Archiving Human Rights for Advocacy, Justice and Memory
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Building coalitions to affect local, regional and international policy using a rights and health-based approach

The need for building coalitions among diverse constituency groups at local, national and international levels grew out of the recognition that individual actors could not take on large corporate or government pesticide policies alone.  For example, pesticide activists faced a formidable, well-funded opposition to Proposition 128, known as the “Big Green Campaign,” which called for the end

Using a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) tool to inform and assess external policy measures

The Humanist Committee on Human Rights (HOM) is developing a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) tool to assist governments and other policy-making bodies in the systematic translation of general objectives into priorities and action on human rights and democratic development.  As part of any planning process, the HRIA contains eight levels of procedural implementation that allow stakeholders to assess and forecast the impact of policy, programs and projects on human rights situations and apply retrospective analysis on existing practices.  

Encouraging passage of local government resolutions to influence national policy

Cities for Peace is a coalition of local elected officials and concerned community members working to get City Councils and other civic bodies to pass resolutions against a US led war on Iraq.  Although the group focuses on the anti-war effort, this tactic has also been used to show local opposition to a variety of federal actions, such as investment in apartheid and the curtailment of civil liberties under the Patriot Act.  By the end of February 2003, 113 cities and counties had passed resolutions and over 90 new campaigns were underway.

Using coordination among human rights groups to provide strength and reach to the movement

Peru appears to be the only country in the world where all of the human rights organizations have gotten together under one umbrella organization. In the 1980’s Peru suffered great political violence and brutal human rights violations.

Engaging key stakeholders to ensure the right to HIV/AIDS education and health care services

The development agency CARE-Bangladesh successfully involved key stakeholders, particularly a transport worker’s union, in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS by establishing a program of advocacy and service to address STIs and HIV. While Bangladesh’s HIV infection rate is low, it is surrounded by countries with high levels of the virus.  Transport workers are particularly vulnerable and at risk to get and spread HIV/AIDS in the country. To prevent the spread of the disease, CARE worked to build the trust and respect of the union workers, and developed their program alongside the civil society participants. The organization emphasized a sense of ownership for the stakeholders, and actively involved them in all parts of the development and implementation, with plans to give the project completely over to the participants. By creating the sense of ownership and holding the transport workers accountable and responsible, CARE succeeded in creating a sustainable and holistic health and prevention program, which resulted in a nationwide service network. The network consists of 45 drop-in centers, and 4,000 transport workers receive services every month from the program.