Learn from the experiences of human rights defenders by browsing and searching our previous New Tactics Conversations. You can search for a particular topic or geographic region and find human rights defenders you can connect with. Or, see the entire list of topics on one page.
On this episode of Human Rights Chat, New Tactics staff interview advocates for prison reform in the US state of Michigan. These individuals and organizations are fighting to put an end to the practice of solitary confinement in their state.
In 2014, ISIS launched deadly attacks against the Yazidi people in northern Iraq. Thousands were killed, exiled, or forced into slavery.
In this episode of Human Rights Chat, New Tactics interviews Freshta Karim, the founder and executive director of the Charmaghz mobile library in Afghanistan. Charmaghz provides space for children to play, learn, and envision a new future for their country. Scroll down to listen to the podcast and read the interview!
Las conversaciones en línea de Nuevas Tácticas son entre activistas y defensores de derechos humanos, que brindan la oportunidad de compartir experiencias, aprender mutuamente y conocer a nuevos aliados. Estas conversaciones han adoptado diversas formas a lo largo de los años, como foros públicos, seminarios web y podcasts.
In this episode of Human Rights Chat, we speak to Ta'Mara Hill, Policy Officer at the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), who works on building CVT's portfolio on US-based human rights abuses – targeting police brutality, criminal justice reform, and other related issues.
This podcast episode of Human Rights Chat addresses the topic of self care in human rights activism through an interview with author, Loretta Pyles.
Human rights defenders do the crucial work of alleviating injustices and protecting the most vulnerable. Yet this challenging work often has a detrimental effect on activist mental health. HRDs are chronically overworked and under-resourced. They are frequently exposed to distressing situations, both directly and indirectly.
Documenting the impact of human rights advocacy work can be difficult. Traditional strategies to track and evaluate progress are often ill-suited to monitor progress in a field where change can be hard to measure. Still, better understanding how and why organizations succeed can help inform and strengthen strategy.
Summary Available
The 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees provides protection for people forcibly displaced by threats of persecution and violence from their country of origin. The Convention defines these people as refugees, those who are “unable or unwilling to return… owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” While the 1951 Convention put in place important protections for vulnerable groups around the world, it did not provide safeguards for all populations experiencing forced displacement. People forcibly displaced by economic conditions, development projects, natural disasters, and climate change are excluded from the scope of this Convention. Internally displaced people (IDPs) and stateless populations devoid of citizenship face additional hurdles in accessing protection; despite facing similar hardships, these groups don’t meet the UN designation of refugee and are disqualified from the Convention’s protections. This conversation focuses on people forcibly displaced by a variety of non-violent factors.
Summary Available
The 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees provides protection for people forcibly displaced by threats of persecution and violence. The convention defines these people as refugees, those who are “unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” However, while the 1951 Convention put in place important protections for vulnerable groups around the world, it did not provide protection for all populations experiencing forced displacement. This conversation will focus on people forcibly displaced by violence and conflict. Due to the definition’s emphasis on personal discrimination, many people whose safety is threatened by the violence around them but not necessarily directed at them are excluded from the same protection given to refugees. Internally displaced people (IDPs) are also excluded from the refugee definition because they have not left the borders of their country, even though they may be experiencing similar hardships as refugees. Finally, stateless populations’ lack of citizenship can make it difficult for them to access refugee status.
Find resources to support your human rights work.