media

Using Online Rural News to Connect Village Society

Lrubenstein — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:58:00 -0500

Amader Gramer Khobor is a first-of-its-kind online rural news service that covers daily happenings in village society, as no online news service in Bangladesh practices rural journalism with the provisions of time-to-time updating in the same day. Amader Gramer Khobor, part of Amader Gram, which means “Our Village,” is unique and effective because it involves the greater community of villagers in its news mechanism, where the villagers can take part both as readers and news workers.

At the moment, there is no online news service in Bangladesh that gives due importance to the daily happenings in village society. The daily newspapers in Bangladesh are published through print media from the capital city, which focuses mainly on national and international news. In the current context therefore, village society is not given enough time, priority, and allocation of news it deserves.

Amader Gramer Khobor was born out of this context to rectify this lack of rural news coverage in Bangladesh. Amader Gramer Khobor involves the greater community by targeting members of village society to participate as readers and as news reporters. The participants are selected from villages that have had previous involvement or are still involved in other Amader Gram’s projects, i.e. rural development and educational projects. Examples of individuals involved in news reporting include local youths, unemployed village members, school-dropout girls, local pressmen, and any other interested persons in village society. These news workers are selected with the idea that each of them will cover the village from which he/she is from. The rationale behind this is that the news worker has familiarity with his/her own society. In addition, it is easier for the news worker to get the stories, interview other villagers informally, and gather information. The news workers are provided with some orientation and training skills on the simple techniques of reporting, editing, data analysis, and producing publications in various forms. In their villages, these individuals report on events they have researched or been informed on by other community members.

The news online service is updated daily and covers multi-dimensional issues pertaining to village society, for example market price, childbirth, death, agricultural information, disaster preparedness, success and failure stories, accidents, achievements, development, history, culture, and other aspects affecting village life. The steps involved to publish the daily news and stories involve the news worker collecting and writing the story, sending it to the project’s principal office, the story being edited, the webmaster uploading the information online, and the Central News Hub producing it online. Local readers then reproduce this online edition into printing form at the local hub/centers available at each village and put it on display for the rest of the villagers to look at. Villagers, in other words, take part in this online rural news service as readers and news workers.

Amader Gramer Khobor is a very new initiative of Amader Gram and a first-of-its-kind online rural news in Bangladesh. Currently, the organizational staff is closely monitoring and providing supervision to ensure the success of the online rural news. Based on community feedbacks and other positive responses, Amader Gramer Khobor has been said to help connect village society, which in the current context of news media has not been given due representation. According to an Amader Gram staff, there are a good number of people in Bangladesh who are sending their blessing to this project. Some of the constraints that Amader Gramer Khobor is facing include a limited target group, where the present readers include group members of Amader Gram, local youth, and few other literate individuals in the village. These individuals though can serve as rapporteurs to villagers unable to read.

In thinking about implementing this tactic of using online rural news services to connect under-represented rural areas, the following is important to consider for the success of the tactic:

involvement of village members,
funding, and
availability of computers to receive the bulletins in each village targeted.

In addition, it is important to know that the following challenges that may be encountered:

opposition from urban elites who are practicing traditional journalism,
language and illiteracy barriers,
funding and availability of communications tools, and
reliance on village members to play an active role.

Areas of transferability for this tactic include rural areas in countries like Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, India, and Nepal. In addition, targeted groups could include indigenous people, ethnic minorities, and people living in distant locations within the country.

Completed July 23, 2003.

Engaging the Media in Human Rights Resources

Bboat — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:04:09 -0500

Engaging the Media in Human Rights Resources

General Resources

Engaging the Media in Human Rights

New Tactics — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:58:47 -0600

Featured Dialogue: Engaging the Media in Human Rights

The following table of contents was developed to make the dialogue easier to navigate. Important themes and different discussions have been highlighted for archival purposes and for new users. The preferred method of viewing the comments is with "Thread list - expanded" option, which is explained here.

Why Should we Engage the Media?

