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CAMPAIGNING
MANUAL
amnesty international
Amnesty International Publications
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Amnesty International
Amnesty International is a worldwide campaigning movement that works to promote all the
human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international
standards. In particular, Amnesty International campaigns to free all prisoners of conscience;
ensure fair and prompt trials for political prisoners; abolish the death penalty, torture and
other cruel treatment of prisoners; end political killings and "disappearances"; and oppose
human rights abuses by opposition groups.
Amnesty International has around a million members and supporters in 162 countries and
territories. Activities range from public demonstrations to letter-writing, from human rights
education to fundraising concerts, from individual appeals on a particular case to global
campaigns on a particular issue.
There are around 8,000 Amnesty International groups, including local groups, youth or
student groups, and professional groups in 80 countries. Many of these work on long-term
assignments concerning more than 7,000 prisoners of conscience and other victims of human
rights violations. Around 80,000 people are linked to Amnesty International's Urgent Action
network, which mobilizes appeals on behalf of individuals whose lives or well being are
feared to be in immediate danger.
Amnesty International is impartial and independent of any government, political persuasion or
religious creed. Amnesty International is financed largely by subscriptions and donations from
its worldwide membership.
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CAMPAIGNING
MANUAL
amnesty international
Amnesty International Publications
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First published 1997
by Amnesty International Publications
1 Easton Street, London WC1X 8DJ, United Kingdom
Copyright Amnesty International Publications 1997
ISBN: 0 86210 271 5
AI Index: ACT 10/ 02/97
Original language: English
Printed by: Blackmore Ltd, Dorset, United Kingdom
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording and/ or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
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1
CONTENTS
Preface / 1
Glossary / 3
Introduction / 5
SECTIO N O N ECA M PA IG N IN G IN A C H A N G IN G W O RLD
Ch a p te r 1 Str a te gic Ca m p a i gn in g / 1 1
What is strategic planning? / 12
Making choices / 14
Principles of good campaigning / 15
Principles in practice / 16
Tools for building strategies / 24
Possible objectives for campaigns / 26
Ch a pte r 2 Ca m p a ig nin g in th e M o der n W o rld / 2 9
Relations between Countries / 31
Military, Security and Police Links and Transfers / 39
Information Technology/ 51
Ch a pte r 3 O rg a niz in g fo r A ctio n / 5 7
International action planning / 58Campaigning on a national level / 59
Theme campaigning / 66
Campaigning and organizational health / 68
Chapter 4 Responding to Crises / 7 3
Criteria for launching a crisis response / 74
A beginning for long-term work / 74
Aims of crisis response / 75AI policy and crisis response / 75
Section objectives / 76
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Mobilizing for action / 76
Mobilizing a large-scale reaction / 81
Campaigning techniques / 81
Chapter 5 Fundraising and Campa igning / 8 5What is integrated fundraising and
campaigning? / 86
Why integrate? / 87
The basics of fundraising / 87
Techniques for attracting support / 88
Techniques for consolidating support / 92
A sustainable strategy / 94
How integrated is your fundraising and
campaigning? / 95
Help for fundraising / 96
Chapter 6 Internat ional Human Rights Standa rds
an d O rg an iza tio ns / 97
International human rights law / 98
Global and regional human rights standards / 98
Standards on specific subjects / 99
The importance of intergovernmental organizations / 105
The importance of international human rights
standards / 106
Strengthening the international human rights
framework / 107
Using the international human rights framework / 107
SECTIO N TW OHO W W E ACHIEVE O UR GO ALS
Ch a p te r 7 Ca m p a i gn in g Te ch niq ue s / 1 1 1
Letter-writing and petitions / 113
Speaking tours / 121
Public events and protests / 129
Contacts with embassies / 135
Celebrity support / 143
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Ch a p te r 8 Pr ep a r in g Ca m p a i gn M a te ria ls / 1 4 7
Choosing the materials / 148
Content / 148
Writing and editing / 149
