New Tactics in Human Rights: A Resource for Practitioners

Published by The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), this 200-page workbook includes 100 stories from around the world that focus on how practitioners are advancing human rights. It contains descriptions of over 80 tactics, categorised into four types of tactics: Prevention Tactics, Intervention Tactics, Restorative Tactics, and Building Human Rights Cultures and Institutions. This book also contains resources to: help develop creative tactics and strategies, adapt tactics to specific situations, share tactics with others, and share information on self-care.

Contents include:

• Introduction
  • Introduction, by Justice Richard J. Goldstone
  • The Need for New Tactics, by Douglas A. Johnson
  •  Using the Workbook as a Resource 
• Prevention Tactics
  • Physical Protection
  • Tactics that prevent harm through physical presence
  • Sharing critical information
  • Tactics that get critical information into the hands of people who can prevent abuse
  • Removing opportunities for abuse
  • Tactics that anticipate abuse and create obstacles to stop it
• Intervention Tactics
  • Resistance
  • Tactics that demonstrate opposition to abuse
  • Disruption
  • Tactics that use direct action to influence a perpetrator to end the abuse
  • Persuasion
  • Tactics that use respected leaders or nonconfrontational institutional mechanisms to negotiate an end to violations
  • Incentive
  • Tactics that provide alternatives to human rights abuse
• Restorative Tactics
  • Remembering abuses
  • Tactics that bring to light the nature and extent of abuses, or the identities of the perpetrators or victims
  • Strengthening individuals and communities
  • Tactics that employ mental health interventions, rehabilitation and other techniques to heal individu-als and communities
  • Seeking redress
  • Tactics that seek justice through litigation, sanctions, reparations or other means
• Building Human Rights Cultures and Institutions
  • Building constituencies
  • Tactics involve new groups in human rights advocacy
  • Collaboration
  • Tactics that are used to develop new and effective partnerships for change
  • Building capacity
  • Tactics that create institutions and training systems to promote human rights
  • Building awareness
  • Tactics that are used to educate about human rights
• Resources
• Tools including: Developing creative tactics and strategies, Adapting tactics, Sharing your tactic: A sample tactic presentation, Self-care: Caring for your most valuable resource
• Further resources 
• Print and electronic resources on tactical and strategic thinking and on particular tactics
• Index of Tactics