In an ongoing effort to enhance human rights protections and administrative efficiency, HURIDOCS has partnered with the Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission (FHRADC) and the Samoa Office of the Ombudsman | NHRI to implement and refine their complaints management systems by using Uwazi. This initiative has been funded by the Pacific Community (SPC) and aims to address the specific challenges faced by these national institutions in managing complaints and other data, ensuring a more streamlined, effective and sustainable approach to the protection and promotion of human rights.
“SPC chose to engage HURIDOCS for this critical initiative because of its track record of delivering great software for human rights defenders and because of its understanding of the need for a unique tool for a unique type of institution – NHRIs.
What impressed us the most was the process HURIDOCS undertook. It was user-driven at every step of the way. Not only did this mean that the eventual tool was exactly what the user needed but also that they had ownership and understanding of the product. The result of that has been levels of user acceptance we are delighted with, and which will result in more effective and accountable institutions.”
– Ashley Bowe, Chief of Party – PROJECT Governance, Human Rights & Social Development Division, Pacific Community (SPC)
By providing comprehensive support and tailored training, HURIDOCS assisted these National Human Rights Institutions to better serve their communities and uphold human rights. To recalibrate past approaches and address new challenges, HURIDOCS conducted two in-depth workshops in Fiji and Samoa during February and March 2024. These workshops were designed to understand the unique needs and context of each office, provide targeted training, and update the Uwazi system to better serve their requirements.
Challenges and tailored solutions
The Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission
The Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission was established to promote, protect and fulfil human rights for all in Fiji, and it has been a pivotal institution in fostering a human rights culture within the country. Recognising the need for an efficient complaints management system, the Commission partnered with HURIDOCS to implement a database in Uwazi in 2020.
Over time, both HURIDOCS and the Commission identified areas for improvement to fully leverage the database’s capabilities. While the initial configuration in 2020/2021 laid the groundwork, further efforts were needed to deepen the understanding and use of Uwazi among staff.
To address this, HURIDOCS’ Asia Pacific team conducted a five-day workshop in Fiji in February 2024. The workshop aimed to have a clear understanding of the pain points and challenges of the initial configuration of their Uwazi database. Secondly, it sought to find an alternative solution to the existing complaints workflow that was simple, functional and sustainable. Moreover, the HURIDOCS team wanted to ensure the entire staff of the Commission was fully onboarded to the new system and that they were confident in using Uwazi in their daily work.
The previous iteration of the database was not being fully utilised, therefore it was imperative to improve certain aspects of the system so that it could be completely integrated into their daily operations and reflect their current scope of work. Consequently, the HURIDOCS team configured a new set of templates and structures that were tailored to the Commission’s current needs and day-to-day operations.
“We configured a new complaints management system with an up-to-date complaint form, linked with the Commission’s main website without requiring custom development and a separate template for internal processing and analysis,” says Hyebin Bina Jeon, HURIDOCS Asia Pacific Programme Officer. “This allows a more streamlined and efficient handling of complaints.”
Another priority was to help the Commission’s team become more familiar with Uwazi and its workflow. This entailed hands-on capacity-building sessions with a specific focus on data entry. After several days of group work and practice, the Commission expressed confidence and ease in using the new system as well as being able to update key categories of data to reflect the current human rights landscape.
After the workshops and training, Loukinikini Lewaravu, Director of the FHRADC, concurred that “the comprehensive training and the co-development of the database have allowed us to build a system suitable to our needs. This has been a good opportunity to not only learn about Uwazi but to recognise the challenges within the team and amend aspects that didn’t work in the past.”
The Samoa Office of the Ombudsman | NHRI
The Samoa Office of the Ombudsman is dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights within the Samoan community through specialised units like the Human Rights Unit, the Unit of Good Governance, and the Special Investigations Unit. These are crucial in monitoring compliance, investigating complaints, and ensuring fair administrative practices. To enhance its operational capacity, the Office has been working closely with HURIDOCS since 2021 to implement Uwazi.
The Office has been successfully integrating and utilising the database, resulting in over 500 complaints entered into the system within a month of the initial in-person Uwazi training back in 2022. After a year and a half of solid user experience, the Office sought to further refine the existing database structure to reflect current complaint patterns. Additionally, they aimed to streamline the complaint management process by integrating the external spreadsheet they were using to track complaints into Uwazi. It was also important to introduce the system to new staff members and transfer the knowledge.
Following the successful workshop in Fiji, the Asia Pacific team conducted a workshop in Apia, Samoa for five days with the staff of the Ombudsman’s Office. The primary objective was to conduct an in-depth retrospective workshop on the past user experience of the initial configuration of their Uwazi database and to update the system so that it addresses their current needs. In addition, the HURIDOCS team assessed the Office’s needs around visualising their data and laid the foundation for the next phase of work to include an internal data visualisation dashboard. Furthermore, the team provided onboarding training for the Office’s new and existing staff.
“Our main takeaway was that the Ombudsman’s Office needs to quickly search, filter, and visualise summaries of their progress within each unit. To address this, we conducted a review to understand the need for an internal data visualisation dashboard and identified the key components needed for effective visualisation,” says Bina.
During the meetings, the HURIDOCS team held individual needs assessment sessions to identify the various requirements of the specialised units at the Ombudsman’s Office to make several updates to the Uwazi system. This allows the units to better track and manage their cases and data according to their specific needs. Working with both new and senior staff, the HURIDOCS team was able to answer all their questions and conduct training on the use of Uwazi, familiarising them with data entry, and making sure they learned how to maintain and track it.
“The training helped us to learn how to use this database and familiarise ourselves with the database. It has really made my life a lot easier as long as I update and befriend it. The follow-up training and the face-to-face meeting to reassess and improve our database were very useful.”
– Nepa C Papalii, Principal Investigations Officer (Good Governance Unit, Samoa Office of the Ombudsman)
Next actions
In the months following the workshops, HURIDOCS continued to provide support and conducted monthly sessions to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments. The Asia Pacific team provided customised user guides to ensure the continuity and maintenance of the Uwazi systems. These activities aim to ensure that the Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission and the Office of the Ombudsman Samoa are well-equipped to manage their complaints systems efficiently and effectively.
By fostering these advancements, HURIDOCS reaffirms its commitment to supporting human rights organisations in their mission to protect and promote human rights with documentation technologies. The successful implementation of Uwazi in Fiji and Samoa serves as a model for future projects, demonstrating the value of collaboration, customisation, and continuous improvement of their complaints management systems in Uwazi.
In addition to our work in Fiji and Samoa, HURIDOCS has supported National Human Rights Institutions across several countries, in more than 15 countries in Africa, including the Commission Nationale des Droit Humains Cote d’Ivoire, the Seychelles Human Rights Commission and the Commission Nationale des Droit Humains Burkina Faso. HURIDOCS facilitated the implementation of Uwazi to enhance their complaints management systems. This reflects the growing confidence in Uwazi as a global solution, offering a customised and effective approach to managing human rights documentation. Uwazi embraces innovation specialised in human rights and continues to serve as a key tool for institutions dedicated to justice and accountability around the world.