HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY GLOBAL STUDIES 5403 LAW 6058 SYLLABUS FALL 2012

Frey Day & Time: W 2:30-5:15 pm E-mail: freyx001@umn.edu Location: Blegen 155 Phone: 612-626-1879 Office/Hrs: 235 Social Sciences T 1:30-3:30 pm, or by appointment Course Description: Th

HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY GLOBAL STUDIES 5403 / LAW 6058

SYLLABUS / FALL 2012

Instructor: Barbara A Frey Day & Time: W 2:30-5:15 pm

E-mail: freyx001@umn.edu Location: Blegen 155

Phone: 612-626-1879

Office/Hrs: 235 Social Sciences (T 1:30-3:30 pm, or by appointment)

Course Description:

This 3-credit seminar will examine the theoretical basis of the human rights movement, the nature of the organizations in the human rights field, their philosophies, strategies, and tactics The class will also consider the ethical choices that face human rights

advocates with regard to their impartiality, motivations and mandate to protect vulnerable individuals and groups The class will build upon internships and other experiences students have had with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the human rights field The class will use case studies and other methods to investigate fact situations, analyze norms and design creative strategies as human rights activists

The class will address human rights issues and situations from the perspective of human rights professionals The class will use case studies as the basis of many of our

discussions, simulating the experience of advocates who work to solve human rights problems Students will consider measures used to determine the success of human rights advocacy and will evaluate the effectiveness of particular advocacy tools as a means of addressing human rights situations and issues, such as fact-finding and documentation of violations, campaigns on human rights issues, use of social networking, and normative development Students in the seminar will consider critiques of human rights advocacy addressing the tensions between cultural norms and human rights work as well as the asymmetries that affect relationships among the various actors in the human rights movement We will take steps to evaluate the ethics and effectiveness of our own

proposed actions in our group projects to protect human rights Students will also

consider the basic fundraising needs of NGOs and will design and present a request for funding based on their in-class projects

Readings include an overview of human rights norms and mechanisms; roots and

development of the transnational human rights movement; analysis of key NGOs and their campaigns; advocacy within international institutions; reports and publications from NGOs working in the field; critical responses to human rights ideology and practice; and guidelines used to conduct fundraising and strategic planning

Course Objectives: As a result of taking this course, participants will:

 Gain an understanding of the history and philosophies of transnational human rights movements

 Develop perspectives and tools of analysis appropriate to working in the field of international human rights

 Have a comprehensive picture of the mission, objectives and tactics of key NGOs

in the field of human rights

 Learn how NGOs shape the human rights agenda by carrying out campaigns, creating norms, and advocating for the implementation of those norms

 Gain a basic understanding of human rights advocacy in the UN system

 Be able to identify and weigh the strategic value of various tactics used by human rights advocates on normative or issue-based campaigns

 Understand the critique of cultural relativism as against universal human rights and be conscious of how ideas about human rights are shaped by culture as well

as by economic, political and other forms of power

 Be able to distinguish between human rights advocacy and humanitarian

assistance

 Understand the practical and ethical issues involved in fundraising to support human rights work

 Integrate issues of practice in the field with theory and research

Course Requirements:

Reflection papers (3 @ 10% each) 30% (Sept 26, Oct 24, Nov 7)

Group project presentation:

-findings and recommendations 10% (Nov 7 and 21)

-proposal and funder interview 15% (Dec 5)

My Human Rights Project presentation 25% (by semester end)

Short Papers:

Students will be expected to write three short papers regarding mission statements, tactics and ethics, due September 26 and October 24, and November 14, respectively See those classes below for further details

Working Group Project and Presentation:

Students will select a working group in which to participate The proposed issues for the working groups are (1) prolonged isolation in U.S prisons and detention centers; and (2) the right to health in Myanmar During the second half of the course, the working groups will investigate the violations involved, frame the issue to be addressed by our NGO, identify strategies and tactics to achieve identifiable outcomes regarding the issue, and draft a short fundraising proposal to support our NGO’s work on the issue

The working groups have two assignments which will be graded:

 (1) On November 7 the working group on prolonged isolation will present its findings and recommendations to the class; on November 21, the working group

on the right to health in Myanmar will present Each group will provide key background readings (totaling about 50-60 pages) for the entire class, a week prior to their presentations (October 31 and November 14)

 (2) Presentation of a project for funding explained in a letter of inquiry to a human rights foundation and meeting with the foundation program officer on

December 5, 2011 The proposal, which should be turned in no later than Thursday, December 1, should be 5-6 pages long including an introduction to

our NGO, statement of need, project summary, timeline, and estimated budget

“My Human Rights Project” Presentation:

