ANNUAL REPORTS
Executive summaries and full reports, in downloadable PDF document, are published on the website. Financial statements (audited versions) are also available as downloadable PDF documents.
2010 was a year where the mistakes and shortcomings from the first phase were consciously looked at and addressed. Consequently, it was a year that was outcomes driven. We focused attention on both the small steps that need to be taken now and the overall goals that these small steps will ultimately lead to. It is not surprising then that our team remains serious about making ourselves redundant. We are driven by ensuring that come 2014/2015 we will all be out of a job. As scary as that reality is, it is remarkable that we are all still here, still working toward that without being distracted or worried about what will happen to us as persons when HRDI closes down. In our earlier documents and in the most recent strategic plan, we reflected on the extent to which non-governmental organisations are reinvented to ensure that the staff have jobs. This is certainly not our way and definitely not why we all work with HRDI. Instead we are here to make a difference and to ensure sustainable change.
During 2010, the team lost one member, Tebello Thabane, to academia and was unable to replace him or to recruit a deputy executive director despite a major effort toward that. This did not deter us from working hard toward achieving what we set out to and thinking creatively about strategies that will enable us to achieve our ultimate goal. We have worked efficiently and together.
As this is an important juncture in HRDI's life span and as we have surpassed our expectations and certainly the expectations others had of us, particularly with respect to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR's) appointment of the special mechanism for the protection of the rights of people living with HIV, we find ourselves in the happy position of looking creatively at how we can ensure that these bold steps mean something in the lives of ordinary people.
Our proposals and plans for 2011, read together with our plans and actual outcomes for 2010, bear testament to this driving force. We are determined to ensure that the ACHPR reaches the most vulnerable groups and these vulnerable groups can access the ACHPR. This, among other things, was our motivation in 2003-2004 and is now even stronger as we get closer to that and our other goals.
Many people who run long marathons describe specific sections of the road as being particularly difficult. Although I do not run marathons, when the finish line is in sight I can have the reaction of suddenly getting really tired, recognising that exhaustion and then slowly building up the strength to reach that finish line. I cannot imagine that for us it will be that victorious sprint but instead a slow and steady getting there, probably more like the people in the Comrades marathon that lean on each other and finally cross the line. For HRDI this will in itself be victory enough to say we ran a good race and as we crossed the finish line we were supported by and in turn we supported many others. With that brief introduction, we present a picture of our plans and actual achievements for 2010. Alongside that lie our plans for 2011. Thereafter we analyse in a bit more detail what progress has been made with respect to the five specific outcomes contained in our project proposal. The next section presents a results-based budget analyse. We thereafter present relevant information regarding management and administrative issues. In the concluding section the specific points for decisions are summarised.
Click here to download full text of the Annual Progress report
3 March 2010
Being a completion report, this report begins by going far back to the time and context when the idea to establish HRDI was conceived. It places both the organisation and the project within that context and then proceeds to highlight what was planned, what was achieved and what was learned. What is pronounced at the start of the report is both the notion of the involvement of ordinary people in the evolution of regional human rights norms and standards and the need to build a cadre of lawyers to open up these processes for such ordinary people.
The report then looks more deeply at the foundation upon which the project was based which are the partnerships with organisations and lawyers and their work with organisations to enable all of us to reach the ordinary person at the grassroots level and for that person to then reach the regional system.
One of the main objectives that we set out to achieve was to contribute to the development of centres of excellence at university based law clinics. The next chapter describes what efforts were made in this regard and highlights the work done to train lawyers and enhance the capacity of the partner institutions to serve individual clients and engage in strategic litigation at a domestic, regional and international level. It looks at how issues of rights based approaches to HIV were incorporated and how a programme was designed to ultimately result in the trainees putting their training to use.
A further objective was to contribute to the development of regional human rights jurisprudence. This chapter will demonstrate the follies of setting targets too high but juxtapose that with tangible efforts made and novel approaches used to proactively reach clients and to address community based priorities.
HRDI set out to proactively address key socio-legal and ethical HIV issues when it embarked on this project. We did not anticipate that this would entail addressing what has emerged as exceedingly controversial issues such the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people. Nor did we anticipate that issues of witchcraft would directly impact on our and our partner’s ability to serve our clients. In this chapter, we expand upon our efforts to address these and other controversial but important issues in a rights based approach to HIV.
