By Vincent Gunde
The Malawi Human Rights Commission (the Commission) says imparting information on human rights based approach to council officials through a workshop will help them understand the concept and try to apply the concept in their day to day work.
The MHRC (the Commission) with financial support from European Union (EU) Chilungamo 11 project organized a-one –day Capacity-Building workshop for the Dowa District Council’s officers on Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) in the delivery of public service.
The workshop was organized with the aim of strengthening the capacity of government officials in mainstreaming Human Rights Based Approach in the planning, and implementation of public services at the national and district levels.
Presenting the Human Rights Based Approach concept to the District executive committee in Dowa, MHRC’s Deputy Director of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Lucius Pendame, said the workshop provided a platform for engagement, knowledge-sharing, and discussions on best practices of ensuring that human rights principles are effectively integrated into public service frameworks.
Pendame said Human Rights Based Approach is one of the mechanism to ensuring that peoples’ rights are promoted and respected at the officer’s respective workplaces be in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s).
He said the Commission is conducting Human Rights Based Approach workshops in each and every district council in Malawi including Dowa to reach out to all officers with information on human rights principles to ensure that their work is respected.
The Deputy Director said the Commission is expecting participants after attending the workshop, will get the information of Human Rights Based Approach back to their offices and should there be a chance for meetings, they should relay the information to other officers.
“We expect continuation of information to reach out to all those that have not attended the workshop for them to understand, promote and respect human rights principles,” said Pendame.
He said the workshop is aligning to the Vision 2063 saying being a national plan, it cannot be achieved if people who are executing it are not upholding principles of human rights expressing hope that as the country is moving towards that direction, everyone, officers and duty bearers are given responsibility to achieving that ambitious plan through promotion and respect of human rights principles.
In his remarks, Dowa District Council’s Director of Finance Martin M’baya, expressed his gratitude to the MHRC for considering the workshop to come to the district engaging them in capacity building on human rights issues.
M’baya said members of the council know some human rights issues but they may have gaps on the implementation of rights issues saying since they have been trained, the gaps will assist them to have many plans in implementing service delivery programs incorporating human rights issues.