Design / 149Printing / 150
Leaflets / 152
Outreach/ Briefing papers / 152
Reports / 153
Posters / 154
Placards / 154
Banners / 155
Newsletters / 155
Photo exhibitions / 155
Postcards / 156
Stickers / 156
Videos and audio tapes / 157
Materials from the IS / 158
Internet campaigning / 158
Cha p te r 9 M e dia a n d Pu blicity W o rk / 1 5 9
The role of the media / 160
Constructing a media strategy / 160
Working with the media / 163
Winning coverage / 165
Trouble-shooting / 175
Media servicing from the IS / 178
Coordinating the media work of others / 179
Monitoring and evaluation / 180
Cha pter 1 0 O u trea ch / 1 8 1
Activating Society / 181
The Business Community / 189
Military and Law Enforcement Officers / 201
The International Legal Network / 207
Trade Unions / 213
Youth Activists / 217
Religious Groups / 223
The Medical Sector / 229
Contents
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Working on Womens Human Rights / 235
Working on Childrens Human Rights / 241
Cooperation with the Human Rights Movement / 247
Ch ap ter 11 Ho m e Go vernm ent Lo b b y in g / 25 3Why approaching home governments is important / 254
Developing a strategy / 254
Campaigning methods / 258
Holding governments to account / 260
Practicalities of lobbying / 261
Bilateral action on human rights by governments / 265
Chapter 1 2 Huma n Rights Educat ion / 2 6 7
AI and human rights education / 268
A closer look at human rights education / 268
Integrating human rights education in campaigning / 270
Ch a p te r 1 3 Eva lu a tio n / 2 7 1
The importance of evaluation / 272
Why do you want to evaluate? / 272
What do you want to evaluate? / 272
Timing / 273Resources / 274
What information is required? / 274
Assessment / 275
Presenting the the results / 276
Appendix 1 Useful Quotations / 277
Appendix 2 Useful Addresses / 297
Appendix 3 Useful publications / 303Appendix 4 Mobilizing the IS for Action during Crises / 307
Ind ex / 3 0 9
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1
PREFACE
A bout this m a nua lFor more th an 35 years Amnesty Intern ation al (AI)
members have been campaigning to protect an d promo te
human rights. This manua l aims to pa ss on the experience
of these campaign ers in a n a ccessible for mat . We hope it will
become a well-thumbed reference book for all those
campaigning for huma n rights.
Although the man ual stresses that all par ts of AI's work,
such as fundra ising, campaigning a nd organ ization, shouldbe integrated, th e book ha s been d ivided up into self-
contained sections. This will, we hope, make it easier to use
and ena ble activists to pho tocopy or refer to par ticular
sections as the need arises.
This manual has been written primarily for AI
campa igners. Ho wever, it should prove useful for a ll those
involved in th e movement an d perhaps for some people in
other campa igning organ izations. It is an externa l
document which can b e given to people outside AI.
The bo ok has been designed to be relevant for th ose in
small as well as large AI Sections, an d for newcomers tocampa igning as well as veterans. Crucially, it is not a
blueprint for action. Rath er, it is a guide. Some techniques
may apply to par ticular campa igns or Sections, some ma y
not. H owever, man y of the guid ing prin ciples such a s the
need to prepare a strategy in ad vance an d evaluate any
act ion -- are un iversally applicable.
TheAmnesty International Campaigning Manualis theproduct o f a special project at th e Intern ational Secretariat
(IS) ca rried o ut by Patrick Earle. Special tha nks go to h im
for preparing, organ izing an d writing th e manua l. Than ks
also go to th e authors of the U S SectionsCampaigningManual for Groups, to the Dutch and U K Sections fo rproviding materials, and to the Australian, Po lish, South
Korean and many other AI structures that offered ad vice or
examples of their work. The Campaign and C risis Respon se
Pro gram at th e IS had o verall respon sibility for th e project.
For more informa tion
AI's campa igning is constantly developing and evolving. I ts
diversity and flexibility help make it effect ive. Therefore this
man ual can n ever be definitive. To find o ut about an ycurrent policy or to obtain a dvice about campa igning
method s or particular a ctions, consult th e appropriate bod y
of AI.
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If there is an AI Section or coor dina ting structure in your count r y,
contact th e Section office or the a ppropriate coordinator. If they cann ot
an swer your q uestion, th ey will for ward it to the IS in Lon do n.
