1995
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Culturally sensitive materials facilitate discussion on women's rights by Muslim women

Sisterhood is Global Institute (SIGI) uses an informal educational model that allows Muslim women to easily identify universal human rights concepts in terms of local cultural traditions, myths, texts and local languages. This model facilitates the transmission of the human rights concepts inscribed in major international documents to grassroots populations in Muslim societies.   

Performing independent postmortem examinations to document cases of torture

The Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) was established in 1995, after the Kenya Medical Association issued a press statement asserting that no torture took place in Kenya.  The IMLU is a network of independent doctors and lawyers who challenge official reports of deaths in custody by performing postmortem examinations to document suspected cases torture and providing medical and legal aid to prisoners and survivors of torture.  Clients who want a postmortem on family members first complete a Post-Mortem Request Form and, because of IMLU’s network throughout the country, doctors who live nearest to the victim quickly administer postmortems.  Results are carefully documented according to medical and legal guidelines.  IMLU encourages clients to seek legal redress when evidence of torture is discovered.  For clients who cannot afford a lawyer, IMLU refers them to a network of lawyers and NGOs providing pro bono legal services.  Their goal is to pursue public interest cases that will set a precedent against the use of torture and send a message to perpetrators of torture.

Distributing air quality testing equipment to community members to promote environmental justice

Since 1995, many communities across the United States have begun or joined “Bucket Brigades,” programs that instruct communities near industrial polluters how to build and use simple air monitoring devices, or “buckets.”  In the absence of strong environmental laws, standards, or environmental enforcement bodies, buckets give communities the means to independently monitor the air quality of their neighborhoods and provide them with the evidence to affect environmental and industrial policy change.