Note on Human Rights Advocacy

A Note on Human Rights Advocacy
Patrick Maluki, Project Assistant-Advocacy Program, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, India

Human Rights ought to become the common language of humanity and all organs of society have a duty to get the message out. It is when people are aware of their rights that they can best defend them and respect the rights of others. Advocacy is about changing peoples minds and actualizing human rights values that are dear to society; it has the power to bring out voices, aspirations, thoughts and realities that otherwise would have no space in the prevailing public agenda. Human rights situation in the Commonwealth countries is appalling. Despite monumental documents detailing commitment to human rights protection, there exists a discrepancy between rhetoric and reality. Millions of People in the Commonwealth remain excluded politically, socially and economically and millions more are languishing in abject poverty. The UNDP 2000 report contains very worrying figures on poverty levels among Commonwealth countries. Many of them have 40% of their people living below
poverty line. In Kenya 56% can not afford food, safe water, health care and education. In India, 44% are said to be living on less than $1 a day while in Nigeria, Ghana and Zambia the report puts poverty levels at over 70%.
Surprisingly, poverty levels are said to be increasing in U.K and Canada! The wave of democratization that swept the Commonwealth Africa in the 1990s has not brought any tangible benefits to the lives of the ordinary people.
In many of those countries, development (government service) is tied to political support of the ruling elite. In such a situation communities with dissenting views or those who exercise their democratic rights of criticizing the government of the day are deliberately excluded from the development agenda by the state machinery. Development is thus depicted as a charity and not a legal entitlement to both who receive it and the excluded. General ignorance of human rights by the peoples of the Commonwealth significantly contributes to their violations. Many people do not believe in the value of human rights. Discrimination, prejudice, racism and violence
are just normal ways of life to them! A human rights culture urgently needs to be created in order to overcome these violations. It is only when people fully believe in and practice the ideals of human rights that they can
counter societal evils that manifests in form of corruption, poverty, intolerance, malice and apathy leading to all forms of exclusions in society. What hope then does the masses, who suffer massive human rights violations
have? These are people who have no voice and no clout to negotiate with decision-makers. Poverty and other forms of human rights violations have turned them into inward looking creatures incapable of any rebellion.
Certainly their humanity needs to be ractivated in order for them to claim their rights. This is where human rights advocacy comes in. As a tool, human rights advocacy is used by weaker sectors of society to reach out to the decision makers and influence change in policy and attitudes. As a process, human rights advocacy uses a communicative act to enhance self-respect and improve self-confidence of weaker communities in society by authenticating reality. Its ultimate goal is to fight against cynicism, despair and social exclusion resulting from human rights violations. Human Rights advocacy builds a basement rock on where all forms of human empowerment must stand. It inculcates the value of self worth to the individual and a belief in the inviolability of the dignity of other people. It touches on the core attributes of humanity which must be the guiding principles in all advocacy endeavors, for it is when the individual feels and believes in his/her worthiness (rights) that he/she can effectively be empowered. Human rights advocacy makes human rights visible to every body so that people can practice and experience them in their daily life. It also endeavors to make the invisible section of society; those marginalized, excluded and the silent masses visible to, and recognized by decision-makers. If the gap between human rights rhetoric and reality in the Commonwealth is to be bridged, civil society must engage in serious human rights advocacy to empower the masses, to demand their rights from governments and other organs of society. Many successful advocacy campaigns have been undertaken in different Commonwealth countries, but they would be more effective if they were rooted on grassroots support. Other than focusing only on state policy, human rights advocacy must also focus on empowering people through mobilization and education so that they can actively participate in the desired policy changes. The sad reality is that human rights are normally taken and not given and for one to take her rights unless she needs the power. Advocacy is a source of power. Project Assistant-Advocacy Program Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, India