The Drum Beat 185 - Human Rights

Many development organisations seek to base their programming around what is commonly called a "rights perspective" - placing people's rights at the center of programming action and policy development. But, what does a rights perspective look like when translated into action and support? The following country, regional and global programmes and resources provide insight into communication activities and strategies that have a rights perspective at the center of their thinking and work.

If you have further examples, please send them to Deborah Heimann at dheimann@comminit.com

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WOMEN

1. Women's Rights and Literacy Programme - Pakistan
Implemented by Social Harmony & Development Organization (SHADO) to address the fact that Pakistani women are often prohibited from acquiring education needed to pursue opportunities outside of the home. Women in 3 villages in Sialkot, Pakistan were informed about their rights, as articulated in the Constitution of Pakistan and in religious tenents; they also participated in literacy classes.
Contact Nasir Nayyar shado@brain.net.pk

2. PeaceKeeper Cosmetics - Global
A private-sector cosmetics marketing and advertising campaign offering a line of products for which all profits (after taxes) are used to support women's health advocacy and human rights issues.
Contact info@iamapeacekeeper.com

3. Rock Concerts, Memory, and Human Rights
Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (mothers of disappeared people) organised a rock concert at a soccer stadium to reconstruct memories in post-dictatorial Argentina through popular music. This celebration of the 20th anniversary of their struggle is part of their campaign to reach young people and to create a forum for memory and human rights activism.

4. Workers' Rights - People Living with HIV/AIDS by Mario Osava
Legal protections for workers with AIDS in Brazil often fail to be enforced, according to sources. Other employers side-step the spirit of the law in various ways in response to fears of contagion in the workplace. "AIDS widows" are particularly vulnerable. Many of these women are poor domestics who are unorganised and who may be unaware of their rights. Very few complaints are filed by domestics who feel that they were unjustly dismissed. One explanation "may be the prejudice among the workers themselves towards people with HIV/AIDS, and their fear of social stigma..."

CHILDREN

5. "The Right to Health" Cartoon - Global
Launched by the WHO to raise awareness of health as a human right among the general public (especially vulnerable and marginalised groups).
Contact Helena Nygren-Krug nygrenkrugh@who.int

6. The Sara Communication Initiative - Africa
A 5-year initiative launched in 1996 to research, produce, and disseminate a regional communication package on the rights of the child emphasising gender issues. The purpose of the comic book, animated film, and supporting printed materials was to address existing disparities in the status and treatment of girls by providing an empowering role model for girls as they face HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
Contact Justus Olielo jolielo@unicef.org

7. Promotion of the Rights of Children, Adolescents and Women - Peru
A system of guarantees organised by UNICEF-Peru to protect and monitor the rights of children, adolescents, and women. Works at the local level to sensitise authorities, public service deliverers, individuals, and communities to rights-related issues. Works at the regional and national levels to develop institutional capacity to provide services for the protection of rights.
Contact Marilu Wiegold mwiegold@unicef.org OR Sandra Arzubiaga sarzubiaga@unicef.org

INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

8. Taller de Historia Oral Andina (Oral Andean History Workshop) - Bolivia
Brings together Aymaraqhichwa and Uru investigators to examine, disseminate, and revitalise the culture, history, and identity of the indigenous peoples of the Andes. A broad goal is to enable indigenous people to achieve equal rights and political participation and to be effective in negotiating with the State Government. Contact Carlos Mamani thoalp@ceibo.entelnet.bo

9. The Honey Bee Network - India
A network of scientists, entrepreneurs, policy makers, and teachers who foster the efforts of grassroots innovators by building connections with each other through feedback and communication in local languages. They use ICTs to address the ethics of knowledge extraction (its documentation, dissemination, and abstraction into theories, institutions, or technologies). People's knowledge has, according to organisers, been utilised to develop valuable products; the benefits are rarely shared with the knowledge and/or resource providers, organisers claim.
Contact SRISTI honeybee@iimahd.ernet.in

