Washington D.C., September 21, 2020.– The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) is pleased to announce the publication of our manual for civil society organizations interested in writing human rights reports. The goal of this manual is to strengthen organizations’ ability to engage in advocacy at the national, regional, and international levels by preparing them to produce their own human rights documentation and analysis.

The manual is available in the Publications section of Race and Equality’s website. The manual is available in two verions: one that is primarly text-based and one with illustrations to accompany the text. The illustrated version is intended to assist civil society organizations in sharing the manual’s content with human rights defenders.

Through the manual, Race and Equality hopes organizations interested in producing human rights reports will also learn the necessary concepts for using these reports as part of over-arching advocacy strategies to influence international human rights bodies.

“Our experience shows us that human rights reports prepared by victims of rights violations and in-country organizations themselves are essential in pushing governments to respond,” said Pedro León Cortés from Race and Equality.

Content

The manual consists of two parts. The first communicates essential basic knowledge about human rights instruments, the role of civil society in protecting and promoting human rights, and the purpose of human rights documentation. The second includes a step-by-step guide for producing human rights reports, from recording incidents of rights violations all the way through drafting and publishing the report. It also compiles resources for organizations seeking to develop their human rights documentation capacities.

The manual was prepared in order to compile and systematize Race and Equality’s years of experience offering technical assistance and accompaniment to Afro-descendent, LGBTI, and Afro-LGBTI organizations across Latin America as they defend and promote their rights. Race and Equality’s capacity-building approach aims to prepare these organizations to develop their own advocacy strategies and materials.

Race and Equality invites civil society organizations and human rights activists to consult, download, and share the manual so that it can contribute to their efforts for the structural changes that will truly fulfill human rights.

Access the manual (In Spanish only):

Illustrated version – http://oldrace.wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Manual-IDH_-web_ilustrado.pdf

Text-only version – http://oldrace.wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Manual-IDH_-web_texto.pdf