RWI Regional Africa Programme 2024 -2028

RWI is an independent academic institution established at Lund University in Sweden in 1984. RWI combines multi-disciplinary human rights research with education, support, and outreach to contribute to a wider understanding of, and respect for, human rights and international humanitarian law. The Institute’s work revolves around four thematic areas within human rights: ‘access to justice’, ‘non-discrimination, and inclusion’, ‘human rights and the environment’ as well as ‘business and human rights’. Currently, RWI has offices in Lund, Harare, Jakarta, Nairobi, Phnom Penh, Stockholm, and Yerevan. Since the early 1990s, RWI has cooperated with a wide range of institutions and organisations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, to further human rights around the world. Cooperation is characterised by mutual trust, long-term commitment, and achievement of common objectives. The most recent RWI regional cooperation progamme in Africa has been carried out from 1 April 2017 until 30 April 2024, with its overall objective a demonstrable improvement in access to justice for all and implementation of human rights commitments in Africa. An independent external evaluation carried out of this programme found that it had been a unique and apt action with significant achievements of sustainable nature towards results at outcome level in relation to enhanced access to justice in Africa. Interventions were considered coherent and well-aligned with regional and sub-regional human rights initiatives and standards. The evaluation also found programme delivery generally efficient, with the programme having successfully responded and adjusted to emerging priorities throughout its implementation, which was supported by effective coordination and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) oversight. Significant progress was moreover assessed to have been made in mainstreaming gender, particularly among the programme partners and interventions. The evaluation further established certain key factors that underpinned successful performance of the programme, including: having an extended programme inception phase; the strong collaborations, partnerships and synergies; using credible research for evidence-based engagements; maintaining a flexible and iterative design; and providing for dedicated gender and M&E capacity support. While establishing a need for continued interventions, in a concerted manner, of the kind included under the programme, the evaluation made several recommendations as to how to further improve effectiveness and efficiency in a new programme phase . Informed by the recommendations of the evaluation, the results, lessons learned and experiences of the 2017-2024 programme, the proposed 2024-2027 Programme provides for continued regional engagement in Africa on access to justice but in a more focused, and integrated manner. This proposal also builds on consultations and discussions with key stakeholders, including current partners and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Regarding the capacity of RWI to effectively achieve its objectives, the Embassy can confidently state that the organization possesses sufficient technical expertise, mechanisms, and systems. Moreover, drawing from various evaluations, the internal control review, and previous experiences with Sida, it is evident that RWI is an organization committed to learning, with a management response that has been highly positive.