The Human Rights Training and Capacity Development Department provides training and capacity building programmes to governments and civil society with the aim of building SAHRIT’s vision of a society in southern Africa that respects human rights, democracy and good governance. In 2006 the department was involved in a number of regional and domestic programmes, and was pleased to see an increased interest by states and civil society across the region in human rights, and especially in state party reporting.

A rise in the number of human rights and development professionals trained by SAHRIT in the region, both through the short courses and workshops under other projects, is a cause of enthusiasm within SAHRIT as it is these individuals who will work towards the realisation of human rights. Feedback from participants has shown that training received from SAHRIT has been instrumental in capacity building in organisations and has initiated the drafting of state and civil society human rights reports. 

SAHRIT continued working at the regional level with police services because the police are often involved in serious violations of human rights, and this is often caused by a lack of capacity of police officers within the services to apply human rights norms to their work.

A new regional project was introduced in 2006, entitled ‘Increasing Demand for Accountability and Respect for Human Rights through Utilisation of Enforcement Mechanisms’, which targets both state and civil society actors.

SAHRIT also implemented a local project with magistrates and prosecutors in Zimbabwe on international and regional standards on the administration of justice, which was successful in raising awareness among Zimbabwean magistrates and prosecutors of human rights principles applicable to their work.

The Human Rights Training and Capacity Development Department is implementing the following programmes:
1. State Party Reporting
2. Short Courses
3. Police Programme
4. Strengthening the Rule of Law, Human Rights Protection, Accountability and Impartiality in the Justice Delivery System in Zimbabwe through Capacity Development for Magistrates and Public Prosecutors
5. Increasing Demand for Accountability and respect for Human Rights through Utilization of Enforcement Mechanisms

State Party Reporting
The proper functioning of the state party reporting procedure is imperative in ensuring the implementation by states parties of their human rights obligations under international and regional human rights treaties. States and civil society organisations in the region have generally failed to use the state party reporting procedure. State parties have either failed to submit reports at all or have submitted them late. The reports submitted have generally been incomplete and fail to give a full picture of the constraints facing the enjoyment of human rights in the region. Regional and national civil society organisations have failed to produce and submit shadow reports even when states have submitted reports.

The state party reporting programme’s objective is therefore to improve the quality of state party reporting in southern Africa, in a sustainable manner, and to enhance the capacity of reporting officers in the production of comprehensive, objective and timely reports. It is also intended to improve monitoring of the implementation of international human rights treaties in the context of state obligations. The programme also aims to increase the capacity of civil society within the region to file shadow reports. The programme deals with the lack of political will to file reports, the lack of technical and organisational capacity (of states and civil society) and to a limited extent the lack of financial resources suffered by state parties in the region.

SAHRIT assisted Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi, Swaziland and Zimbabwe in preparing specific state party reports or kick-starting an effective state party reporting process. Shadow reporting assistance was also given to Malawi, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.