Journalists and Human Rights Education

Tactics and Strategies for Engaging the Media

How to Engage the Media

General Resources Mentioned in the Dialogue


Alan Davis, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, development and programme work in Asia.	Mufuliat Fijabi, is a Senior Programme Officer with BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights in Nigeria.	Philippe Duhamel, a Canadian, writes the interTactica blog on the New Tactics website.
		For more biographical information on our featured practitioners.
Davinder Kumar, Human Rights Journalist, London.	Sharon Lamwak, the Advocacy and Communications Officer for ACTV, Uganda.

Intro

The media, at least in our highly mediated/industrialized societies, is one of the pillars of power. That's why we need to become skilled at engaging journalists and news editors in giant media corporations, and alternative grassroots information outfits alike.

We need to be interested in "engaging" the media not just as another constituency with some influence, but because it is one of the ESSENTIAL levers of power. The media is integral to civil society. The media -- and this may be a worldwide phenomenon -- bolsters or undermines progress. It makes or breaks regimes. It fosters, or undoes, a culture of respect for human rights.

Failure to impact the media, or at least bring some measure of control over hateful radio propaganda for instance, has been shown to imperil human rights from poor inner city ghettos in America, to the farthest reaches of bloodied African hills. Likewise, triumphant press campaigns through media-savvy efforts that have come to the righteous defense of victims of injustice and abuse around the world, improving and saving thousands upon thousands of lives over the last decades.

So while the media has made us realize we live in a global village, the views it carries can build, or destroy, each of our own individual huts.

In the age of the all-pervading "Branding", billionaire public relations firms and mass manufactured opinion, the media holds a measure of social power that just can't be ignored. That is why indeed, now more than ever, we simply cannot escape engaging the media deliberately, compellingly, in the struggle for human rights.

We are very consciously using "Engage" – an important word to remember – for this discussion. We'll be exploring together the many ways we do and can engage the media. We’ll also utilize one of the tried and true tools of the journalists' trade - the 5 W's and H - "why, who, what, where, when, and how" of engaging media in human rights.

“Why” do you engage the media in your human rights efforts?”

February 2008 Featured Resource Practitioners - Biographical Information

npearson — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:14:22 -0600

During the week of February 27 to March 4, 2008 we have outstanding resource practitioners who will be sharing their experiences and ready to engage with the New Tactics community network in the discussion on "Engaging the Media in Human Rights."

Alan Davis joined the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) in 1994 after training as a journalist and reporting extensively from Indochina and East Asia. A finalist in the UK Press Gazette Regional Journalist of the Year and the Observer Young Travel Writer of the Year, he reported from Vukovar, just before it fell to Yugoslav federal and paramilitary forces in 1991.

He has designed and implemented IWPR programmes in the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Afghanistan and leads IWPR's consultancy work. He currently heads up IWPR’s development and programme work in Asia. He studied film and TV production at university in Iowa (USA) while an exchange programme student.

Visit the current project Alan is spearheading - Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project.

Philippe Duhamel writes the interTactica blog on the New Tactics website. He garnered extensive experience with the media through being a columnist for two years for the French radio network of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and a recognized activist spokesperson in the French-speaking Quebec media on issues of nonviolent direct action, civil disobedience, the alternative globalization movement and social justice issues. He found (or was found by) his life's mission some twenty-five years ago: to become a nonviolent actionist and an educator for social change. His goal is to help spread strategic and tactical knowledge found in nonviolent struggle to help free ourselves from oppression, and safeguard Mother Earth for future generations. Philippe is the author of the "Dilemma Demonstration" tactical notebook. He was a presenter to the West Group Regional Training Workshop held in Venice (2003), and the World Symposium held in Ankara (2004). In 2005 and 2006, Philippe served briefly as a tactical notebook editor and helped design and co-facilitate the Asia Regional Training Workshop held in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Mufuliat Fijabi, is a Senior Programme Officer with BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights. She joined BAOBAB in 1999 as an Assistant Program Officer, and works there on issues of women’s human rights, Muslim laws, violence against women, and gender and communication. Before 1999, she was a full time journalist in both print and electronic media organizations. In 2001 she worked on the media committee in the planning of the National Tribunal on Violence Against Women in Nigeria. There has been an increase in the awareness that women experience various forms of violence.

