URDT established a Human Rights Programme in 2000, when staff observed that human rights issues in the villages were impacting the ability of individuals and communities to develop socially and economically. The Human Rights Programme has become a key element in URDT's "integrated development" approach.
People commonly think of human rights violations as those perpetrated by governmental organizations against journalists or political activists. These are "political" human rights. However, in the rural development context, human rights violations are mainly committed against women and children by members of the victim's family or community. The human rights violated are social and economic rights, such as the rights to security of person, education, employment, health and civic participation. These rights are clearly protected pursuant to key international human rights instruments.
The human rights violations that URDT commonly encounters include domestic violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, neglect or abandonment of wives and children, violation of widows' and orphans' rights, denied access to education, violation of land rights and lack of recourse for justice.
The following stories are typical of the clients who come to URDT every day
A girl orphan who was lured into sex by a male caretaker who assumed that as a young girl she would be free from AIDS. She was until he infected her. With URDT's intervention, the man was arrested. The girl received counseling and ongoing free anti-retroviral drugs
An old woman whose absentee husband, living elsewhere with a second wife, sold off her land to raise money. URDT worked with the woman's extended family, including the husband, to buy back her homestead.
A young teenage girl was hired as a live-in maid by two local teachers, who physically abused her. She had no money to leave and the teachers refused to pay her the wages she was owed. URDT worked to see that the girl was paid and helped her to return home to her parents.
A young boy, whose mother had died of AIDS, found that his father refused to take him in because of worries that his new wife would object. With his mother dead and his grandparents unable to care for a young child, the boy had no place to go. URDT negotiated a solution with the boy's father and stepmother, resulting in their joint decision to welcome the child into their home.
Human Rights Office
The URDT Human Rights programme was created to educate villagers about human rights concepts and principles, provide direct services to victims of violations and train community leaders to handle human rights cases in their own communities.
How URDT Promotes Awareness of Human Rights
Walk-In Advisory Center - An open-air hut on the URDT campus houses the human rights advisory desk. Each day, people line up outside the hut to receive advice and conflict resolution services. Many of these people have walked for hours or even days to reach URDT. The Center has received as many as 70 clients per day and it resolved 678 cases in 2004.
Community Outreach – URDT staff visit villages to educate people about human rights and to provide advice, advocacy and conflict management services. URDT provided information and services to 11,000 villagers in 2004.
Training Local Leaders – URDT staff trains local leaders to handle human rights abuses in their communities. This has increased access to social justice in the local communities. URDT trained more than 1,200 community leaders in 2004.
Radio Programmes – The human rights programme hosts a weekly show on KKCR Radio. Local leaders and community members participate and discuss issues. This programme reaches 2 million people in the region, and surveys show that listeners have gained significant knowledge on women's rights, child abuse, domestic violence and girls' education.
Girls' School Programmes – The Human Rights Programme has introduced two human rights programmes at the Girls' School. The Girls Education Movement works to keep girls in school and recruit back those who have dropped out. The Human Rights Club offers peer counseling, conflict resolution sessions with the Human Rights officer and sensitization programmes on KKCR Radio.
School Dropout Advisory Services – The Human Rights Desk helps children who come to URDT for support and referral because they have had to drop out of school because of parental neglect, lack of money for school fees or loss of their parents. In 2004, URDT helped over 200 children go back to school.
Referral Services – Women and children who are sick or helpless come to URDT when they have no relatives nearby. Where possible, URDT provides support and referrals to relevant institutions such as the police, courts, legal aid, hospitals and orphans organizations.
Focus on Capacity Building in 2006-2007
URDT started the human rights programme with massive sensitization and consciousness raising for 1,200 local council village leaders and 11,000 villagers. In 2006, the URDT strategy is shifting to more leveraged interventions, to train others to address human rights issues in the villages. This will increase the number of cases that can be resolved, as many people are unable to travel to the URDT office. It will also help to engender a sense of ownership of human rights within the villages as community members become accountable for dealing with human rights issues themselves, rather than viewing their rights as externally enforced by URDT.
Learn more about these programmes:
Appropriate Technologies
ICTs/Computer
KKCR Radio
Land Rights
Microcredit Fund
Sustainable Agriculture/Demo Farm