In lieu of a traditional end-of-semester research paper, I would like students to have an opportunity to put their intellectual creativity to work in furthering their own personal human rights project This “project” may take various forms: it might be a description of actual or proposed research associated with your dissertation or masters thesis; work you are already doing in the community; an intellectual question or dilemma that has captured your imagination, or an idea about what you would like to be doing or creating in the near future What are the issues that compel you at this time? What problem would you like to solve and how? I want you to apply your energy and research along a forward track instead of being pulled away on a project that is not really connected to your own central human rights interests

Each student will be asked to present their ideas at one of a series of colloquia that will be scheduled throughout the semester You will have a half hour for a dedicated discussion

of your project at which the other members of your colloquium will give feedback about your ideas To ensure that we understand your thinking, please present me and the other students in your colloquium with no more than 5 pages of exposition on the thesis or idea you would like to discuss with us Since we will depend on this written background to prepare us for the colloquium presentation, please draft it carefully The students and I will give you feedback both at the colloquium and in writing afterwards, and I will base your grade on this feedback Your grade will assess your written background, your presentation and the intellectual rigor of the discussion generated by your presentation Our goal is to assist in shaping and improving your personal project related to human rights

Human Rights Biographies: We will begin each class with a 5-minute biographical

sketch of a human rights activist who has made a significant contribution to the field I would be grateful for a student volunteer for the presentation each week

Attendance Policy/Seminar Participation:

Due to the interactive and participatory nature of this course, attendance at each class session is required Twenty percent of your grade based on class attendance and the quality of your participation Please, however, do not come to class if you are sick with the flu or any other communicable illness Your grade will not be affected by your common sense decision to stay home and get well!

Materials Required:

Books:

 Andrew Clapham, Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press: 2007

 Margaret E Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics, Ithaca: Cornell University Press: 1998

 Ann Marie Clark, Diplomacy of Conscience: Amnesty International and

Changing Human Rights Norms, Princeton University Press, 2001

 James Dawes, That the World May Know: Bearing Witness to Atrocity, Harvard Press: USA, 2007

 All additional materials are available on the Moodle Site or through the internet link in the syllabus

COURSE CALENDAR Week 1 – September 5: Kevin Boyle

Introduction and Overview: The role of NGOs in promoting and protecting human rights.

In this introductory class we will establish the ground rules for our work together in the class, including agreeing on a working name for our NGO We will assess our collective assets, including previous work and knowledge of international human rights

Throughout the course we will carry out research through the perspective of the NGO we have created

Readings:

Margaret E Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks

in International Politics, (Ithaca: Cornell University Press: 1998)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/b1udhr.htm

For basic background information on the sources of human rights and the mechanisms for enforcing them, see The Advocates for Human Rights, Human Rights Toolkit, available

at http://discoverhumanrights.org/sites/7cc8fb84-899d-457d-a486-470ccb03fb16/

uploads/Human_Rights_Toolkit_Final.pdf

Week 2 – September 12: Navanethem Pillay

The Human Rights Framework: Evolving Laws and Structures

We will consider definitions of human rights and efforts to challenge or reformulate human rights definitions Are human rights norms set in stone? Do you perceive a hierarchy of human rights norms? How are new norms conceived and promoted?

Andrew Clapham, Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford 2007

Clifford Bob, The International Struggle for New Human Rights, “Introduction: Fighting

for New Rights,” and Chapter 3: "Dalit Rights Are Human Rights":

Untouchables, NGOs, and the Indian State,” (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010), pp.1-13; 30-51;

Martha Nussbaum, “Human Rights and Human Capabilities,” available at

http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/hrj/iss20/nussbaum.pdf

Nussbaum, Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach, (Belknap

Harvard: Cambridge, 2011), pp 17-68

Week 3 – September 19: Javier Sicilia

Constructing a Campaign, Part I: Eliminating Torture from the Criminal Justice System in Mexico

We will begin to immerse ourselves in a common fact situation so that we can construct a model advocacy campaign The issue we will address is the pattern of torture in the criminal justice system in Mexico In today’s class, we will view the documentary

Presumed Guilty, by Layda Negrete and Roberto Hernández Visiting professor Karina

Ansolabehere from FLACSO-Mexico will serve as our expert resource on the issue of torture in Mexican jails We will work with the facts of this case for our strategic

mapping and tactical discussions in weeks 4 and 5

Readings:

Ingram, Matt, and David A Shirk Judicial Reform in Mexico: Toward a New Criminal

Justice System San Diego: Trans-Border Institute, U of San Diego, 2010.