In terms of Media involvement, a number of journalists now play an active role in reporting violence against women cases and also follow through where necessary. A network of Journalists Against Violence Against Women, formed as a result of a workshop organised by BAOBAB with support from a micro-grant of the New Tactics Project, is growing steadily.

Davinder Kumar is a journalist from India, now relocated in London, with over 10 years experience working in the field of human rights. After his post graduation in media and communication, he started his career in print and worked with leading Indian publications like The Indian Express and Outlook magazine before moving to country's top media house, TV Today, taking the position of new producer for its 24-hr English news channel.

In his various journalistic positions, Davinder continued to specialise in the field of human rights and development issues and many of his articles resulted in court judgments and action by the government. He also attended the Second World Water Forum at the Hague in 2000 and The World Conference Against Racism in Durban in 2001. In recognition of his work, Davinder became one of the first journalists to be awarded the British Chevening Human Rights Scholarship in 2004 to undertake MA in Theory and Practice of Human Rights at the Human Rights Centre, University of Essex. Davinder has since relocated to London and is currently carrying out independent research on media and social responsibility, besides his regular job with a media company.

Sharon Lamwaka is a trained journalist with experience working both nationally and internationally (PANOS Features London). Her specialty is print media although currently very involved in radio work. Sharon joined the African Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (ACTV) in September 2004 as the Communications and Advocacy Officer. As a result of her good leadership and work capabilities, ACTV promoted her to the senior position of Programmes Manager. Sharon set up the first Communications and Advocacy Office at ACTV. In an evaluation of ACTV’s advocacy for the period 2005-2007, it was noted that: 1) the profile of the organisation has grown immensely, torture was reported nationally to be on the decrease in 2007 and this reduction was attributed to ACTV’s awareness and sensitisation programmes for the Ugandan security forces; 2) the public and policy makers hear and understand ACTV’s media messages; and 3) the organisation’s relationship with key institutions such as the Uganda Police and Uganda Prisons Service is very amicable.

Recently, Sharon has been invited by a media house in Kenya to write articles on the banking sector in Uganda including articles that touch on the lives of women, giving voice for many Ugandan women.

Good News for American Media

MHolterhaus — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:46:18 -0500

I just heard about an emerging news entity that the HR community would certainly find interesting. Paul Stieger, fomer managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, is launching ProPublica, which will soon be a major nonprofit investigative news outlet. Expect coverage to begin in early 2008.

From the site:

ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that will produce
investigative journalism in the public interest. Our work will focus
exclusively on truly important stories, stories with “moral force.” We
will do this by producing journalism that shines a light on
exploitation of the weak by the strong and on the failures of those
with power to vindicate the trust placed in them.

Together We Are Stronger

bharris — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:08:19 -0500

Together we are Stronger

By Erika Bocanegra, Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos, Perú

Download full notebook in English and Spanish below. [*note]

Peru’s Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos (National Coordinator for Human Rights, CNDDHH) is globally recognized as one of the most successful and effective coalitions in the world. We always talk about the importance of bringing ourselves together in order to have more strength and greater impact, but few have been able to achieve this as successfully as the Coordinadora.

Unfortunately, the global experience of the human rights movement is filled with coalitions that have failed as a result of division as well as lack of advocacy. This notebook analyzes the characteristics of a strong coalition and shows how to successfully fight against an authoritarian government, like that of Fujimori in Peru the 1990s.

The Coordinadora is a coalition of 63 human rights organizations in Peru. Founded in 1985, it has survived by its ability to join together and adapt itself to the changing political environment. The Coordinadora is composed of diverse organizations–urban and rural, Catholic and Evangelical church groups, national and regional focuses, among others. This broad variety in institutional profiles has legitimized CNDDHH at both the national and international level.

Among the strengths that have made the Coordinadora a significant reference point for the defense and promotion of human rights in Peru, and throughout the Americas, is the ability to make innovative political decisions while maintaining its unity, adhering to principles that guide their actions and utilizing mechanisms to find agreement about priorities in order to act with coordination because "together we are stronger."

*Note: You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the files marked with an asterisk (*). You can download a free version of this program from www.adobe.com.

