The Turkish Medical Association held a series of meetings to design a human rights curriculum for all medical schools in the country.  The curriculum would cover roles and responsibilities of health care professionals, as well as targeted practical training for issues relevant in the country.  The TMA also hosted a series of training conferences for practicing forensic physicians.  In addition

NGOs in Latin America used e-mail and the Internet to organize unprecedented non-governmental participation at the annual meetings of the Organizations of American States (OAS), a governmental association of countries in the Americas working on issues such as democracy, human rights and trade.  Their presence at the meetings, as well as wider access to all information from the meetings on the Int

In the late 1990s, in decisions regarding former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, governments in Spain and Britain used international law to determine that perpetrators of crimes against humanity cannot claim immunity from charges against them. Spanish courts invoked the principle of universal jurisdiction to order Pinochet’s arrest; this principle holds that every state has an interest in bringing to justice the perpetrators of crimes against humanity, no matter where those crimes take place or by whom. Pinochet’s challenges to this warrant were overturned by the British House of Lords, which argued that because Chile had ratified the 1984 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatments or Punishments, he could not claim immunity from charges of torture. Although Pinochet was ultimately allowed to return to Chile, where he was excused from trial for medical reasons, the decisions by the Spanish and British courts helped demonstrate that there is no immunity from prosecution on charges of torture, that such crimes can be prosecuted anywhere in the world under the principle of universal jurisdiction, and that national courts can be used to force states to fulfill their obligations under international law.

Girls' Power Initiative (GPI) conducts weekly classes to equip adolescent girls betweeen the ages of 10 and 18 with information about sexuality, human rights, and reproductive hearlth.  It also works to provide leadership, economic and other life skills to cope with growing up, thus laying the basis for the enjoyment of healthy sexuality, womanhood, and social justice for future generations of Nigerian women.

The Children’s Mandate for Peace and the Adults Mandate for Peace (El Madato por la Paz) were symbolic elections in Colombia where children and adults cast ballots for prohibitions of human rights abuses.  It had a strong symbolic effect, demonstrating the public’s disapproval with the current human rights situation and children’s and adults’ desire to strengthen human rights in the country.

Free the Children Rehabilitation Centers construct facilities to house and educate freed child laborers from the carpet industry.  It also administers counseling, education, and vocational training to help the children readjust to society, learn basic reading and writing skills, and learn a trade.  The project supports other efforts to remove children from exploitative working environments by an

Founded in 1995 by the Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA), the Budget Information Service evaluates federal budgets to determine whether government human rights obligations to particular groups of people are being met.  After first determining the government’s legal obligations to a constituency, then analyzing budget tables to see how the constituency’s economic and social rights are promoted and protected in budget allocations.  IDASA uses a human rights-based approach to draft budget recommendations, presenting them to government members, lobbying groups, and members of the media.

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/UsingGovernmentBudgetsasaMonitoringTool">Using Government Budgets as a Monitoring Tool</a></b> by Lerato Kgamphe.

The Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team developes new techiniqes of identifying the remains of the disappeared by excavating cadavers and using physical evidence, such as dental records, to match known characteristics of missing persons.  The project originated with assistance from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and in turn assisted developing similar forensic teams in Guatemala and El Salvador.
For a detailed exploration of this tactic, please consult our tactical notebook, "Uncovering the Evidence" by Luis Fondebrider. To view the notebook, copy the following URL and paste it into your web browser: http://www.newtactics.org/en/UncoveringtheEvidence

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/UncoveringtheEvidence">Uncovering the Evidence</a></b> by Luis Fondebrider.

The International Coalition of Historic Site Museums of Conscience works to build the capacity of historic sites around the world to foster dialogue on pressing social issues and promote democratic and humanitarian values. It seeks to change the role of historic sites in civic life from places of passive learning to centers for active citizen engagement. It develops sites of conscience as places for communities to have ongoing dialogues about the meaning of their past and the shape of their future — as places to build a lasting culture of human rights.

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/ThePowerofPlace">The Power of Place: How historic sites can engage citizens in human rights issues</a></b> by Liz Sevcenko.

The Canadian government faced a real dilemma when hundreds of its citizens showed up at the Ottawa headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) holding “Search & Rescue Warrants” for the draft documents for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Operation SalAMI’s strategy combined the usual petitions, letter-writing campaigns, legal demonstration, etc., with an unequivocal ultimatum, civil disobedience training on the premises of the Canadian parliament and the drama of the Search & Seizure Operation, a type of nonviolent direct action.

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/TheDilemmaDemonstration">The Dilemma Demonstration</a></b> by Philippe Duhamel.