After three decades of dictatorship, a referendum in June 1993 paved the way for multiparty democracy in Malawi. The first democratic elections were held in May 1994 under a provisional constitution which came into full effect the following year. Based on broad consultations, the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) initiated its activities in Malawi in 1995 in the form of partnerships with civil society, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Faculty of Law at the national university. During the following eight years the Malawi programme was further developed to include support for networks of human rights NGOs and complaint handling institutions as well as a number of cross-cutting projects.DIHR in Malawi
It is DIHR's vision to contribute to human rights based development in Malawi by bringing national legislation and its implementation into conformity with human rights standards. This can be achieved by entering partnerships to strengthen the ability of civil society, independent national institutions and selected key government representatives in Malawi to improve awareness, knowledge and implementation of human rights with a specific focus on popular participation and access to justice for all.