Strengthening Human Rights and Good Governance Across SAFOD Affiliates
A three-year project to build the skills of affiliate DPOs in good governance, advocacy, and monitoring the rights of persons with disabilities.
Overview
On 16 June 2016, SAFOD Director General Mr Mussa Chiwaula and FFO Secretary General Ms Lilly Ann Elvestad signed an agreement in Oslo, Norway. The agreement set out a human rights project to strengthen SAFOD affiliates' capacity in good governance and the promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities.
The project formed part of FFO's Theory of Change. This aimed to support organisational development and human rights training that empowered partner organisations. Through partners like SAFOD, FFO sought to change attitudes towards persons with disabilities in society, in governments, and in other spheres. The goal was better rights and living conditions for persons with disabilities.
Background
FFO believed that the lives of women and men with disabilities could improve when they knew their rights and had a vision for change. They needed to be empowered to organise, mobilise, and act together at local, national, regional, and international levels.
To do this, they needed solid knowledge of their legal rights and clear evidence of their real situation. They also needed effective ways to communicate and put their case to decision-makers and other key stakeholders. This pressure would help make policies and practices disability-inclusive. It would also drive targeted action to reduce discrimination and exclusion.
One key area of the three-year agreement was building affiliate skills in monitoring the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This included producing periodic UNCRPD shadow reports. FFO and SAFOD agreed that active DPO participation was an important way to monitor, promote, and follow up the work of the CRPD Committee. DPOs could take part at many stages, such as the State Party report, reports from national monitoring frameworks, and parallel reports by national DPO coalitions. SAFOD's role was to build DPO capacity so they could be visible and active at every stage.
What the project does
The project combined training, advocacy, and hands-on support for monitoring and reporting. Click each area to learn more.
Affiliate federations took part in leadership and good governance training. This helped them run as strong, accountable organisations able to lead disability advocacy in their countries.
SAFOD ran targeted CRPD advocacy and communication training for its affiliates. The training built the skills DPOs needed to make their case and engage decision-makers with confidence.
The project included training of trainers within affiliates. This kept skills inside each organisation, so they could pass on knowledge and keep the work going beyond the project.
SAFOD carried out advocacy with SADC and the African Development Bank on targeted disability issues. Affiliates also did national advocacy with their own governments on the same issues.
The project supported affiliate participation in the annual SADC CSO Forum. This gave disability a stronger voice in regional civil society spaces.
A regional UNCRPD monitoring and reporting training was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 16 and 17 October 2017. It was facilitated by SAFOD's then Director of Programmes, George Mwika Kayange, and officially opened by Director General Mr Mussa Chiwaula.
The training gave affiliates skills in parallel reporting and general monitoring of UNCRPD implementation. Eight affiliate federations took part. Each affiliate agreed to prepare a national plan of action for monitoring and shadow reporting after the event.
After the Johannesburg event, SAFOD engaged Mr Shuaib Chalklen, a prominent South African disability rights activist and policy expert. He served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Disability for the Commission for Social Development from 2009 to 2014.
Mr Chalklen facilitated a series of UNCRPD shadow reporting workshops for OPDs in Namibia, Mozambique, and Malawi. In these countries, national monitoring mechanisms were either established or strengthened. The Namibia workshop was held in Windhoek and the Malawi workshop in Lilongwe.
Spotlight: UNCRPD monitoring training, Johannesburg
A central part of this project was the regional UNCRPD monitoring and reporting training. SAFOD held the training in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 16 and 17 October 2017, with funding from FFO. SAFOD's then Director of Programmes, George Mwika Kayange, facilitated the event. Director General Mr Mussa Chiwaula officially opened it.
The training aimed to give affiliates the skills they needed for parallel reporting and general monitoring of UNCRPD implementation. Eight of SAFOD's affiliate federations took part. The sessions used presentations, group work, and plenary discussions, so participants could share experiences from their own countries.
Each affiliate gave a short presentation on the state of the UNCRPD in their country. The facilitator then led sessions on the reporting mechanism, the CRPD Committee, the reporting cycle, and the difference between State Party reports and parallel reports. Participants also looked at Article 33 and the role of national monitoring mechanisms.
In group work, the affiliates drafted model plans of action for monitoring and reporting. They agreed to take these plans home and submit their own national versions to SAFOD. They also agreed to first verify whether a national monitoring mechanism existed in their country, then either help set one up or work to strengthen it.
SAFOD UNCRPD Monitoring and Reporting Training Report 2017
The full report covers the workshop aim, methodology, country presentations, sessions, group work, resolutions, and evaluation.
Download report (PDF)National monitoring mechanism workshops
The Johannesburg training led to a series of national workshops. SAFOD engaged Mr Shuaib Chalklen to facilitate them. Mr Chalklen is a prominent South African disability rights activist and policy expert. He served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Disability for the Commission for Social Development from 2009 to 2014.
Mr Chalklen led UNCRPD monitoring and shadow reporting workshops for OPDs in Namibia, Malawi, and Mozambique. In each country, the national monitoring mechanism was either established or strengthened. The workshops brought together affiliate DPOs, government representatives, human rights bodies, and other stakeholders.
In Mozambique, the workshop helped local OPDs understand their role in monitoring the Convention. It set out how they could take part at each stage of the reporting process.
In Namibia, the workshop was held in Windhoek. It focused on the terms of reference for the national monitoring mechanism and the roles of rights holders and duty bearers. Participants agreed on steps to strengthen monitoring and to keep regular consultation between the different role players.
In Malawi, the workshop was held in Lilongwe. It worked through the terms of reference for the national mechanism, the roles of each player, and a plan of action for monitoring and reporting. Across all three countries, the aim was the same: to leave behind a working national mechanism that DPOs could take part in.
Key results
Looking ahead
The project gave SAFOD affiliates the skills and tools to monitor and report on the UNCRPD in their countries. It also built stronger, better-governed organisations able to lead disability advocacy.
SAFOD continues to work with affiliates to support shadow reporting and to engage national monitoring mechanisms. The aim is for DPOs to stay visible and active at every stage of the reporting process, and to hold governments to account on disability rights.