The Dilemma Demonstration

bharris — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:08:17 -0500

The Dilemma Demonstration

by Philippe Duhamel

Download full notebook in English and Russian and a brief summary in Armenian below.[*note]

In this notebook you learn how Operation SalAMI created a situation that placed the Canadian government in a real dilemma regarding their position and actions in the negotiation process of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). When the government refused to make public the draft documents, hundreds of its citizens showed up at the Ottawa headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade holding "Search and Rescue Warrants" for the release of these draft documents. When the government responded by arresting one hundred citizens for requesting their right to information, the media and general public demanded to know what the government was trying to hide. Behind the success of the campaign was a strategy that included a number of common tactics, including petitions, letter writing, etc., but with the added twists of an unequivocal ultimatum, civil disobedience training on the premises of the Canadian parliament and the drama of the Search and Seizure Operation, a type of nonviolent direct action. Operation SalAMI’s dilemma demonstration tactic, as part of a broader nonviolent campaigning strategy, pressured the government to act according to its professed values and at the requests of its citizens.

On the morning of April 2, 2001, a group of citizens conducted the dilemma demonstration1 dubbed a "Search and Seizure Operation" at the Department of International Trade and Foreign Affairs in Ottawa, capital city of Canada. Facing a line-up of police, three rows of anchored barricades and a crowd of journalists and media crews, they declared: "We ask you, police officers, to do your duty and help us retrieve the documents to which we are entitled by right. Do not become accomplices in the secrecy and manipulation of this government. If you refuse to seek and retrieve the texts on our behalf, we will have no option but to attempt to retrieve them ourselves."They proceeded to give their names and said, "I am here to exercise my rights as a citizen; please, let me through." Two by two, they climbed over the police barricades. Their goal: exposing government secrecy by attempting to reach the building and retrieve the secret documents of a draft trade treaty.

For months, the Canadian government had persistently refused to make public the draft papers for the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), a trade liberalization treaty being negotiated among 34 countries of the Americas. In the weeks prior to the action, the government was issued an ultimatum and a petition tens of thousands strong. We also used extensive media relations work, support demonstrations and a call-in and fax jamming operation for supporters. All these efforts were brought to bear with Operation SalAMI’s dilemma demonstration, creating a climactic moment with the arrest of ninety-nine people by the police. No charges were laid and most were released within 24 hours. The larger impact was heard across the country, a new debate was raging around the question: Why is the government refusing to publish key public policy documents, choosing to arrest its own citizens instead? The pressure soon proved unbearable on the government. Exactly one week after the Search and Seizure Operation, the Canadian International Trade Minister, Pierre Pettigrew, after consulting the negotiating partners, finally agreed to make the documents public and announced the release of the draft texts of the FTAA.

This nonviolent action is an example of a dilemma demonstration. To work, it first requires a demand that creates a dilemma for the target: In this case the Canadian government was faced with a demand for transparent access to information. The state could only refuse the demand at the risk of appearing secretive and undemocratic. Second, by articulating the demand through high-visibility, media-friendly, nonviolent civil disobedience, the state was forced to act–it could not stall or delay. And the nature of this civil disobedience was skillfully and ironically modeled after the accepted state mode of getting information that is being illegally withheld or hidden: the "search and seizure operation." This created yet another immediate dilemma in which the police would be forced to arrest people for doing the same thing the police would do if roles were reversed–an irony not lost on the media. Finally, by maintaining firmly disciplined nonviolence, the demonstration created yet a third dilemma, in which the state appears to use repressive measures against an entirely peaceful and orderly demonstration asking only for what is a citizen’s legal right–access to information.

In this notebook I will describe, how Operation SalAMI turned our own dilemma–how to inform the Canadian public about the real dangers and inequalities of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas when we were not even allowed to see the documents–into a larger dilemma for the Canadian government by revealing the secrecy on which the approval of the agreement depended. Through a careful process of analyzing previous successes and failures of citizen interventions in trade agreement processes, we were able to realistically assess our own strengths and weaknesses as well as the lessons the Canadian government had learned from these same past actions. This provided the foundation for understanding our most potent leverage point–Canadian citizens’ right to information, a value we hold very dear. We then combined a variety of tactics to call attention to this lack of information and generated a dilemma for the government by making a specific and public ultimatum requesting the release of these documents based on our right to know. The dilemma demonstration forced the government’s hand by revealing the lengths to which the government wanted to keep the process secret. The resulting media and public outcry made our goal a reality– broader public awareness and debate on the FTAA.

