIZs Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Moot Court Competition, which saw the participation of 108 individuals, including students, adjudicators, and organizers (56 male and 52 female) over the years 2020, 2021, and 2022. This initiative offered students a platform to engage in discussions regarding the legal and policy challenges associated with corruption and human rights. In addition, 32 law students (17 male and 15 female) from academic partner institutions participated in the Zimbabwe National International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition, while 6 students (2 male and 4 female) took part in the Regional IHL Moot Court Competition held in Arusha. Furthermore, 82 students from Midlands State University, Africa University, and Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University were given the opportunity to enroll in online short courses focusing on environmental rights, womens rights, and childrens rights. These short human rights courses, developed collaboratively by the academic partner institutions in 2021 Output 3: Increased volume of human rights materials in Zimbabwe, including on human rights of women and gender equality, and in terms of web-based solutions and literature at libraries A total of 10 librarians, comprising 6 females and 4 males, successfully completed training on the management of human libraries. This training equipped them with fundamental knowledge of human rights and the skills necessary to manage both printed and electronic human rights literature within these libraries. Libraries at academic partner institutions received 2,912 human rights publications, which included 1,966 printed works and 946 electronic publications, focusing on women's rights and gender equality. The documentation center at the Harare office of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) was supplied with 183 human rights publications, including materials on women's rights and gender equality, along with bookshelves. The Prison Staff Training College of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) received 107 human rights publications, which also addressed women's rights and gender equality. The Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) was provided with 43 human rights publications, focusing on women's rights and gender equality. A total of 200 copies of the MSU Law Review Special Issue were published, further contributing to the growing collection of human rights materials in Zimbabwe. This special issue, produced in collaboration with RWI, features five peer-reviewed research papers from the 2023 Annual Research Symposium on Business and Human Rights in Zimbabwe. Provide first-year university students with a foundational understanding of human rights. Output 4: Improved knowledge on human rights research methodologies, as well as increased opportunities to exchange information, experiences, and best practices and engage in (joint) research, for Zimbabwean researchers, including in the area of human rights of women and gender equality Two human rights anthologies, "Selected Aspects of the 2013 Zimbabwe Constitution and the Declaration of Rights" (second edition) https://rwi.lu.se/pyramid-publications/selected-aspects-of-the-2013-zimbabwean- constitution-and-the-declaration-of-right/ and the "Judiciary and the Constitution" https://rwi.lu.se/publications/the-judiciary-and-the-zimbabwean-constitution/ were published and distributed to academic partners, civil society organisations, government departments, independent commissions, the parliament of Zimbabwe and the judiciary. The anthologies were also made available online in Open Access format on the websites of ZimLii and RWI. 154 research grants (83 male and 71 female) were awarded and 60 research papers and policy briefs were produced and published electronically via ZimLii. The papers addressed seven thematic areas namely; 1. inclusion and equality in Zimbabwe, 2. devolution and promotion of human rights, 3. human rights implications of social, political, economic and legal responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, 4. realising sustainable development and human rights in Zimbabwe, 5. Covid-19, gender and human rights, 6. 10 years of the declaration of rights in the Zimbabwe Constitution, and 7. business and human rights. A total of 22 doctoral candidates, comprising 12 males and 10 females, from various academic partners enhanced their abilities to plan, design, and execute human rights research through the research academy tailored for doctoral candidates. Additionally, 47 human rights practitioners, including 23 males and 24 females, engaged in government, civil society organizations, and independent commissions, improved their competencies in planning, designing, and developing human rights research. Furthermore, 13 academic researchers, consisting of 10 males and 3 females, who attended the Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI) Conference, broadened their understanding of technology and human rights while also expanding their regional and international networks. Output 5: Increased knowledge and skills among participants on key human rights issues, including on gender equality and vulnerable groups and how to apply standards in their respective fields of operation. A total of 122 participants, comprising 56 males and 66 females, engaged in cross-sectoral professional training programs (PTPs) aimed at enhancing their understanding and skills related to human rights issues, including gender equality and the rights of vulnerable groups. During the program period, 85 action plans were developed and