If there is no o ne to con tact in your countr y, contact th e IS directly
at:
Amn esty Intern ation al,
Cam paignin g and Cr isis Respon se Progra m,Interna tional Secretariat,
1 Easton Street,
Lon don WC1X 8DJ,
Un ited Kingdo m
Tel: 171 413 5500
Fax: 171 956 1157
e-mail: amnestyis@amn esty.org
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1
G LO SSA RY
g A question (to answer to help devise strategy or to
pose to others)
N A point being highlighted
M A sub-point being highlighted
f A warning, or a particularly important point
j Item on a checklist of things you can do
c A tip
AGM Annual General Meeting
AI Amnesty International
AICS (ES) Amnesty International Canadian Section
(English-speaking)
AINZ Amnesty International New Zealand
AIUK Amnesty International United Kingdom
AIUSA Amnesty International of the USA
ANAT Audio News Access Tape
ANR Audio News Release
APC Association for Progressive Communications
APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation
ARABAI Amnesty International Arabic Publishing
co-group An AI Sections coordination group
CCR Campaigns and Crisis Response program
CRC Committee on the Rights of the Child
ECOSOC Economic and Social Council
EDAI Editorial Amnista Internacional
EFAI Editions francophones d'Amnesty International
EJE Extrajudicial execution
EU European Union
FGM Female genital mutilation
FWG Fundraising Working Group
HRA Human rights awarenessHRE Human rights education
IBA International Bar Association
ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights
ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights
ICJ International Commission of Jurists
ICM International Council Meeting
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
IEC International Executive Committee
IFRG International Fund-Raising GroupIGO Intergovernmental organization
ILC International Labour Conference
ILO International Labour Organisation
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IMET International Military Education and Training
IS International Secretariat
IWGC International Working Group for Children
LIOP Legal and International Organizations Program
MEC Military, economic and cultural (relations)
MSP Military, security and police (transfers)
NAT News Access TapeNATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NGE Non-governmental entity
NGO Non-governmental organization
OAS Organization of American States
OAU Organization of African Unity
ODA Overseas Development Assistance
OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe
Q&A Questions and answers
RAN Regional Action Network
RMP Research and Mandate Program
SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and ThreatsSYSTEC Systematic Evaluation of Techniques
UA Urgent Action
UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights
UK United Kingdom
UN United Nations
UNDP UN Development Programme
UNESCO UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization
UNHCR UN High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF UN Children's Fund
USA United States of AmericaVNR Video News Release
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1
IN TRO DUCTIO N
Amnesty International(AI) bega n a s a campaign in
1961. The n ewspap er ar ticle in the British Observernewspaper tha t started what h as become a
worldwide mo vement was never inten ded as simply a piece
of journa lism or research. It was mean t to mo ve people to
action -- to a chieve cha nge. Since th en, a chieving ch an ge
thro ugh campaign ing action h as been AI's mission .
To bu ild on AI's success, the movemen t must ad apt t o
the ch ang ing environm ent in which it operates. The
appa rent cert ainties of the Co ld War world h ave gon e. The
framework of intern ational relations continues to ch ange.The processes of protest an d social d evelopment within
societies ha ve also been ch an ging.
Un derground protest mo vements have emerged to
enga ge openly with new forms of governmen t. Journa lists
used to testing th e boun daries of official tolerance are
experimenting with exploiting th e power of public opinion
to push for ch an ge. Mass protests an d ind ustrial action
ha ve been supplemented by lobb ying, legal action a nd
marketing. P ublic actions have ceased to be a useful
techn ique in some societies, but are becom ing centr al in
oth ers. New techn ology is opening up n ew possibilities totho se who can access it an d r ealize its potent ial. Clearly, AI
must understan d and develop th e new ways we can mo bilize
our comm unities, oth er organ izations and governmen ts.
"What you do may seemterribly insignificant, but it is
terribly important that youdo it anyway."
Mahatma Gandhi
AI
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An integrated a pproach
Over the years, as AI has grown, it ha s
been possible to lose sight of its mission
to campa ign to stop and prevent
specific violations of h uman rights, and
promote ob servance of all human
rights.Boa rd members can become
absorbed b y the d etails an d difficulties
of en suring smooth adm inistration.
Researchers may see results simply
in terms of the q uality of informa tion
gathered.
Fundra isers can see the figures
next to the d ollar sign as the sole mark
of success.
Media of ficers can measure results
in column inches, and lobbyists canjudge their effectiveness in th e wordin g
of governmen t statem ents.
All these act ivities are impor tant ,
but they are parts of the g reater whole
of AI's campaign ing mission.
Campa igners have an importan t role to
play in keeping in fo cus this simple
goal, of making a difference to human
rights.
Research allows AI to b e clear
about what needs to be changed a ndthe best ways of ach ieving that chan ge.
Reliable research is one of th e pillars of
the credibility und erpinn ing AI's
effectiveness.
Fundra ising provides us with the
resources to campa ign. It offers many
people the ch an ce to ma ke a po sitive
and concrete contribution to our work.
It allows campa igners to reach a
broad er audience. Ind ependent
fund ing a lso un derlines AI'sindependen ce, anoth er source of its
credibility.
Administration enables us to
organ ize and develop our campaigning
resources most efficient ly. Building
organ izational structures can help to
increase our ca mpaigning capacity and
effectiveness.