*Note: You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the files marked with an asterisk (*). You can download a free version of this program from www.adobe.com.

Public Audiences

bharris — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:08:11 -0500

Public Audiences: Creating Space to Recognize Victims of Internal Conflict in Peru

By Sofia Macher, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Peru

Download full notebook below. [*note]

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Peru is one of the most recent experiences of processes of transitional justice, institutionalized with the aim of exploring the truth hidden behind a past characterized by massive abuse of human rights. One of the central activities in this process is the Public Audiences, created with the aim of legitimizing and dignifying the personal experiences of the victims in order to support the therapeutic and recuperative work on their behalf.

The TRC was created by the President of the transitional government in June of 2001. It was made up of 12 commission members, all Peruvians, and duration of two years. It did not count on jurisdictional powers: its mandate was to document the grave violations of human rights committed during the twenty years (1980-2000) of the internal armed conflict. However, the Public Audiences were formal sessions in which a victim or family member of a victim would give an account of what had happened before a group of people that had the ethical authority stemming from the State to listen and express their solidarity and acknowledgement. Unlike other Truth Commissions, the purpose of these sessions was not for investigation, but instead an audience for the restitution of rights, of citizenship, and of dignity for the victim, an audience to listen in respectful silence, lending ears to and giving voice to those who had never before been given such things. All these people were assaulted by the State that had the obligation to protect them, and were later rejected by society. Many of them were displaced to other areas, condemned to fear, to silence that broke with the social support of their own communities. The Public Audiences are, so to speak, a step towards the restitution of this so necessary support. But the audiences also had an effect on society itself. Knowing a personal history, one that is parallel to the official history -- that until that moment everyone had believed and known -- had a much greater impact than the Commission’s final report could have ever had. Having heard hundreds of testimonies from different areas of the country, it put on the table the horror to which no Peruvian could feel unconnected.

This notebook shares the way in which the TRC in Peru implemented its Public Audiences in order to dignify the victims, contributing to the general recuperation of society. Certainly there are similarities with other processes and experiences (South Africa or Nigeria, for example), but there are also new aspects that are important since a new format was created that permitted Peru to begin a process of laying the foundations to generate change in the interior of the State, and also in society itself. The lessons of this experience can be useful for any focused process, more so in reconstructing the psychosocial fabric of the people and the victimized society, than in blaming the perpetrators. It is also helpful here to emphasize the effort of the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) to support these learning processes.

*Note: You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the files marked with an asterisk (*). You can download a free version of this program from www.adobe.com.

Plan B

bharris — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:08:09 -0500

Plan B

By Zorana Smiljanic

Download full notebook below. [*note]

The Otpor! Student movement in Serbia is an example of an organization that used a strategy of continuously innovating and combining tactics in order to break down the fear of its people to speak out against the government. Because of this, they were able to build a broad constituency of support. They mobilized a disenfranchised population, used mass demonstrations and creative nonviolence, and leveraged international support to help bring down a dictator.

This notebook focuses on "Plan B," a tactic to ensure the safety of volunteers and overcome their fear to participate in actions. This tactic turned one of the regime’s strengths against it. When Serb authorities began arresting demonstrators, Otpor!’s support base could have disintegrated out of fear. But Plan B – organizing secondary demonstrations outside police stations where demonstrators were being held – allowed people to overcome their fear of participation and keep activists involved, especially at a crucial point in their struggle.

People in many countries must be concerned about and ensured some degree of safety if they are to participant and must be able to overcome the fear of speaking out or of participating in order to ultimately overcome a repressive regime. Otpor!’s experience allows us to learn about one tactic used to do just that–ensure a degree of safety and overcome fears to participation.In the year 2000, after a decade of horrible wars and internal repression in the former Yugoslavia, the international community was tearing its hair out trying to figure out how to get rid of Slobodan Milosevic. Negotiation, sanctions, and bombing all appeared only to have tightened his hold on power. But inside Serbia, change was brewing. Ten years of war, poverty and isolation had left a generation of young people feeling like they had no future if things continued as they were. They were fed up. And they had nothing, really, to lose. The courageous students of Otpor! ("Resistance!" in Serbo-Croatian) helped turn these sentiments into a powerful national movement. They rallied resources from abroad, including funding, training and manuals, and – just as importantly – drew on the extensive reserves of energy and creativity of the young people of Serbia.