10. Rights Africa - South Africa
An awareness programme that works to build democracy by increasing the knowledge and participation of the South African populace. Musical road shows, sporting events, advertising (posters, clothing, printed media, ads on taxis), human rights hotline, the use of well known celebrities and music albums to celebrate human rights, and the production of a CD.
Contact Rights Africa paula@rightsafrica.co.za

MEDIA

11. Human Rights Radio Show - Azerbaijan
A 4-week radio project launched in 2002 by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and partners. The hour-long show invited experts, representatives of local NGOs, and government officials to discuss issues like political prisoners, juvenile justice, prison reform, gender, freedom of religion, street children, corruption, and human rights in the armed forces.
Contact Ulvi Akhundlu ulvi@osce-baku.org

12. Media Foundation for West Africa - West Africa
A regional NGO based in Accra, Ghana supporting the development and freedom of independent mass media in West Africa through an online media discussion forum, workshops and conferences, research and publication of printed materials, advocacy, and the fostering of collaboration with other sectors around the issues of human rights, democracy, peace, security, and development.
Contact Media Foundation for West Africa mfwa@africaonline.com.gh OR admin@mediafoundationwa.org

13. The Martus Human Rights Bulletin System - Global
Software developed by The Benetech Initiative to provide secure worldwide tracking and documentation of human rights abuses. Designed to assist human rights organisations in collecting, safeguarding, organising, and disseminating information about abuses.
Contact Brendan Nyhan bnyhan@benetech.org OR Jennifer C. Betti jbetti@asiafound.org

14. Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) - Africa
A Canadian NGO dedicated to providing African media with the necessary tools to foster increased awareness of human rights issues in Africa. JHR’s aim is to improve both the quality and quantity of human rights reporting through programmes, training seminars, and online information that facilitate accurate and concrete reporting of human rights issues.
Contact Ben Peterson ben.peterson@jhr.ca OR Alexandra Sicotte-Levesque alexandra.levesque@jhr.ca

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OPINION: Mass media campaigns have to be linked to communities and local community action to be effective.

Do you agree or disagree?

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RESOURCES

15. In Our Own Words: A Guide for Human Rights Education Facilitators by Nancy Flowers
Guides those seeking to promote human rights, especially among women and girls. In Arabic, English, and Russian.

16. The Electronic Resource Centre for Human Rights Education
Education and training materials; online forums; databases of funders, organisations, trainers, and material developers; and links to other organisations and resources.

17. Claiming Our Rights: A Manual for Women's Human Rights Education in Muslim Societies by Fatima Mernissi
Designed to bring the universal human rights concepts inscribed in major international documents to grassroots populations. In Arabic, Azeri, Bangla, English, Farsi, French, Hindi, Malay, Persian, Russian, Urdu, and Uzbek.

18. Handbook for Advocacy in the African Human Rights System: Advancing Reproductive & Sexual Health (Second Edition)
Aims to facilitate use of Africa's human rights system to promote and protect reproductive and sexual health.

19. Full text of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

20. Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child by Rachel Hodgkin & Peter Newell
A tool for those involved in implementing the principles and provisions of the Convention and realising the human rights of children.

21. Casa Alianza
A faith-based NGO providing information and advocacy concerning the vulnerabilities of street children.

22. Bangladesh Human Rights Network
A portal for media professionals and activists who actively promote human rights reforms through the formation of indigenous criteria for respectful practices.

23. Human Strategies for Human Rights (HSHR)
An organisation designed to bolster the capacity of grassroots NGOs, especially those that are developing or in transition, to use human rights as a means to realise peace, justice, and democratisation through short-term on-site skills training and human rights education.

24. Journalism, Media and the Challenge of Human Rights Reporting
Do the media report human rights well? If not, what would constitute "good" reporting of human rights issues? What pressures and constraints do they face and how might they be managed better?

25. Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS)
A campaign to ensure that communication rights and the participation of civil society are central to the upcoming World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

26. International Labor Rights Fund
A nonprofit advocacy organisation fighting for just and humane treatment for all workers worldwide through public education and mobilisation.

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This issue was written by Kier Olsen DeVries.

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