As the programme unfolded, HRDI decided to work more tangibly to establish a regional network. In the next chapter we describe how that objective emerged, why it was incorporated among the set of objectives, what was done and what was learned.
As part of a process of obtaining external feedback, HRDI commissioned an external evaluation and hosted an international stakeholder workshop which are both presented in the next chapter. Thereafter the chapter on lessons learned begins with a focus on organisation and administration and continues to look at key lessons learned under all of the above mentioned areas. Thereafter an analysis of the budget and actual expenditure is presented in terms of which the overall under spending is explained.
Finally, the report concludes with a new determination based in a realistic appreciation of the context, the challenges, the organisation's ability and suggests that HRDI plans to continue into a second phase with renewed vigour and commitment to its mission and vision but that such continuation is not to be construed as indefinite.
Click here to download the full completion report.
Click here to download the financial statements for the year ending December 2009
At the beginning of 2008, one of the founders, Dan Bengtsson, knew that he would reach the end of his contract with HRDI in December 2008 and decided to return to his home country, Sweden in January 2009. In a sense this is a symbolic move as it marks the end of an important phase and concomitantly the beginning of another.
Having survived through a period of great uncertainty at the beginning (2003) HRDI has now emerged as an organisation at its peak. The transition from founders as leaders and executive directors to new blood marks an important transition. We begin this report by acknowledging the indescribably important role played by Dan and appreciating that in the true spirit and commitment toward the organisation, Dan gave HRDI the opportunity to plan for this transition for at least one year.
With that in mind, HRDI faced substantial challenges at all levels during this, its third year of operation. While it has indeed achieved much of what it set out to within a third of the budget for the year, it remains self critical and continues to focus on how it could improve. This report provides the reader with as much information as is practical for a report such as this to criticise further and to help HRDI grow and develop as it strives to contribute toward the renewal of the African Continent.
The third year of actual operations of HRDI involved growth in several areas of our work.
- The staff compliment of three was enhanced by the employment of a lawyer to coordinate and develop the Legal Services component, and an administrator to deal with the day-to-day needs of a small organisation.
- The training schedule was supplemented by sections on Human Trafficking; Witchcraft, HIV and Human Rights; Climate Change; Common law and Civil law contexts as well as Minority Rights and Indigenous People’s Rights.
- Two new countries joined the programme, namely the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. This now gives us a total of ten countries in which we have influence; five in the Great Lakes Region and five in the SADC region.
- The legal services component has been further developed, and cases and issues have been identified, together with teams to ensure that cases are taken forward to their conclusions.
- We now have a total of 18 students who have been through our course, all back home working for our ten partner organisations, throughout the two regions.
- Three of the students trained at HRDI have decided to further their formal education and embark on Master’s studies in the field of human rights. These qualifications will enable them to teach at their institutions.
- Two Zimbabwean students who moved away from the original partnership with their academic institution, and started an organisation of their own from which to carry on the work, Justice Aids Trust (JAT) is on the verge of being the first partner to embark on the process of having their systems and books audited by an external firm of auditors.
HRDI takes pride in its ability to be self-critical, and to use this information to improve our performance and efficiency in the future. It is true that we faced many challenges during 2008, which are dealt with comprehensively in the relevant chapters of this report.
The major challenges that we faced are somewhat less predictable than the successes, and involved the loss of three students who left the programme as they were unwilling to abide by the exacting standards imposed on them at HRDI. Challenges also involved the inability or unwillingness of some partners to sufficiently support the students who they have sent for the training, or to manage the funding that is given to them by HRDI in a responsible and ethical manner, or indeed to make sufficient effort to raise funds to make their own projects sustainable when the funding from HRDI ceases.
A further challenge was the difficulty experienced in integrating the students within their own organisations, or in the regional groupings which would assist and support them in their work. Fortunately, the enlarged HRDI team supports the vision and mission of HRDI, in its quest to grow the skills base in human rights in our region, and is committed to overcoming all these challenges through a strategic approach and good planning and communication.
We have again received a financial report which is squeaky clean and we are proud to have kept within budgets, which has pleased our funders. There was overspending on some secondary areas within the budget, but the main items were well within the restrictions we imposed on ourselves. HRDI’s budget for 2009 and the first half of 2010 will be met with its current funding.
The questions that are addressed in this report are essentially: What did we do well? What could we improve upon? Have we remained true to our values? Have we been consistent? Where have we failed? What can we learn from those failures?