In September and October 2000, much to the world’s surprise, the Serbian people first defeated Milosevic at the polls, and then took to the streets in a nonviolent revolution to force him from power. Otpor! built a national campaign throughout the country, holding hundreds of events, putting up thousands of posters, distributing millions of leaflets. While they did this, they faced a relentless response from the state, including over 2000 arrests of activists. How did they manage to build a movement against such a powerful regime? This notebook focuses on one of Otpor!’s tactics for maintaining momentum and supporting activists in the face of arrests: "Plan B." Plan B is conceptually simple: whenever the police arrested activists in their demonstrations, Otpor! would instantaneously launch a second operation, mobilizing more people to show up at the police stations and protest the arrest. The events at the police station became media showpieces, calling attention to the injustice of the arrests and the illegitimacy of the regime. They also provided moral support and encouragement to the arrested activists, turning them into local and national heroes, rather than forgotten victims. Otpor! thus turned the regime’s policy of arrests to its own advantage and continued to build a movement.

Police arrests of nonviolent activists, and repression in general, are seldom if ever accidental state strategies. Their objective is to deliberately weaken, frighten and disempower resistance. And it often works. Getting arrested is a frightening, isolating and traumatic experience. If a regime uses such psychological tools strategically, it can often cripple the growth of opposition movements. Repression is thus a common state tool of political-psychological warfare. It is our hope that Otpor!’s success in turning this on its head will provide both lessons and inspiration for other activists around the world. Zorana Smiljanic was one of Otpor!’s student organizers. She lived through the arrest process herself, and she helped Otpor! mobilize Plan B for many other activists. Since the overthrow of Milosevic, she works as a National Democratic Institute (NDI) Regional Trainer. She works with political activists around Serbia and abroad teaching techniques for managing political campaigns.

*Note: You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the files marked with an asterisk (*). You can download a free version of this program from www.adobe.com.

International Monitoring Bodies

bharris — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:08:05 -0500

International Monitoring Bodies

by Paul Mageean

Download full notebook below.[*note]

In this notebook, we discover how the Committee on the Administration of Justice succeeded in raising the issue of human rights abuses in Northern Ireland at the international level and, by doing so, brought about significant improvements in human rights conditions. This was accomplished through CAJ’s utilisation of the Committee Against Torture–one of the mechanisms available through the United Nations for monitoring governments that have signed international conventions. In order to use these international mechanisms effectively, a number of supporting tactics were necessary, including writing submissions to the Committee, lobbying in Geneva and monitoring the implementation and impact that the reports and recommendations of Committee Against Torture have had on Northern Ireland in terms of actually improving the human rights situation on the ground. International mechanisms can be a powerful and effective tool for human rights organisations to leverage for change, especially when they have encountered significant obstacles and opposition at the local and national level.

There has been a violent political conflict in Northern Ireland since 1969. The conflict involves three sets of protagonists: the Irish Republican Army and other republican groups that want Northern Ireland to unite with the rest of Ireland; loyalist groups that want Northern Ireland to remain within the UK; and the state. From the beginning of the conflict the forces of the state have been involved in human rights abuses. A key aspect of the human rights abuse has involved allegations of ill-treatment of those in custody. This notebook will outline how the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) was able to successfully utilise the United Nations Committee Against Torture to pressure the UK not only to address the allegations of ill-treatment of those in custody but also to establish mechanisms and standards ensuring protection for the accused and accountability of state actors.

