Push for Change

As you advocate to bring justice, equality and peace to your communities, you may be considering…what options do I have if the tools for change don’t exist at the national level or if I’ve already used them to their fullest extent?

You may also be considering:

Your Advocacy Toolbox

UN and regional human rights mechanisms and bodies can create opportunities and provide spaces for you to campaign, advocate and lobby for change. Consider them as “tools” in your “Advocacy Toolbox”

• The Human Rights Council
• Special Procedures
• The Treaty Bodies
• The Universal Periodic Review
• Other Tools

The Human Rights Council is…

• The main intergovernmental body within the UN system which is responsible for “promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms” for everyone, preventing violations, and addressing widespread and systematic violations.

• Most useful if attention, pressure and scrutiny from other States would help your cause, or an international investigative body is needed because there are no effective accountability bodies at the national level.

Find out more about the Human Rights Council and how it can be a useful tool in your toolbox.

Special Procedures are…

• Independent human rights experts tasked by the UN to investigate and report on human rights situations around the world, on thematic issues or country situations, as well as examine individual cases. They also provide advice and recommendations for the implementation of those rights.

• Most useful if you want to raise awareness about violations against individuals or groups, if you need a timely response or public statement, or if a national-level visit by an expert could be helpful.

Find out more about the Special Procedures and how they can be a useful tool in your toolbox.

The Treaty Bodies are…

• Committees of independent experts that monitor how States are implementing the core international human rights treaties and their optional protocols. Each State that is party to a treaty has an obligation to take steps to ensure that everyone can enjoy the rights contained in the treaty.

• Most useful if your State is scheduled to be reviewed and you want to influence the experts’ findings and recommendations, or if you have a complaint about a violation committed by a State against an individual and there are no domestic remedies available.

Find out more about the Treaty Bodies and how they can be a useful tool in your toolbox.

The Universal Periodic Review is…

• A peer-review process by which each Member State of the UN is reviewed against their human rights commitments and obligations by other States. All human rights norms can be raised within the UPR, including emerging issues.

• Most useful if your State is scheduled to be reviewed and attention, pressure and scrutiny from other States would help your cause.

Find out more about the UPR and how it can be a useful tool in your toolbox.

There are also other international and regional human rights mechanisms and bodies you can consider engaging with. These include UN human rights mechanisms and bodies in New York, including the Third Committee of the General Assembly, the Committee on NGOs, the Commission on the Status of Women, the High Level Political

Forum, as well as regional human rights spaces such as the African Commission on Peoples’ and Human Rights (ACHPR), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights and many more.

Engage with these tools

While UN and regional human rights mechanisms and bodies are not miraculous bringers of change, they can protect and amplify your work and impact on the ground, when used in a strategic, timely and effective manner.

Consider what these mechanisms and bodies can do, and how you may want to leverage different outcomes to contribute towards achieving change in your country or with regards to the issues you work on.

For example, UN human rights mechanisms and bodies can:

• Intervene on individual cases or provide protection for Human Rights Defenders (e.g Special Procedures and Treaty Bodies)
• Examine the human rights situation of a country (e.g. Human Rights Council, Special Procedures, UPR and Treaty Bodies)
• Sound the alarm and prevent violations by providing early warning (e.g. Human Rights Council, Special Procedures)
• Create bodies to collect evidence of gross and systematic human rights violations and to ensure accountability (e.g. Human Rights Council)
• Provide authoritative guidance and advice for States and non-States to implement their human rights obligations and serve as a tool for you to monitor and hold them to account when they don’t (e.g Special Procedures & Treaty Bodies)

Not only can you leverage these tools to help you reach your advocacy objectives, but your engagement as a member of civil society is essential to ensure these international and regional human rights mechanisms and bodies are credible, accessible and responsive; and to ensure that the voices from affected communities are heard in these spaces.

Remember that you have a right to communicate with UN and regional human rights bodies and to be secure as a human rights defender, but you should always consider potential risks you might face when engaging with the UN, and use tools available to you to plan for and mitigate such risks, including to responding to intimidation and reprisals.

Build an international campaign

Building successful international advocacy strategies and campaigns often involves working others, engaging with different stakeholders and using multiple tactics.

Here are some key tactics you could consider:

• Use multiple tactics and points of leverage, such as engaging with UN experts; building on outcomes from different UN mechanisms; engaging with the media; raising awareness locally; reaching out to government representatives, businesses, non-State actors; launching a petition or social media campaign; organising a public protest… the more points of leverage you have the more comprehensive your campaign will be!

• Work in coalitions with other organisations and make broad-based alliances to ensure diversity and strength in numbers. Work together to ensure clarity on the common messages and objectives (as well as differences of opinion). You may also want to engage with non-traditional allies.
• Identify and use ‘windows of opportunity’. These could be changes in government, emblematic events at a national level, the adoption of a key resolution at the UN, etc.
• Do your research, about the issue you are advocating on, your targets and your audience, possible advocacy opportunities, etc.

• Ensure broad participation and ownership. Include and give leadership to those most affected by human rights violations from the beginning. Ensure the campaign is truly led by affected communities, and others in the campaign are amplifying their voices, rather than speaking for them.
• Implement a permanent strategy of legitimisation for yourself and your organisation. Consider how you can enhance support for your organisation and the work you carry out.

Find inspiration

Each defenders journey is different, but together we can contribute towards achieving lasting change for our communities. Find inspiration from those whose engagement within UN and regional human rights spaces has made an impact.

Learn from:

• Environmental defenders in the Philippines;
• An international coalition of NGOs pushing for the immediate and unconditional release of women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia;
• Advocates who pushed for the creation of a fact-finding mission on Venezuela;
• An international campaign to push for LGBT rights to be put on the UN agenda.

To find out more, explore the ISHR Academy!