Lobbying can persuade
governmen ts to agree to h uman rights
stand ards and to abide by them.Media work is on e way of sha ming
the guilty and alerting a nd mobilizing
the concerned.
A long-term campa ign
AI's mission is lon g term . We havealready been campaigning fo r more
than 35 years. It is likely tha t we will still
be cam paign ing in 35 years' time.
Campa igning is more th an a series of
campa igns or action s. It is also a process
of building a movement capable of
respond ing to th e challenges ahea d.
As camp aigner s we need to look at
how we can contribute to building an d
sustaining the fundra ising,
campaigning an d organizationalstructures in th e long ter m -- while no t
losing th e sense of urgency about
stopping th e violations in th e here a nd
no w. Tha t is why all these areas are
covered to some exten t in th is
campaigning man ual. AI's
campa igning m ission to a chieve real
cha ng e in peop le's lives is wha t gives all
these act ivities their sense and purpose.
On e of the challenges for campaigners
is to remind o thers in AI of th eseobjectives, an d to help build a
campaigning culture in every part o f
the m ovement.
6 Amnesty International Campaigning Manual
Cardinal Beran, one of the first prisoners of
conscience adopted by AI, expresses hisappreciation for AIs work by lighting the AIcandle at a ceremony in Rome in 1967
PRESSASSOCIATION
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Respond ing to chang e
AI need s a cam paign ing culture to help
it respon d effectively to ch an ging
circumstan ces. A chang ing world
dema nd s tha t we be creative.
AI was born in a world do minated
an d d ivided by superpower rivalr y, an dby man y na tiona l strugg les for
indepen den ce. Memories of world war
an d gen ocide were fresh. A newly
established Un ited Nations (U N)
carried the ho pes of man y for a n ew
world based on justice, peace an d
respect for huma n rights.
All of the human righ ts violations
that AI has been combating for d ecades
con tinue to blight peo ple's lives around
the planet. In some societies the pr isongates have been opened a nd th e
prison ers of con science freed . At least
11 form er prison ers of conscience ha ve
gone on to become head s of state or
governmen t. In ot her societies,
ho wever, n ew form s of repression ha ve
emerged , including extrajudicial
executions and " disappearan ces" .
AI must respon d to this changing
world b y developing new ways of
inspiring people to act in d efence ofhuma n rights and thinking o f new ways
to approach governmen ts, our
communities and other o rgan izations.
Interna tiona l solida rityThe principle of intern ation al
solidarity at th e hea rt o f AI ma kes it
diff eren t from loca lly-focused
campaigning organ izations. The focus
on effecting huma n rights chan ge in
oth er countries mean s our star tingpoint m ust be developing an
understanding of how internation al
act ion -- from AI's mem bership a nd our
society -- is best able to con tribu te to
end ing specific hum an r ights violations
in tho se coun tries.
Tod ay there are m ore links
between mo re count ries tha n ever
before. Som e of t hese result directly
from the enormo us growth and
chan ges in world trad e, others from th ebreaking do wn of Co ld War ba rriers.
Some are attributable to the rapid
development of communications
technology and the establishmen t of
globa l media empires, others to shifting
military alliances and relationships.
Seeking to take ad van tag e of these
growing con nections and inter-
relationships is one of the challenges
increasingly at the heart of AI's work.
Respond ing to huma n rightscrisesA major new cha llenge has been th e
breakdown in some countries of the
estab lished power structures to wh ich
AI h as trad itiona lly appea led. This
breakdown has often been
accom pan ied by a sha rp rise in killings
and " disappearan ces" . New techno logy
and global media networks can q uickly
make these crises do mina te public andpolitica l consciousness the world o ver.
But th is attention can be selective. Other
crises, with all their hu man trag edies,
can remain forgotten or be ignored.
AI has developed a nd is still
developing new techniq ues for
respon ding q uickly an d effectively to
these crises an d th e selectivity of th e
internationa l response.
The interna tiona l huma n rightsframeworkPart o f th is respon se involves a re-
examination of the internationa l
frameworks an d mechan isms for
dea ling with m ass violations of hu man
rights. Much of AI's campaign ing
focuses on h olding go vernmen ts
accountable to the standa rds they ha ve
themselves agreed to through the U N
and regiona l intergovernm ental
bodies. This framework ofinternational law and human rights
stand ards is of funda mental
importa nce to AI's campa igning . AI,
along with other orga nizations and
individuals, ha s also made impo rtan t
contributions to con structing th is
framework.
