The Church and Society Programme was established in 1999 by the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Synod of Livingstonia. The programme advocates on issues of human rights, governance and democracy and provides access to justice for communities in the North of Malawi.

Mr Crabb, a member of Arnot Manderson Advocates, spent two days facilitating workshops on the international human rights system, gender-based violence, people trafficking and the rights of the child with members of the Church and Society programme in the city of Mzuzu.

Mr Crabb also joined other speakers, including executive director of the Church of Society Programme Moses Mkandawire and George Mhango of the University of Mzuzu, for the International Peace day lecture on the rule of law and peace building. The event was attended by members of civil society, religious leaders, students and the local media.

Mr Crabb said: “I’m extremely grateful to have the opportunity to learn about the vital work being done by colleagues in Malawi to provide access to justice.”

Dr Linus Malu, legal director of the Church and Society Programme, said: “Scotland and Malawi have a shared history and lawyers have a common interest in promoting and respecting human rights. We have enjoyed working together with Simon and we hope we can have further collaborations with Scottish lawyers.”

Dr Malu is due to visit Scotland in November of this year to talk about his work in Malawi.

Malawi is a signatory of many international human rights treaties including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 1979, the Protocol to Prevent, Supress and Punish Trafficking in Persons and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report by the US State Department highlighted that despite the introduction of recent law and policy, Malawi does not currently meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking.