In the spring of 2009, five students from Utrecht, the Netherlands, operated a temporary, volunteer run restaurant, The Cultural Cookery, to raise money for three selected development projects. Using their own time and effort to create PR, attain donations for foods, other sponsorships, and gain access to free space, these students raised EUR 8,000 in just two weeks time.

In the 1980s and early 1990s Peru suffered great political violence and brutal human rights violations.  Security organizations and government officials harshly criticized the neutral defense of human rights (holding state and non-state actors equally accountable for their actions).  The government accusations seemed to resonate with many Peruvian citizens.  To gain greater credibility and to seek protection, the human rights groups throughout the country came together in a united organization called the Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDDHH).  Together they helped victims of human rights violations, influenced legislation related to human rights, and generated both national and international pressure on many human rights issues.  This coordinating body represents a unique ability to work together and the potential power created by coalitions.

Related New Tactics Resources

Related Tactical Notebooks: 

Together We Are Stronger

Related Tactics: 

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

Human rights groups can now use Internet technology in order to help collect, organise, safeguard and disseminate information about human rights violations. The Martus Human Rights Bulletin System is a database tool that addresses the specific technological needs of the human rights community by dramatically improving their ability to manage information and document abuses.

Related New Tactics Resources

Related Tactical Dialogues: 

Documenting Violations: Choosing the Right Approach

Related Groups: 

Documenting human rights violations

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.  

The Women's Institute for Leadership Development for Human Rights used the United Nations Convention to End Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to advocate for human rights at the local level.  Although CEDAW has not been ratified by the United States and thus cannot be invoked, WILD for Human Rights decided to apply it at the local level, in San Francisco, as a tool to combat issues such as discrimination and domestic violence.  They implemented CEDAW as a legislated municipal law with the exact wording of CEDAW; thus making it binding legally.  An open meeting was held where community members could publicly record personal testimony, statements, and pledges to uphold these rights.  The public meeting served to help connect the language to the community in a way that people would hold themselves to the standards expressed in CEDAW.  This local legislation presents a unique example of taking international human rights treaty terms and applying them at the local level to community issues.

To help Tibetans presserve their culture, the Nitartha International Document Input Center, a nonpolitical organization,  uses modern technology.  Huge numbers of religious and educational  texts in Tibet were destroyed or lost during the Cultural Revolution. To preserve this body of cultural knowledge, texts dating back to the 19th century are transferred into digital formats with Tibetan language word- processing programs. The texts and the necessary Tibetan language programs are provided by Nitartha  International through its web site and in other ways. Through the preservation and accessibility of this cultural heritage, thousands of Tibetans living in their home country and around the world can continue their traditions.

Environmental Defense created www.scorecard.org in 1998 to inform people about the level of pollution in their area and to encourage them to lobby the offending industries and their elected representatives to put a stop to it. The organization uses highly innovative technology to retrieve information from 300 scientific and governmental databases. With this information, Scorecard reviews and categorizes the information about harmful environmental hazards such as air pollutants, toxic chemicals released into the environment, potential land contamination and more.  Scorecard then posts the information on its website.  It shows the location of the pollution, its source, when it was discovered, what (if any) government guidelines or restrictions apply to the clean-up process and how far along that clean-up process is.

Florida Rural Legal Services collaborates with local library systems in four rural counties to create a convenient delivery system for legal aid and community information to low-income people.  A combination of video cameras, scanners, printers and Internet connections enable an individual to consult with a legal advocate as easily as if the visit were in the lawyer’s office. The equipment can be controlled remotely by the attorney or paralegal, so the individual does not need to understand the technology. Documents can be exchanged, so both parties are viewing the same information. Papers ready for court filing appear at the side of the client. Screens and instructions are provided in English, Spanish, Haitian and Creole, and local library staff can also assist clients in initiating contacts with legal advocates.  The same Internet equipment also offers online community news for areas that have no local newspaper. Future enhancements will include information about public housing, with applications online and staff to help fill out forms.

Since 1998 PDHRE is facilitating the development of Human Rights Cities. These cities pledge to create a community in which all members, from policy makers to ordinary citizens, learn about and adhere to human rights obligations. Women and men across all sections of the city learn to understand human rights as a way of life with its political, moral and legal implications. They take steps to use the holistic human rights framework to protects the sanctity of life and promote critical thinking and systemic analysis, with a gender perspective about political, civil, economic, social and cultural concerns within a human rights framework in their city. In the process they examine traditional beliefs and customs as well as current policies and contemporary life in the city. All organizations, public and private, join to monitor both the implementation and violation of human rights at every level of the society.

Related New Tactics Resources

Related Tactical Dialogues: 

Building Human Rights Cities

Related Groups: 

Human Rights Cities Group

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is a powerful legal instrument for articulating, advocating, and monitoring women's human rights.  Until the mid-nineties, the UN was not open to the voices of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).  Now, however, NGOs play a vital role in making the Convention an instrument of women's empowerment, through advocacy and monitoring of governments’ implementation of the treaty.  Sessions involving 23 members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee)  are held eve