H uman rights reporting
mecha nisms ha ve opened up valuab le
new avenues for holding governmen ts
to account a nd for mobilizing a ction. Amajor cha lleng e for AI is to pro tect an d
build o n th ese gains, to make human
rights protection a nd prom otion more
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central to the program s of the U N,
regional bod ies and individual
governments.
A broad er movementOn e of th e significant chan ges that AI
has contributed to and ben efited from
over the p ast 35 years is the growth inthe h uman rights movement. There are
more n on-governmen tal orga nizations
(NG Os) working to stop the violations
that form AI's man date th an ever
before. There a re also mo re
orga nization s working on associated
civil, political, eco no mic, social an d
cultural rights. In creasingly,
campaigning strategies need to look at
how AI can best contribute to and
engage with domestic human rightsmovements.
As AI fa ces the ch allenges of th e
21st cent ur y, it do es so a s one pa rt o f a
large and d ynam ic movement tha t has
succeeded in placing an d keeping the
struggle for hum an rights at centre
stage. It h as done so not in an abstract
sense but by camp aign ing directly an d
often successfully on behalf of
coun tless thousand s of individuals
subjected to repression ar oun d theworld.
Tools of ca m pa igningMore than any other campaigning
techn ique, letter-writing ha s come to be
iden tified with AI. Yet it is no t, nor h as it
ever been, the on ly campa igning
method that AI ha s organ ized. AI ha s
built up a to ol-box o f techn iques to
comb at h uman rights abuses -- an d h as
happily borro wed "too ls" from otherswhen n ecessar y. Learn ing to use the
right tools for the job at h and is part of
learn ing the trad e of campa igning -- as
is developing new to ols for new
problems.
Cam pa igning p rinciplesSeveral g enera l principles of
campaigning have been identified as a
result of the work of AI an d o thers over
the years. One o f these is the n eed tofocus energies and resources for
maximum effect. Ano ther is the n eed to
clearly ident ify what ch an ges we want ,
and to be clear on h ow we can help
make these changes. This mean s trying
to und erstand why and how we can be
effective in cha ngin g circumstances.
Part of this demands reflection on
what ha s worked and why -- an d what
has not worked a nd why. Such an
assessmen t is par tly a pro cess of fo rmalevaluation an d pa rtly a pro cess of
on going reflection, ind ividually an d
collectively as campa igners an d as an
organiza tion . A 1989 study of AI's
campa igning pro vided stron g evidence
tha t developing a clear strateg y
increased th e cha nces of success.
There are without do ubt tensions
inherent to AI's campaign ing. We
consciously seek to mobilize an ger a nd
outrage a t terrible violations of h umanrights and to tra nsform that an ger into
effect ive pressure -- also known as
po lite and courteo us appeals! We
want to demon strate the depth of anger
and strength of our comm itment to
protest un til the violation s cease.
Sometimes, this dema nd s an gr y words,
public dem onstrations and direct
confron tation. Sometimes, it means
pursuit of dialogue an d q uiet words
behind closed d oors. Often, bothapproaches are needed.
As cam paigners in AI our
commitment m ust be to all these things
but t o n on e of them exclusively.
Ever ything we do must be governed b y
what we believe will most ben efit the
victims an d po tentia l victims of h uman
rights abuses, rath er tha n by a
blinkered com mitment to a pa rticular
tech niq ue. We will get the b est sense of
this from reflecting on the successesand failures of our campaigning a nd
the campaigning o f others.
We ho pe that t his manual will help
huma n rights campaigners in th eir
work, so th at a ll our effo rts to end
hum an rights abuses the world over will
ha ve an even grea ter impact.
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CAMPAIGNINGIN A CHANGING
WORLD
section one
N Strategic Campaigning
N Campaigning in theModern World
N Organizing for Action
N Responding to Crises
N Fundraising and
Campaigning
N International Human
Rights Standards
and Organizations
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1
CHAPTER 1STRATEGICCAMPAIGNING
As one of the largest and most ambitious humanrights organizations in the world, AI faces difficultdecisions every day. Making the right choices atthe right time in order to be effective is the skill ofstrategic campaigning. This chapter looks at someof the key principles that guide our decisions.
Contents
What is strategic campaigning? / 1 2
Evaluation / 1 4
Making choices / 1 4
Principles of good campaigning / 1 5
Principles in practice / 1 6
Focus / 1 6
Clarity / 1 7
Credibility / 1 9
Relevance / 2 0
Timing / 2 1
Commitment / 2 2
Tools for building strategies / 2 4
Strategic campaigning cycle / 2 4
Building a country strategy / 2 4
The need for specific country strategies / 2 6
Possible objectives for campaigns / 2 6
Narrowing down a broad
humanitarian mandate into a
limited set of issues and
priorities is highly challenging.
