AHSI Partners

 

Southern Africa Human Rights Trust

 

The Southern Africa Human Rights Trust (SAHRIT) was established in October 1996 and registered in May 1997 under a Deed of Trust. SAHRIT’s focus is to promote human rights in southern Africa. In this regard, SAHRIT focuses on mainstreaming human rights within public institutions in its quest to fulfil the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004) and the Vienna Declaration of Human Rights (1993), which call upon states to introduce human rights education in all their institutions.

SAHRIT implements national and regional programmes for the promotion and protection of human rights, democracy and good governance and seeks to facilitate the development of a society in southern Africa that respects human rights, democracy and good governance. This will be achieved by:

• Mainstreaming human rights, democracy and good governance in public institutions
• Advocacy and training
• Fostering a culture that promotes and protects human rights through community based initiatives.

In order to fulfil the above, SAHRIT is guided by the following objectives to:

• Network at national, regional and international levels on human rights, democracy and good governance issues
• Advocate for ratification of or accession to relevant human rights instruments
• Carry out advocacy and information dissemination on human rights, democracy and good governance
• Incorporate human rights into the education systems
• Train law enforcement and public officials in human rights
• Promote community based care of children, especially those in difficult circumstances
• Develop and maintain a human rights resource centre.

SAHRIT conducts human rights research to determine the extent of problems to be addressed by its various programmes. The findings are used to develop strategic plans for programme implementation. SAHRIT also carries out any other research, which is relevant for the fulfilment of its objectives.

In order to successfully mainstream human rights, democracy and good governance in public institutions, it is necessary that SAHRIT sensitises policy makers to ensure acceptability and ownership of programmes. Seminars, workshops and structured courses are used as strategies for promoting and protecting human rights.

SAHRIT houses a resource centre for use by researchers, academics and members of the public to access information on human rights, democracy and good governance issues.

Current programmes include the following:

• Dissemination of the Human Rights Enforcement and Implementation Mechanisms manual in the southern African region
• Incorporation of human rights into the education systems
• Child rights programme incorporating advocacy, training and community based child rights protection
• Human rights and gender training for the police and production of human rights training materials
• Training in human rights and state party reporting procedures and processes
• Incorporation of ethical norms of good governance in public institutions of southern Africa
• Short courses on human rights, covering topics such as land and property rights, gender, child rights, the media and economic, social and cultural rights
• Documentation and resource centre.