Very importantly, the question that emerged at the beginning of 2008: Where do we go to from here? What is HRDI’s next step? This question was answered by each member of the HRDI team, board and the wider partnership that together constitute the HRDI family. As a result, 2008 laid the foundation for the new phase of HRDI’s operations. We talked of the consolidation phase beginning in 2009, but once we started the discussion we began the process in 2008 already. The report will outline what we did in 2008 to lay that foundation and some of the ideas we have going forward.
We invite the reader to join us in this important reflective process of looking deeply and looking back to enable us to find the way forward.
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Click here to download the 2008 financial statements (audited version)
This is a frank account of what we have achieved and what we have not yet achieved.
HRDI is in its second year of operations. This project began as an idea in 2003 and only had the opportunity to manifest in a tangible way from January 2006. We had ambitious plans and an optimistic view that we could indeed achieve what we set out to.
Our goal was to work in 10 countries by the end of 2007, train 20 students from University-Based Law Clinics, take six cases to international and/or regional tribunals and to ensure that our work and the work of our partner law clinics reaches the most vulnerable groups in society through an appropriate community outreach programme.
The report will show that while we have come close to achieving some of the goals, we have fallen short in respect of others. We explain the reasons and suggest plans to remedy the situation.
We begin with a progress report where we look specifically at what we have done. The most important part of our work has been the training programme. We describe the goals, methods and approach, topics covered and structure of the programme the range of guest teachers, the participants, and other unique aspects such as the voluntary work, the development of a regional network and our focus on each person as a whole, not only as a lawyer. To highlight a few points, we included as a strong focal point in our training a challenge to elitism and money-mindedness. This permeated the process from recruitment stage to the discussions and processes in class. The topics were comprehensive and ranged from a contextual analysis to basic concepts of international law, how the various tribunals work and then a range of HIV/AIDS related topics. It culminated with the students selecting and working on two issues: HIV/AIDS and the Right to Education and HIV/AIDS in the Work Place.
Experts from the various fields and tribunals taught classes without charging for their time.
Each week students and the HRDI team spent half a day at Tateni, a community based organisation in the low income township of Mamelodi doing manual work and challenging both their and other preconceived ideas about lawyers.
Students from 2006 returned to South Africa for six weeks and joined the 2007 group. Now there were students from eight different countries working together, living together and studying together. They debated, got to know each other and at this stage loose network has been established among them.
We had one big challenge during this time when a returning student exaggerated reports of what he had done. This issue sapped the whole team of its energy for a period during which time an appropriate response was being developed. Eventually after the director of the clinic was consulted it was jointly decided to remove the student from the programme and replace him with another student in 2008. While the experience was draining, the outcome was elevating as it highlighted the importance of integrity, honesty and respect for the fact that we hold donor funds in trust and have an obligation to act with utmost good faith.
Moving to the legal services dimension, the report describes the proactive approach adopted. After consultation with community based organisations, views expressed by experts and a look at our own strengths and limitations, we chose two issues that we will then work on and proactively look for cases on. This process resulted in us choosing the following issues over the last two years: In 2006 we chose: 1) HIV and Prisoners’ right to a clean and healthy environment; 2) HIV and the property rights of widows and orphans; and 3) Discrimination of the life insurance industry on the basis of HIV status. In 2007 we chose: 1) HIV and the right to access education; and 2) HIV in the workplace. While we view this approach as novel we are mindful of the fact that we have not yet taken a case. We also note that our students on the other hand are handling several cases within these categories.
To highlight two cases from two different countries: One of our partner clinics represents a little child aged five whose grandmother sold her mother’s house because the mother was HIV positive and the grandmother assumed the mother would die soon. The case is currently in court.
In the second case, a male had been charged with “fraudulent pretence to marry” and held in custody for three months without his case having been to court. He was eventually released on bail and sought legal assistance from the LAC. During the period in prison he had been raped several times by fellow inmates and contracted HIV/AIDS. The clinic has taken his case.
We moved on from this to look at how we ensure that our services and that of our partner law clinics reach the most vulnerable in society. We describe how we have helped each clinic develop strong links with community based organisations. In most countries the students go out to organisations and provide legal advice to indigent and vulnerable groups, but also engage in manual work like gardening.