Relief and development non-
governmental organizations
operate in complex local,
national and international
arenas, and juggle with many
competing priorities. The
strategic planning process can
help to eliminate unnecessary
conflict and to unify
stakeholders around a shared
vision and a
common purpose.
The Oxfam Handbook, 1995
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W ha t is stra tegic
campaigning?
Strategic campa igning is cho osing a
specific course of action , on the b asis of
available info rma tion an d resources,
which will be most effective in achievingiden tified ob jectives.
Campa igning is an o rganized
course of a ction to achieve chan ge.
Letter-writing, lobbying, demo nstrations,
vigils an d publicity are just some o f the
method s of campaigning we frequen tly
use. But it is no t possible for an y
campaigner, or AI a s an o rganization, to
do ever ythin g well an d a t on ce. We are
therefo re constant ly faced with choices
about what we will do, h ow we will do itand when.
Making th e right cho ices at the
right time is the heart and art of
strategic campaigning. None o f us
makes the righ t cho ices all the time, but
there a re some core principles of
effective campaigning that can h elp to
guide o ur decision s.
Strategic planning is the pro cess of
agreeing where you are n ow (A),
deciding where you would like to get to(B) , and how you can b est get there (see
diagram below).
Many strategic plan ning pro cesses,
form s an d too ls ha ve been developed to
facilitate an d encourage strategic
thinking an d planning. O ne of the best
known and most common ly used is
SWOT. This is a p rocess for looking a t
the existing a nd potential Strengths,
Weaknesses, Oppo rtun ities an d
Threats in a n o rgan ization o r of anissue. It can help to define th e existing
situation a nd the problems that n eed to
be add ressed so th at o bjectives and
strateg y can b e agreed ( see box
opposite).
Strategic plans sho uld be helpful
tools rather than set formulas to be
rigidly followed. P erfectly constructed
strategic plans can be prepared an d
implemented but they can still be the
wrong plans!Thin king strategically is no t a
specialized or d ifficult pro cess. Each of
us can imagine a range o f everyday
situation s where we h ave to ma ke
cho ices abo ut wha t we will do from
ho w we travel to work to ho w we
appro ach competitive sports.
The objective of all AIs campaigning
is to pro tect peoples human rights.
Simply asking yourself or o thers a few
q uestions before taking a par ticularcourse of action can help ensure your
plans are taking you in th e right
direction.
1 2 Amnesty International Campaigning Manual
You are at A. You need to get to B. You haveto choose the best way of getting there.Public opinion, help fromthe legalcommunity and international action are alloptions. BEATE KUBI TZ
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gQUESTIONSg Can you explain how yourcampaign will contribute tochanging a human rights situation?
g Can you say why you are takingthis course of action rather thananother?
g If it is successful, can you saywhat will be different at the end ofyour campaign from the beginning?
Members and board m embers
sho uld be a sking t hese questions, as
might journ alists. You n eed to ha ve the
answers.
Explicit strateg ies an d plans are
particularly important for AI, as it is a
membership o rganization.
Account ab ility is essent ial. The
memb ership m ust a lso b e kept
informed as this enables them tocho ose how their skills, crea tivity an d
knowledge can best be used to make the
strateg y succeed.
Strategic Campaigning 1 3
SW O T (Strengths, W ea knesses, O ppo rtunities a nd Threa ts)
STREN G TH S are positive factors of the AI Section that might be of particularimportance in different campaigns or actions. They might include financial andmaterial resources, good access to home government, a good public image, anefficient organizational structure, contacts (for example, in the media or otherorganizations), supporters, specialist knowledge or the existence of many groups.
When planning your work, consider how your Sections strengths might be usefulin the context of a particular campaign. For example, if one of the internationalobjectives of a campaign includes getting action from the Roman Catholic Churchhierarchy and you have a strong religious outreach program with that church, thenthis might be one of the most effective areas of work for the Section.
W EAKN ESSES are factors that inhibit the Sections ability to act generally or onparticular issues. Weaknesses might include a lack of experienced members, limited(or no) funds, lack of facilities, poor organizational capacity or poor public image.
It is very important to identify your weaknesses so that you can either take steps toovercome them or avoid activities that you will be unable to cope with.
