Capacity building by human rights organisations: challenges and strategies

This paper argues that capacity building is crucial in providing resources and training to strengthen the frontline of the human rights movement, and to connect local struggles to a global movement towards the promotion and protection of human rights.The rise of democracy and growth of local human rights organisations has prompted international human rights organisations to rethink previous strategies. Encouraged by their membership, local partners, and donors, a number of international human rights organisations have begun to expand their programs and take on what, for many, is a new area of expertise - capacity building.Recommendations proposed by the authors in addressing the knowledge gap in capacity building for human rights organisations include: Increase funding for Southern NGO’s Address existing North-South power imbalances Deepen and expand North-South learning.While a relatively limited number of international human rights organisations have longstanding training programs to strengthen the capacity of local human rights organisations, in recent years an increasing number of groups have begun to shift their approaches to include capacity building programs. The ability to carry out effective human rights advocacy and reporting, however, does not easily translate into an ability to teach or promote such expertise. Capacity building is a growing and rapidly changing field, as such this shift in approaches by human rights organisations poses many challenges.Many participants to the Workshop that led to this paper found the process of discussing the problem areas and tensions in their work to be useful, and expressed interest in exploring ways to continue the learning and reflective process: In particular, a number of participants expressed interest in looking more in depth at the role of adult education in capacity building programs. Participants also voiced a commitment to work together to channel resources to Southern organisations, and to find practical ways to address issues of power relations in the organisations and programs represented. Participants expressed interest in creating mechanisms to listen to and learn from the experiences of Southern organisations, for example by holding a conference to explore these experiences. Finally, it was suggested that the next step in the process of reflection should include a discussion among groups from the South to reflect critically on capacity building programs[ Free to individuals and groups from the Global South. For a free copy, please email [email protected].]