This section is followed by a look at progress made in each of the countries we work in. We describe our partner, the integration process, their training work, their legal services and outreach work and their partners. We have worked in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in the Great Lakes Region and Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia in the Southern African Region. We intend working in the DRC, Burundi, Zambia and Malawi in 2008 and describe the steps taken in that direction.
The report then looks at the extent to which we have complied with the conditions of our agreement, we look at management and administration issues, the budget and finally we reach the analysis and proposal section.
Here we look first at our failures at some length. We considered the situation with the student whom we had to remove as the greatest failure. We hoped that values and focus on integrity would permeate but when this happened it was difficult for all of us. While we have taken constructive steps and drawn positive lessons from the experience it does not completely balance yet.
The establishment of a regional network, albeit informal at the moment, is one of our greatest successes. To observe how the networks form and how much people have in common and when many minds address an issue frankly and with integrity so that it can be resolved, is one of the pleasures of our work.
We also encountered problems in our work which we go on to describe in the report. One of the problems was that one clinic was not ready for participation in this and in another clinic one student obtained employment elsewhere. Neither of these were insurmountable problems, we simply moved that country to 2008 and decided to recruit the second student from the other country in 2008 as well.
During the implementation of the 2007 plan, we deviated a bit from the actual plan in that for example we included a week long visit to an established South African law clinic for the students from each partner law clinics. While this was a deviation and not planned for, it was important and provided valuable lessons for the students regarding the effective management and operation of a law clinic. This did not detract but in fact bolstered the plan, so we conclude that although it was a deviation in 2007, it is now planned for in 2008.
We mention our evaluation which is underway and consequently omit making any quantitative or qualitative assessment of the programme at this stage. However, we do make nine proposals to change the programme for 2008. By and large these changes are strategic and, we believe, help to ensure the efficiency of the project.
It is difficult to capture the year with fifteen students from eight countries, the work they have done and the work we have done in this summary or indeed in this report. We have tried to present a frank and balanced perspective to provide the reader with insight into the year that has passed.
We invite the reader to share this journey with us and share too thoughts, reflections and ideas on how we can improve our work.
Click here to download full text of the 2007 report
Click here to download the 2007 financial statements (audited version)
The report begins with a brief background to enable any reader to contextualise the contents. Thereafter it moves into a discussion of developments within the sector. Rather than touching cursorily on many developments, the HRDI team have decided to look more closely at a few issues that were considered either pertinent or neglected. The section is divided into five parts which focus on issues at a global level, in Africa, within the SADC and Great Lakes sub regions and finally within the field of HIV/AIDS more broadly.
At a global level, we have chosen to highlight four issues and look more closely at two. We note the appointment of the new Secretary General of the United Nations and South Africa’s appointment as chair of the Security Council, and look more closely at climate change and HIV/AIDS and the case of Novartis against the government of India.
Moving from the global to Africa, we look first at the judicial landscape. Thereafter, we look at the economic and political impact of China’s role in Africa from a human rights perspective.
Within the SADC region the continued hegemony of South Africa and South African companies continues and the SADC Tribunal. Within the Great Lakes region we look at the impact of the continued conflict and mobility of people within this region, the EAC Tribunal and relatively newly established Great Lakes Initiative on AIDS.
Finally we look at issues raised by members of the UNAIDS reference group on HIV and Human Rights at their recent meeting in February and issues that emerge out the latest UNAIDS December 2006 report.
The next section covers an overview of progress made in the project. The reference point is the proposal and annexures to the initial proposal submitted to Sida. These documents contained the targets that HRDI aimed at. In the section dealing with progress made, important comparisons between planned outcomes and those actually achieved are listed. It provides the basis for the analysis which follows later in the report.
Thereafter the report focuses on the important aspect of compliance with specific conditions of support. Here, we have chosen to address and highlight procurement and corruption issues.
The next section deals with organisation and administration. The bulk of this section looks at management, institutional, board and fundraising issues, but it also covers HRDI’s relationship with its partners, both in project implementation and generally.
The financial management and budget explanation follows. Here in narrative format, the link between the spending and the activities is made. HRDI’s approach to financial management and its understanding of prudent policies is explained in a pragmatic manner.
Finally, in the pen-ultimate section a brief overview and summary is followed by analysis, internal reflections and constructive self criticism culminating in proposals for change. The report has many annexures that are meant to add texture, flavour and to support the assertions made. The concluding section provides acknowledgements and last words expressing renewed commitment to the mission.
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download the financial statements (audited version)