O PPORTUN ITIES are factors about your society which might affect yourcampaigning. They might include an interested and sympathetic media, close linksbetween your society and the target country, a meeting of an aid consortium, a visitto your country by the head of state of that country, other organizations that might beable to put effective pressure on the targets of your campaigning, such as tradeunions, womens groups, professional groups or ethnic groups, and important datesin the calendar.
When planning your work on a campaign or action, consider how you mighttake advantage of these opportunities.
THREATS are factors in your society that may have a negative impact on your abilityto contribute to a campaign or action. They will usually be out of your control,
although as campaigners we may, in the longer term, hope to change at least someof the factors that represent a threat.
Threats might include a political or economic crisis, a hostile government, anintolerance of campaigning or voluntary organizations, business or other sectorssaying that human rights are against the national interest, a poor image arising fromfactors beyond the groups control, human rights violations, security issues, localrestrictions on AIs work, etc.
Threats also need to be analysed carefully when planning involvement in aparticular campaign or action.
Note: Strengths and Weaknesses are mostly internal questions and relate to AI,Opportunities and Threats are external and relate to the campaigning environment.
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EvaluationThere is no guaran teed way of ensuring
tha t every stra tegic plan is indeed
strategic, or is the righ t plan. However,
there are ways to help ma ke sure we
learn from our experiences and th ose
of o thers an d use these lesson s to
improve our future work.
Foremost of these is formal
monitoring and evaluation, which is
dea lt with separately in Chapter 13.
Evalua tion can simply involve reflect ingon past campaign s. Alterna tively, you
can look at the campaigning of others
and d iscuss with them the causes of
their successes an d fa ilures.
M a king choicesHaving chosen to campa ign, and to
coordinate campaigning, campaigners
are immedia tely faced with cho ices.
Which members of the targetgovernment should we be appealing to
and about what? Should we post 50
letters or complete five petitions for th e
same effort? Who should we approach
in our go vernment? Should we focus
our campaign on the death penalty or
on torture?
AI is perhaps luckier than many
organ izations in that its overall
objectives (its mand ate) are clear and
specific. Neverth eless, campa igncoordinato rs in every Section are
continuously faced with strategic
choices about direction and priority.
Ch oices are a lways mad e withincertain pa rameters, as they are in
everyday life. Some of these are clear
for AIs campaigners:
N AIs mandate and po licies,
including working on a ll the manda te
issues and balance;
N internationa l campaigning
prior ities established by the movement
and specific requests from the IS an d
reflected in the interna tional
campaigning calendar.The o ther pa rameters are largely
set by your pa rticular campa igning
environment an d resources, which can
be determined by answering th e
following q uestions:
gQUESTIONSg Do you have a membership tomobilize?
g How much money can youbudget for a campaign?
g How is AI seen in your society?
g Is your government hostile oropen to AI?
g Is your government open totaking up human rights concerns
with other governments?
g Does your media influencegovernment policy?
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No one starts a campaign...without first being clear intheir mind WHAT they intendto achieve by the campaignand HOW they intend toconduct it. This governingprinciple will set [the
campaigns] course,prescribe the scale of meansand effort which is required,and makes its influence feltthroughout down to thesmallest operational detail.Carl von Clauswitz, a renowned military
strategist
The child may be able to go up the steeppath, but the grandmother will need to takethe longer way round. Choices must bemade on the basis of your situation.
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These principles of go od
campaigning are interrelated and need
to b e integra ted. Why they are
important, a nd some examples of how
they have been a pplied in practice, are
deta iled below.
Principles in pra ctice
FocusSpecific objectives:
You sho uld be a ble to stat e an y ob jective
in a simple senten ce. If you can no t,
then you ma y be tr ying to a chieve a
num ber o f d ifferent objectives. These
need to be stated separately in order to:
N see whether the objectives are
conflicting or complementar y;N allow decisions to be mad e abo ut
priorities;
N measure whether you ha ve
ach ieved your ob jective.
U sually there a re man y problems
tha t need to be solved, so you need to
work out which is the mo st urgent , and
whether there is a natural o r logical
seq uence to solving th em.
While t he ob jective o f AIs
campa igning is always to pro tectpeoples human rights, we need to be
specific abo ut what cha nges are
necessar y for th is to happen .
Fulfilling AIs mand ate is a lo ng-
term objective. Over the period of a
part icular ca mpaign , say six or 12
mon ths, or during a strategy period of
two to five years, it migh t be unrea listic
to expect th at AI will stop to rture in a
part icular co untr y. So the o bjective of
end ing tor ture may not be specificenough to know what action will be
most effective for AI an d o thers to ta ke.
