June 13, 2011 - The Advocates for Human Rights

The Advocates for Human Rights announces the release of a new resource for practitioners seeking to monitor, document and advocate for human rights in the United States. A Practitioner’s Guide to Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation and Advocacy, provides guidance on how to use a human rights framework to work for social change in the United States.

In creating this manual, The Advocates draws from its long-time experience in this field. The Advocates has published 75 reports on the human rights conditions in 25 different countries using its fact-finding methodology. Much of the social justice work being done in the United States draws on principles of human rights. “This manual is an important resource to assist advocates in connecting the dots and strengthening both their individual advocacy efforts and the movement for the full recognition of human rights in the United States,” according to Executive Director Robin Phillips.

The manual walks practitioners through every step in the human rights documentation process, from establishing the project and objectives to setting up the interviews to writing a report and making recommendations. Each section goes in-depth, posing questions and considerations to readers so they can best structure the process to suit their needs and resources. The manual also helps practitioners plan how to push forward recommendations using strategies from education and lobbying to litigation and international human rights mechanisms. Finally, the manual helps organizations understand how they can use human rights in their work for social change. The Advocates produced this manual at the request of the US Human Rights Network and with funding from the U.S. Human Rights Fund.

To read the report, please click here.