The Committee on the Administration of Justice, the foremost human rights organisation operating in Northern Ireland, had long been concerned with the rights of those in detention. Concerns about the use and abuse of emergency law gave rise to our establishment in 1981. We had devised a set of recommendations to guarantee the rights of those arrested by the police and particularly those held in the detention centres. These proposals included suggestions that interviews be recorded electronically, that lawyers be permitted to be present during the interviews, that there be an independent system of monitoring the detention process, that those detained be brought before a judge or released after a shorter period than seven days and that there be independent investigation of complaints of ill-treatment. These proposals were strongly resisted by the government and the police, who maintained that the exceptional powers granted by the emergency legislation were necessary to deal effectively with those suspected of paramilitary activity. Both the government and police denied that any abuse was taking place even though those who alleged ill-treatment and were released without charge by the police often successfully sued for damages. In addition, it was difficult to get media coverage of the issue because at the height of the conflict much of the media was reluctant to give extensive coverage to allegations of this nature.

We needed to devise a response to this problem that would be effective in terms of improving the situation of those arrested under the emergency laws but would also trigger such a significant news story that the media could not avoid covering it. It became increasingly clear that this response could not be generated internally in Northern Ireland. Although we were still a relatively young NGO (having hired our first staff members in 1985), we had begun to think in terms of the boomerang theory. We were therefore increasingly alive to the possibility of exposing what was going on in the detention centres before an international audience to shed light on the situation from outside the country, which would demand accountability and a response from the government. It was clear to us that, on our own, we were not going to achieve our goal of ending the ill-treatment. We were not able to cultivate media interest in the issue–certainly not in Britain, where the key policy-makers were based. It was also the case that many simply disbelieved what we were saying. It is, of course, often the case that in a society in conflict human rights activists are disbelieved and dismissed as being partisan.

This was a phenomenon not exclusive to Northern Ireland, but it did create problems for the credibility of what we were alleging and weakened our chances of creating the necessary momentum to improve the situation. We therefore needed to find a tactic that would address these weaknesses by raising the profile of the issue both internationally and domestically, also lending credibility to what we, as a small NGO in Northern Ireland, were saying. We were fortunate to have a number of academic lawyers familiar with United Nations mechanisms on our executive committee. One of them suggested the use of the Committee Against Torture or CAT (referred to as "the Committee" for the remainder of this notebook). At this stage, we had not accessed any of the international mechanisms at the UN level designed to protect human rights.

The UK signed the Convention Against Torture in 1985 and ratified it in 1988, becoming thereafter subject to the reporting procedures of the Committee Against Torture. Essentially, this meant that the UK had to report periodically to the Committee about the extent to which the Convention was being respected in the UK. The UK must submit each report in written form to the Committee, which then holds a hearing on matters addressed in the report and questions UK representatives. The hearings take place in Geneva. Generally the Committee runs on a three-year cycle, but fortuitously for us, the UK was to be examined by the Committee for the first time in 1991. We consulted with our colleagues in international NGOs to assist us in using this UN mechanism when the UK had to appear before the Committee. We have subsequently been able to utilise such UN mechanisms with increasing success and the Committee Against Torture has been particularly instrumental in pressuring the state to implement actions long-recommended by CAJ.

These examinations by the Committee would have occurred with or without interventions from us. However, the Committee, like other UN human rights mechanisms, tends to rely on NGOs and others to provide it with credible information on which to base its questioning of the country involved. The previous recommendations from the Committee tend to set the parameters for each subsequent examination, so it was important for us to persuade the Committee to pay attention to the issues we wanted highlighted. This was particularly the case in 1991, as it was the first time that the UK had been examined. Increasingly, and certainly in 1998, the Committee would start the session by asking for information on what the state had done to meet the concerns highlighted by the Committee on the previous occasion. The UK has not been examined since 1998, although we anticipate an examination will be forthcoming again in the near future.

*Note: You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the files marked with an asterisk (*). You can download a free version of this program from www.adobe.com.

media

Using Online Rural News to Connect Village Society

Engaging the Media in Human Rights Resources

Engaging the Media in Human Rights Resources

Engaging the Media in Human Rights

Featured Dialogue: Engaging the Media in Human Rights

Table of Contents

Intro

February 2008 Featured Resource Practitioners - Biographical Information

Good News for American Media

Together We Are Stronger

Together we are Stronger

The Dilemma Demonstration

The Dilemma Demonstration

Public Audiences

Public Audiences: Creating Space to Recognize Victims of Internal Conflict in Peru

Plan B

Plan B

International Monitoring Bodies

International Monitoring Bodies