Iacopino, Vincent Forensic Documentation of Torture and Ill-Treatment in Mexico

Boston: Physicians for Human Rights, 2008

Nyseth, Hollie “Judicial Reform and the Role of Public Defenders in Mexico,” 2009 United Nations, Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture “Report on the visit of the

Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading

Treatment or Punishment to Mexico.” U.N Doc CAT/OP/MEX/1, 31 May

2010, pp 1-31

Week 4 September 26: Suzanne Nosell and Ken Roth

Human Rights Advocacy: Mission, Philosophy and Structure of NGOs and the role

of the “Gatekeepers”

Looking in depth at the two largest human rights organizations in the world today, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, we will consider how their

philosophies and mission statements are constructed and what values they reflect What kinds of impacts do these large and visible organizations have on human rights advocacy,

in general?

Readings:

Claude Welch, ed., NGOs and Human Rights: Promise and Performance, (Philadelphia,

PA: University of Pennsylvania Press: 2000) Chapter 4, Claude Welch, “Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch: A Comparison,” Makau Mutua, “Human Rights International NGOs: A Critical Evaluation.”

Kenneth Roth, “Human Rights Organizations: A New Force for Social Change,” in

Realizing Human Rights, Samantha Power, Graham Allison, eds., 2000, pp 225-48

Clark, Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 6

Julie Mertus, “Applying the Gatekeeper Model of Human Rights Activism: The

U.S.-Based Movement for LGBT Rights,” pp 52-67

In addition to these readings, please study the websites of Amnesty International,

especially the “Who We Are” section, www.amnesty.org, and Human Rights Watch, especially “About Us,” www.hrw.org

For a critique of the role and work of these NGOs see Robert Charles Blitt, “Who Will

Watch the Watchdogs? Human Rights Non-Governmental Organizations and the Case for Regulation,” 10 Buffalo Human Rights Law Review 2004, 261, 292-320

PAPER 1 IS DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON SEPTEMBER 26: Each

student will turn in a two- to three-page paper summarizing and evaluating the

significance of the mission, philosophy and tactics of an NGO Suggested NGOs include: Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum Asia, Bangkok), Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Justicia y Sociedad (Dejusticia, Bogotá), Disability Rights

International, Human Rights First, International Commission of Jurists, Kenya Human Rights Commission, The Advocates for Human Rights, Physicians for Human Rights

The paper should explain the purpose of the NGO, what kind of activities it undertakes and, to the extent possible, your assessment of how effective it is at what it does You may use the organization’s website as the primary source of information.

Please: this assignment may give you the feeling that you are entitled simply to cut and paste from the organization’s website You are not I expect you to evaluate the NGO’s work, not just narrate it back to me in an uncritical way I am interested in your

perspective on the significance, accomplishments, visibility, effectiveness and creativity

of these organizations’ work.

Week 5 – October 3: Pussy Riot

Constructing a Campaign, Part II: Documenting Human Rights Violations

1 Some helpful resources for our class briefing

See reports on Mexican judicial reform at

http://justiceinmexico.org/publications/justice-in-mexico-project/

Shirk, David M “Justice Reform in Mexico: Change and Challenge in the Judicial

Sector,” III Mexican Law Review 2, Jan.–Jun., 2011, 189-228

Human Rights First, “Legalized Injustice: Mexican Criminal Procedure and Human

Rights.” New York: Human Rights First, 2001

United Nations, Human Rights Council “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the

independence of judges and lawyers: Mission to Mexico.” U.N Doc A/HRC/ 17/30/Add.3., 18 April 2011

U.S Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2011,

Mexico,

http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm#wrapper

US Agency for International Development,

http://www.usaid.gov/where-we-work/latin-american-and-caribbean/mexico Mexico page on the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights,

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/LACRegion/Pages/MXIndex.aspx

2 Each student will sign up to brief their fellow class members about particular aspects of the issue of torture in Mexico The following are some suggested topics for your briefing Use the above listed materials Please do not feel limited to these sources, but share whatever information you find to be useful in analyzing the current

human rights situation We are relying on you to convey what you learn in a clear and well organized manner Since everyone will be reading different sources, the goal is for all of us to share a broad understanding of the situation after our discussion.

