Confronting the Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century
Second World Assembly
November 12-15, 2000
São Paulo, Brazil
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Fernando Henrique Cardoso
President of Brazil
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Transitional Justice: Overcoming the Obstacles to Information Collection and the Documentation of Human Rights Abuses
Organizer:
Central and Eastern European Law Initiative
(U.S.)
Rapporteur:
Kathleen McGowan (U.S.)
Central and Eastern European Law Initiative (formerly)
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Moderator:
Scott Carlson (U.S.)
Central and Eastern European Law Initiative
Presenters:
Wendy Betts (U.S.)
Central and Eastern European Law Initiative
Randy Clarke (U.S.)
Central and Eastern European Law Initiative
Kassie Neou (Cambodia)
Cambodian Institute of Human Rights (CIHR)
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Representatives of organizations working on human rights issues in Burma, Cambodia, Kosovo, Lebanon, and Somalia participated in this workshop and discussed collaboration and the use of technology in documenting human rights abuses. Among the observations made in the workshop is that collaboration among nongovernmental organizations in collecting information on human rights abuses increases the amount of data collected, which in turn allows for a greater depth of analysis. In addition, technology can assist NGOs in both collecting and analyzing information.
Workshop participants discussed the difficulties they have encountered in trying to collaborate with other NGOs, and identified possible solutions.
Challenges:
- It is sometimes difficult to create a climate of openness and trust among like-minded organizations.
- Physical and conceptual barriers (such as closed borders, security issues, and fear) sometimes limit documentation of human rights violations.
- The policies of funding organizations sometimes have the unintended effect of discouraging collaboration among NGOs.
Recommendations:
- NGOs should engage each other in dialogue, even informally, and make sincere commitments to each other early in the collaborative process.
- NGOs should educate other NGOs, local governments, and international forces (such as UN peacekeepers) about their potential roles in creating a safe and receptive environment for reporting human rights violations.
- NGOs should educate funding organizations (and other NGOs) about the benefits of collaboration and encourage them to incorporate collaboration into their policies.
- NGOs should focus on the following issues over the next two years to advance the application of technology in collaborative projects:
- technology should be used to spread information to stimulate human rights advocacy both locally and internationally;
- before technology is used to document human rights abuses, concerns about the security of the data should be addressed, and a needs assessment focusing on training and infrastructure should be conducted;
- minimum standards on human rights reporting should be developed.
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