Report of the 2014 International Human Rights Day Commemorations - 10th December 2014 Amphitheatre, Bulawayo At the end of the Commemorations, the ZHRC Deputy Chairperson, Dr. Ellen Sitholee delivered the vote of thanks. In her speech, the Deputy Chairperson acknowledged the technical and financial support availed to the Commission by development partners such as UNDP, EU, and DIHR. She also expressed appreciation to other development partners who contributed in different ways such as the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the Royal Danish Embassy and the Royal Netherlands Embassy. Special mention also went to NANGO and ZIMRIGHTS who contributed with food and mobilising the public to attend the commemorations, as well as Ingwe Studios (Radio Dialogue) who assisted ZHRC with electronic equipment for the commemorative march at lower rates that those prevailing on the market. She concluded her speech by acknowledging various partners in Government and Civil Society for partnering with ZHRC in planning and preparing for the event by attending preparatory Steering Committee meetings ahead of the event. His Worship, the Mayor of Bulawayo, then delivered the closing remarks. He thanked ZHRC for holding the commemorations in Bulawayo, noting that this had enhanced raising awareness of human rights in other parts of the country, brought together partners in various sectors and promoted the visibility of the work and mandate of ZHRC and its partners in the protection and promotion of fundamental human rights and freedoms in Zimbabwe. F. Challenges and Constraints Although the commemorations were a huge success, the following were some of the challenges and constraints encountered; a. Some partner organisations who had pledged to support the Commission for the commemorations were unable to do so and others delayed in availing their contributions. This affected timely finalisation of the preparations. b. There were initial differences around branding and messaging for the commemorations. This was however resolved amicably prior to the commemorations. The International Human Rights theme came out late and this delayed printing of T/shirts. c. IEC materials used for the commemorations were mainly in Shona, English and Ndebele. Because of time constraints the materials could not be translated to other languages. This may have limited the Commission’s ability to reach out to other minority groups whose indigenous languages are recognised by the Constitution. d. Some people (especially from remote rural areas) complained that they had difficulties communicating with some of the ZHRC staff manning the exhibition stand as they could not speak their specific indigenous languages. This could have limited the extent of information dissemination or awareness raising as anticipated as there were language barriers. e. UNDP payment procedures posed challenges since some suppliers insisted on either cash payment upfront or at least fifty percent cash deposit. As a Page 17 of 19