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Columbus Igboanusi did not come to Slovakia from his native Nigeria to set up an antiracist human rights organization. “I didn't understand racism then. I hadn't experienced it in my country,” he says. That changed the day he was assaulted and badly beaten by racist skinheads.

After hearing his experience was not unique among other African students, he formed an organization of African students against racism. That's when another reality hit him.

On a conflict resolution mission around the country, he discovered the appalling prejudice, discrimination and attacks endured by the Roma population. “As a student of international law, I saw the situation as a gross violation of the rights of minorities demanding a more adequate response than 'conflict resolution'”, he says. Columbus Igboanusi then moved to create the League of Human Rights Advocates (LHRA) and an extensive network of human rights monitors in the Slovak Republic.

As if that were not enough of a challenge for the struggling human rights activist, he then encountered the reality of repression, and a whole bag of dirty tricks: public harassment, false allegations, intense surveillance, attacks in the media, data theft, economic strangulation, threats of being banned, false criminal charges, arrests and detention, blackmail, physical threats. That experience led him to develop a systematic approach to decreasing the likelihood of repression.

There are many reasons to recommend “Making the Global Local: Applying Global Agreements to Local Enforcement of Human Rights Law” by Columbus Igboanusi. I am choosing to highlight from the notebook some practical advice to help safeguard the safety of human rights monitors. These techniques can help preempt repressive action from the authorities.

5 steps to self-accreditation

Because human rights monitors face so many direct threats to their safety, the LHRA has integrated a series of creative methods that work together to create a self-driven accreditation process. This proactive approach reduces ignorance and fear among potentially repressive authorities, while creating public disincentives to repression. Here are its five key components.

1. Issue your own identity card. The basis of the whole approach is to play the transparency card. It starts with the LHRA issuing its own ID. The card includes the monitor's photo, relevant contact info, date of birth, official duties and service mandate (one year). It harbours the official logo of the LHRA along with the signature of the LHRA's executive director.

2. Provide a letter of introduction. An introduction letter facilitates the self-accreditation process. The letter is presented to relevant regional and local police, government, and municipal authorities. After outlining the duties of the monitor, the letter asks for co-operation and assistance, and invites the authorities to contact the LHRA headquarters if they have any question.

3. Meet formally with the authorities. The letter is followed up with a request to meet. Meeting key officials has the potential to build personal rapport. The authorities' willingness to repress may be curtailed by direct knowledge of the person involved. It also opens a line of communication.

4. Invite the media, when needed. Certain officials may not be too keen on meeting. Some will claim monitors are not needed or that the individual is not appropriate. Telling the press about your accreditation process and inviting journalists to cover the meetings may entice some officials to become more responsive.

5. Train, train, train. Apart from knowing the key legal and international law instruments, monitors need to practice a number of specific skills. These include how to interact with officials while remaining patient and persistent, how to stay composed and articulate in heated debate, how to use persuasion and negotiation techniques, and media skills.

The self-accreditation process may inspire you to adapt it to other places where contacts with officials are needed, or where the risk of repression is an issue.

— Philippe Duhamel

Tell us how you, yourself, have found ways to reduce the risks of repression.
How could similar ideas or modified versions of this approach be used in other contexts?

Other ideas? Post comment below and share!