The Centre for Budget Advocacy (CBA) is a program operated by the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) in Ghana. ISODEC works in a variety of advocacy areas to improve the lives and livelihoods of Ghanaians.  As part of ISODEC’s Social Justice and Rights Programme, the Centre for Budget Advocacy examines how national and local budgets impact the human rights of Ghanaians, particularly the poor and vulnerable, and seeks to influence these budgets and the general allocation of public resources for the benefit of disadvantaged groups in the country. The CBA views access to necessities such as food, shelter, and potable water, and to basic social services such as education and health, as rights to which every citizen should be assured.  After examining budgets within a framework of human rights, the CBA uses workshops, public forums, and the media to disseminate its proposals and to engage others in discussions of budgetary policy.

In Cebu City, more than 70% of the population is classified as urban poor. A group of Non-Government Organizations with programs and services for the urban poor organizations bonded together and worked with urban poor groups to create an alliance, Task Force Tawhanong Pagpuyo (TFT), to respond to the growing numbers of victims who experienced evictions and demolitions of their houses. TFT presented and advocated for alternatives to government development plans that involved wholesale demolition with no alternative relocation sites. TFT organized a conference of urban poor leaders to identify issues and alternative solutions and followed this with research and case studies. These materials were presented to the local government and housing agencies.  Simultaneously, training was conducted for judges who issue the demolition and eviction orders. The alliance succeeded in developing and getting representatives on to a local housing board and assisted in preparing a comprehensive shelter plan for the city.  As a result, guidelines for demolition and eviction were adopted and judges now coordinate with the local housing board to ensure compliance. The number of demolitions and evictions was substantially reduced and when they did occur, relocation sites were identified in advance.

The Centre for Victims of Torture (CVICT) in Nepal created a process of community mediation as an alternative to the criminal justice system. CVICT did research on what types of disputes were occurring, then developed a training course for community leaders, including women and Dalits (of the untouchable caste), on settling disputes with a rights-based community mediation method. Community mediation would be available for disputes other than violent crimes, and would be made available to everyone, regardless of age, sex, class, or social caste.  The mediation system is improving access to justice and the dynamics of power in the three districts where it has been carried out.  It is also greatly reducing the number of arrests: In the first year, two-thirds of cases were resolved through mediation while one-third went to the police and the courts.

For a detailed exploration of this tactic, please click on the following link to consult our tactical notebook, <b><a href="http://www.newtactics.org/en/AccesstoJustice">Access to Justice: Creating local level, citizen action mediation bodies to ensure human rights</a></b> by Dinesh Narayan Suddhakar.

The Action Theatre works to turn local street theatre into a medium for instigating discussion, debate, and actions on critical human rights issues in their community.  This is accomplished through a theatre team comprised of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) staff members and local community members who dramatize social problems plaguing the community, and engage the community in identifying and carrying out solutions.  The group has successfully formed Action Theatres in twelve areas across Bangladesh, and has become a mobilizing force in its communities, providing structural support for villagers who engage in issues, and working alongside the community to take action towards addressing the dramatized social issues. The group’s goal is to foster the capacities of the youth and activists at a grassroots level to bring about social change.

For a detailed exploration of this tactic, please click on the following link to consult our tactical notebook, <b><a href="http://www.newtactics.org/en/ActionTheatre">Action Theatre: Initiating Changes</a></b> by Motahar Akand.