adminLovemore Mataire Senior Reporter
The Centre for Applied Legal Research (CALR), which has been working with the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs in the constitutional alignment exercise, has launched an Android application that makes it easy for people to access the Bill of Rights enshrined in the Constitution.
Executive director of CALR, Mr Nyasha Chishakwe, said his organisation had partnered the Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) in publishing simplified versions of the Declaration of Rights contained in the Constitution, which have been translated into vernacular languages of Tonga, Shangani, Ndebele and Shona.
Speaking at the launch of the Android application last week, Mr Chishakwe said the project sought to complement Government’s efforts in entrenching a culture of constitutionalism in Zimbabwe by empowering communities on human rights.
“It is our belief that if enforced and realised, these human rights can be a transformative tool that makes a difference in the day-to-day lives of people, especially the poor and marginalised communities,” said Mr Chishakwe.
He said the launch of the Android application was necessitated by a realisation of the growing influence of information technology as shown by the massive mobile penetration throughout the country.
Mr Chishakwe said the Android application provided a virtual interface to a simplified version of the Declaration of Rights contained in the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.20).
“Our aim is to ensure citizens are empowered to claim and enforce their constitutional human rights entitlements through improved access to information,” Mr Chishakwe said.
He said his organisation was working with the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs in the constitutional legislative alignment process, which included the training of legal officers on specific areas which need priority.
The project, which is funded by the European Union, aims to provide technical and resource support to officers and all relevant line ministries in the review of legislation to ensure that it is consistent with the provisions of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
CALR specialises in developmental law, which is an inter-disciplinary study of law, economics and social development.
It examines the relationship between the law and development and analyses how to use the law as an instrument to promote economic development, democracy and human rights.
Its work in this area aims to provide legal solutions for economic entities at State, corporate and individual level.
Online Reporter