The legal system in Mexico: state and federal laws and politics regarding torture

Proposed legal reforms

Role of the PGR

Role of the police

Role of public defenders

International mechanisms response to Mexico: Inter-American system and the United Nations

Relevant case law in Inter-American system

UN system

CAT and OPCAT in particular

Fact-finding by Inter-American and UN mechanisms

Bilateral Action: the role of the United States in Mexico’s legal reforms

What is the U.S government position with regard to torture and legal reforms in Mexico

US State Department

USAID and HED projects

NGO Work on human rights in the Mexican legal system

Which NGOs are working on the issue of torture in Mexico and what are they doing? Mexican NGOs

International NGOs

Week 6 October 10: Juan Mendez

Constructing a Campaign, Part III: Mapping the issue of torture in Mexico

Mapping

The class will undertake a tactical mapping exercise on the issue of preventing torture in Mexico to identify the various critical actors and how to influence them How should we identify the problem and shape a common vision for our organization’s work in Mexico? What is the terrain in which we are working, locally and globally, on this issue? Who are our likely allies or opponents on the issue? What challenges will we face? How does an NGO define a “victory” when addressing a situation like child abduction?

Tactical mapping is a tool of the New Tactics for Human Rights project,

www.NewTactics.org

For the exercise, please read the following New Tactics piece and come prepared with your ideas for steps 1, 2 and 3 of the map You may want to review materials from the previous class or seek out new ones to help understand the relationships between the actors we identify for our map

Reading:

New Tactics in Human Rights, “Five Steps to Tactical Innovation: Methodology Guide,”

Center for Victims of Torture: Minneapolis, 2010

Douglas A Johnson, “The Need for New Tactics,” in New Tactics in Human Rights: A

Resource for Practitioners, pp 12-19,

https://www.newtactics.org/sites/newtactics.org/files/resources/02needfornewtacti cs.pdf

Charli Carpenter, “Setting the Advocacy Agenda Issue Emergence and Non-Emergence

in Transnational Advocacy Networks,” International Studies Quarterly 51 (1), (2007) 99-120, available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2478.2007.00441.x/pdf

Week 7 October 17: Leymah Gbowee

Constructing a Campaign, Part IV: Effective tactical approaches

Designing the right tactics to improve human rights protection should be an act of

creative imagination Today we will discuss your suggested tactical responses to the problem of torture in Mexico The readings give you a view into traditional tactics used

by human rights organizations fact-finding and United Nations advocacy – as well as the catalogue of tactics supported by the New Tactics project Think creatively and design your own!

Readings:

Giffard et al, The Torture Reporting Handbook, The Human Rights Centre, University of

Essex, 2000, Part II, “Documenting Allegations,”

http://www.essex.ac.uk/torturehandbook/english.htm

Hurst Hannum, ed., Guide to International Human Rights Practice, 3rd Ed., Transnational

Publishers, 1999

Center for Victims of Torture, New Tactics in Human Rights, a Resource for

Practitioners, http://www.newtactics.org/en/notebooks/grid Each student should

select a tactic to review and be prepared to explain it as part of our discussion.

PAPER 2 IS DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS: Each student will prepare a

two-page paper describing a tactic for our NGO to use to address the issue of preventing torture in Mexico Your tactic should consider what the assets and capacity are of our human rights organization You do not need to resolve this issue in Mexico – just

describe one step you would take to address an aspect of the crisis The New Tactics resource guide is a good source of ideas

Week 8 October 24: Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera

Methods of documentation: anthropology, law, sociology, humanities

We will consider how practitioners and scholars carry out their work in the field of human rights and compare the methodologies they use to produce knowledge about violations There are many experts who work in international organizations, like the United Nations, to protect human rights One of their primary methods is documentation

of human rights violations, a form of knowledge production that is designed to publicize the experiences of victims in order to promote international protection Scholars also document the causes and consequences of human rights violations How does the work of scholars differ in perspective and methodology from that of activists and practitioners? Are scholars human rights advocates? Should they be?

Guest presenter: Shannon Golden, PhD candidate in Sociology, affiliated Fellow, Human

Rights Program

Readings:

United Nations, Handbook on Human Rights Monitoring, Basic Principles and

Interviewing (2002), available at

http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/monitoring/index.html, (Read Chapters V – IX) Sociology reading – from Shannon

Mark Goodale, Surrendering to Utopia, Chapter 5 “Human Rights Along the Grapevine,”

Stanford University Press: Stanford, CA, 2009

Paul Farmer, Pathologies of Power: Health Human Rights and the New War on the Poor,

U Cal Press, 2005, Introduction and Chapter 1

Amy Kaminsky, Densely Woven Skeins: When Literature Is a Practice of Human Rights,

Hispanic Issues on Line, Vol 4, Summer 2009, available at

http://hispanicissues.umn.edu/assets/pdf/KAMINSKY_HR.pdf

Week 9 – October 31: George Soros

Practical and ethical considerations regarding fundraising and human rights