By: Innocent Mawire, Programme Officer
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), with support from the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI), recently held a validation workshop in Harare to validate key findings from a recently conducted needs assessment consultancy on the upgrading of the ZHRC Case Management System (CMS). The primary focus of the needs assessment exercise was to inform the development of a more efficient and responsive CMS, which is central to the ZHRC’s mandate of handling complaints, particularly those related to maladministration and violations of human rights.
The workshop brought together officials from ZHRC’s Head Office in Harare and from the provincial offices, alongside RWI staff based in Harare and Alejandro Fuentes, a senior researcher from the Institute’s headquarters in Lund, Sweden, who facilitated the event. Opening the workshop on behalf of Acting Executive Secretary Mr. Erick Mukutiri, Deputy Director Sandra Moyo emphasized the ZHRC’s commitment to improving its complaints handling processes through digital transformation and scaling up the use of technology. She underscored that modernizing internal workflow systems is crucial for achieving greater efficiency, transparency, and accessibility in the delivery of ZHRC’s services to the public.
RWI Country Director for Zimbabwe, Mikael Johansson, also delivered remarks, stressing the indispensable role of digital tools in enabling national human rights institutions such as the ZHRC to meet their mandate effectively. He noted that the workshop provided a valuable platform for the Commission to evaluate its needs in terms of ICT infrastructure and digital systems. The RWI Country Director also highlighted RWI’s ongoing literature acquisition support to the ZHRC, which also include procurement of e-library resources and underlined that these would require an integrated and reliable digital platform for access and use by the ZHRC employees and other stakeholders.
The consultant who undertook the assessment provided a detailed presentation of the report’s findings, beginning with a situational analysis of the existing CMS, focusing on its technological infrastructure—both hardware and software—its operational capabilities, and the extent to which staff are equipped to utilize the system effectively. The report identified several areas in need of improvement, such as software requirements for the system, limited ICT support capacity, and inadequate user training as well as lack of detailed standard operating procedures for the system to guide the ZHRC officials in using the system, including any new employees. Among the key recommendations proposed were the need for:
- procurement of updated and specialized hardware and software to enhance the CMS’ capacity and reliability.
- continuous capacity building and training programmes for ZHRC personnel to improve their digital literacy and system proficiency.
- implementation of a regular maintenance and servicing schedule for the ICT equipment.
- installation of a remote data backup system to safeguard data and ensure continuity in case of system failure or unexpected disruptions.
- an uninterrupted power supply system.
- developing standard operating procedures which are an integral component in institutionalising knowledge about the CMS within the ZHRC.
The workshop participants engaged in robust discussions around the proposed recommendations and provided valuable feedback. Following these deliberations, the report was accepted subject to a few minor adjustments to be incorporated by the consultant prior to its submission to RWI and ZHRC’s senior management for final approval and implementation planning.
This validation workshop represented a major milestone in ZHRC’s strategic efforts to modernize its operations and improve its service delivery in promoting access to justice. The initiative dovetails with Zimbabwe’s developmental objectives as espoused in the National Development Strategy 1 (2021–2025), particularly the objective of leveraging modern ICTs to enhance public sector performance and accountability.
The workshop was supported by RWI with funding from the European Union within the broad framework of the “Support to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission” Action. The support has, over the years, been instrumental in enabling the ZHRC to advance its institutional capacities, promote good governance, and protect human rights more effectively.