Legal Affairs Committee Meets MHRC The Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) held a meeting with the Parliamentary legal affairs Committee on 22 January, 2015. The Meeting was aimed at giving an overview of the work of the Malawi Human Rights Commission, the challenges and the plan the commission has. The Chairperson of the Legal affairs Committee Hon. Lewis Chakhwantha briefed the MHRC delegation of Commissioners and Secretariat that it is at the heart of the legal affairs committee to have regular interface with the Malawi Human Rights. Mrs. Grace Malera the Executive Secretary of Malawi Human Rights Commission provided a presentation which of an overview of the Malawi Human Rights Commission .In her presentation she focused on the establishment, mandate, structure, duties and functions, successes and Challenges of the Malawi Human Rights Commission. Malera cited the establishment of the Human Rights Committee in Parliament as one of the successes of the Malawi Human Rights Commission. She said she believes that the Human Rights Committee in parliament will help to mainstream human rights in all the operations of the parliament. Under funding among was cited as the key challenge that the commission is faced with. “It is like a mother who is a kitchen and has little money and she has to decide on whether she buy salt, cooking oil, firewood/Charcoal, or floor”-Malera Said She said this is the situation she finds herself in when she receives little or no funding that month. She has to choose on whether to pay electricity, water, etc. from the money she has received. Malera corrected the belief that the Malawi Human Rights Commission receives a lot of money from donors hence there is no need to increase its funding allocation. She said the funding from donors only sponsors projects and areas that donors are interested in. However donors do not sponsor the general operations of the office. She further said that it is the duty of the state to provide adequate resources to National Human Rights Institutions like MHRC according to the Parish Principle 5. She finished her presentation with issues of inadequate office space and equipment; low security; and Interference and threats against Human Rights defenders as other challenges that the commission faces in its operations. The Members of the Committee present asked questions on several issues including how they can lobby for an increase in funding for MHRC; How they can make the commission to be a have quasi-judicial powers ;and at the same time what the committee can do to ensure that the commission maintains its status “A” this March. The Chairperson of the Legal affairs Committee Hon. Lewis Chakhwantha closed the meeting with a vote of thanks and appealed to the commission to keep this open relationship going. From this meeting a committee was established that comprises members from the MHRC and the legal affairs committee.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 03:24:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015