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The Disability Rights and Law Schools Project in Africa partner universities met for a 3-day meeting at Pandari Hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe. The meeting which was held from the 1st to the 3rd of August was an opportunity for the network of university partners to discuss progress, challenges, opportunities and impact of the project at their respective universities and develop collective strategies for taking the project forward.

The network made up of the University of Botswana; Chancellor College, Malawi; Dodoma University, Tanzania; Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique; University of Nairobi, Kenya; Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa; University of Zambia and the Midlands State University Zimbabwe started in 2009. With the support of OSISA, OSF’s Higher Education Support Programme (HESP) and the Human Rights Initiative (HRI) the network of partner universities has been working to advance disability rights through introducing disability rights teaching into the law curriculum, establishing disability law clinics to identify and engage in litigation of cases pertaining to the violation of the rights of persons with disabilities; undertaking research and advocacy on disability rights issues and promoting awareness of disability rights among relevant stakeholders through community engagements.

Partner meetings such as the one held in Zimbabwe have apart from strengthening the collaboration among partner universities also been instrumental in building the capacity of law schools in the network to promote disability rights. The meeting in Harare provided partners with skills development training in action research methodologies and academic writing. Partners also acquired a more nuanced understanding of the barriers that persons with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities face when attempting to access the criminal justice system.

The Disability Unit at the Centre for Human Rights coordinates the network. The Centre has developed a curriculum for the teaching of an undergraduate course on disability rights at law schools in the region which can be downloaded here: 

http://www.pulp.up.ac.za/other-publications/changing-the-landscape-core-curriculum-on-disability-rights-for-undergraduate-law-students-in-africa

For more information on the Disability Rights and Law Schools Project and the network contact:

Innocentia Mgijima-Konopi

Project Coordinator: Disability Rights and Law Schools Programme
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 4531
Cell: +27 (0) 63 316 5126
Email: Innocentia.Mgijima@up.ac.za