implemented, consisting of 57 individual plans and 28 joint initiatives. These action plans addressed a range of human rights concerns, including women's rights, the rights of persons with disabilities, devolution, and environmental rights. The quality of these action plans was deemed satisfactory, as they were practical, focused, and often replicable, serving as a means to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during the PTPs. Additionally, nine alumni meetings for PTP participants were held, attended by 127 individuals, including 66 males and 61 females. Output 6: Increased interaction on human rights issues between representatives of main stakeholders A total of 122 participants, comprising 56 males and 66 females, engaged in cross-sectoral professional training programs that enhanced their discussions on human rights issues. This initiative has fostered opportunities for further engagement in both informal and formal contexts. Additionally, representatives from diverse stakeholders collaborated on 28 joint action plans developed during the Program's duration, which were executed by government agencies in partnership with civil society organizations (CSOs), as well as by academic institutions and independent commissions alongside CSOs. Support was provided for three outreach initiatives conducted by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), which significantly improved ZHRC's engagement with local communities and heightened awareness of its role and responsibilities. The outreach activities focused on the following themes: ZHRCs Covid-19 Response Project (2020), Enhancing Protection of Human Rights Through Ward-Based Community Outreaches in Marginalised Areas of Zimbabwe (2021), and the ZHRCs Commemoration of Human Rights Day (2022). Furthermore, assistance was extended to two outreach activities executed by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC). One initiative was titled Interrogating the Impact of Whistleblowing as an Anti-Corruption Practice Tool in Enhancing Human Rights in Zimbabwe, while the other focused on the Integration of Anti-Corruption (including Human Rights) Concepts in the Primary & Secondary School Formal Curriculum. This research project included the development of a data collection instrument utilized by ZACC, which was applied in the provinces of Mashonaland West and Bulawayo Metropolitan. The outreach project aimed at integrating anti-corruption and human rights education in schools was piloted in Matabeleland South and Mashonaland Central Provinces. During the Programme period, six multi-stakeholder roundtables were conducted, engaging 195 participants from various key stakeholders. These roundtables addressed several critical themes: human rights in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (in 2020 and 2021), the rights of persons with disabilities (in 2021 and 2022), the relationship between corruption and human rights (in 2021), and business and human rights (in 2022). The organization of these roundtables was primarily in partnership with the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), except for the session on the correlation between corruption and human rights, which was coordinated in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ). These gatherings served as a vital platform for the commissions to engage with key stakeholders. Additionally, a regional round table addressing Violence Against Migrants in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region took place in 2022, uniting 11 National Human Rights Institutions from Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This roundtable offered a unique opportunity for participants, many of whom had not previously met. The outcome was the Harare Declaration, which outlines the necessary next steps for a coordinated regional response to the increasing violence against migrants, and was endorsed by the Chairpersons and senior representatives from the SADC region present at the meeting. Furthermore, a Study Visit to the Kenya Prison Service in 2022 involved 11 representatives from the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS), comprising 7 males and 4 females. This visit allowed participants to share information, experiences, and best practices with the Kenya Prison Service (KPS) regarding the promotion of human rights and the implementation of international prison standards. The establishment of the Zimbabwean University-Based Law Clinics Association (ZULCA) marks a significant development in the access to justice sector, aimed at enhancing collaboration among university-based law clinics. This initiative seeks to address shared priorities, particularly the promotion of clinical legal education for law students to advance access to justice. Between 2019 and 2023, seven Annual Research Symposia were conducted, evolving into a recognized forum for meaningful engagement among key stakeholders. These symposia provided a platform for the exchange of information and best practices in human rights, attracting researchers from various disciplines and institutions, as well as representatives from civil society organizations, independent commissions, and government bodies.

The Programme's overall objective is to contribute to enhanced enjoyment of constitutional rights in Zimbabwe. That all Zimbabweans equally have a greater enjoyment and protection of human rights through capable institutions which have the means to apply international human rights standards, as reflected in the Zimbabwean Constitution, in their law-, decision- and policy-making as well as practices thus represents the Programmes overall vision of success.