In such a case AIs researchers and
campa igners need to identify (a t least
intern ally) th e specific steps or chan ges
most likely to con tribute to en ding
tort ure. The same ap plies to th e other
violations in AIs mand ate. The
chan ges, for exam ple, could be:
N legislation to pro hibit torture;
N training of prison and police officials;N immedia te suspension an d
prosecution of officials believed
respon sible for tort ure;
N independent and immediate
access to deta inees;
N an independ ent inquiry into
allegations of torture.
The steps to be ta ken could, fo r
example, be:
N building public awaren ess;
N letter-writing to th e governmentor p rison officials;
N lobbying the h ome government to
make representa tions.
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A group of AI campaign coordinatorsoutside the International Secretariat AI
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Then check that th e relationship
between th ese are clear.
These shor ter-term objectives
become the focus of campaigning a nd
allow progress to be mea sured on the
road to a bolition of torture or the
end ing of other violations.
Focus energy and resources:
Being focused when d eciding
campa igning objectives and strateg ies is
important because it:
N helps to make sure that resources
of time and m oney are directed to
where th ey are mo st likely to ha ve an
impact;
N keeps people mo tivated by
increasing the cha nces of success and
therefo re builds capacity to ta ke onmore work in th e longer term.
Why alloca te resources of time or
mon ey to campa igns that ha ve
unrea listic objectives when they could
be allocated to something tha t could
have an impact? Campaigns appearing
to h ave unrealistic or una chievable
objectives find it mor e difficult to
attra ct support. There is a cred ibility
gap.
Trying to do too m uch at o ne timecan spread an d exha ust the resources
which n eed to be focused for maximum
effect.
Research and analysis:
The issues AI co nf ron ts may be simple
but the context in which th ey take place
is always a co mplex mix of eco no mic,
social, political and cultural factor s.
The m ore kno wledge AI h as on these
fact ors the m ore likely it will be able tomake its impact o n th em positive an d
effective.
AI campaigning is about chan ging
beha viour. It is abo ut persuading police
to respect the rights of deta inees or
encouraging m embers of the public to
sign a petition .
To ch an ge beh aviour it is useful to
find out why people or organ izations
are beha ving as they are, or what m ay
mot ivate th em to a ct. Sometimes it ispossible only to make an info rmed
guess, but even th is can help to sho w
ho w our actions can a ffect beha viour.
Infor mation a nd ana lysis are the
start ing poin t of all campa igns. They
allow us to d efine the pro blem we are
tr ying to solve or th e oppo rtun ities we
are tr ying to take advanta ge of. The
an alysis of a vailable info rma tion will
affect every part of a cam paign, from
deciding o bjectives to deter mining andimplementing strategy. While much of
this research , particularly on th e target
coun tr y, is prima rily the responsibility
of the IS, research an d an alysis by
Section s involved in th e campa ign are
just as important, particularly in
informing nation al strategies.
There is a stand ard type of
information and ana lysis that a re
importa nt to AIs campa igning , which
the following questions might helpascertain.
gQUESTIONSg Who is responsible for thehuman rights violations?
g Why are the violationshappening and which factors couldAI influence?
g Are there particular momentsor times when we may have moreinfluence?
g How could our membership,society and government influencethose responsible for the violations?
g How can we persuade them toexert this influence?
ClarityOb jectives and strateg y need to be clear.
This is part icularly importa nt in a
membership o rganization, where
ind ividua l initiative is necessar y an d
encouraged.
Cla rity enab les all involved to
bring their skills, knowledge a nd
creativity to b ear. On ce they know what
is to be achieved an d h ow, they can
make rational d ecisions about h ow theyand those they can mobilize can
con tribut e most effect ively. It also
minimizes the po ssibility tha t memb ers
Strategic Campaigning 1 7
Know the adversary andknow yourself; in a hundred[campaigns] you will never
be in peril. When you areignorant of the adversary butknow yourself, your chances
of winning or losing areequal. If ignorant both of
your adversary and ofyourself you are certain inevery [campaign] to be in
peril.Sun Tzu, around 500 BC
There is one key rule in anysort of communication...
start from where youraudience is, not from where
you are.Sue Ward, Getting the Message Across,Journeyman Press, 1992
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1 8 Amnesty International Campaigning Manual
Shock to g enera te interest
The UK Section of AI has for a number of years run a very successful series offundraising and membership recruitment advertisements in national newspapersand magazines. Their advertisements broke many advertising conventions byrelying heavily on a long text. They use shock to attract the readers interest. Theythen tell a compelling story to keep that interest while they explain a terrible human
rights situation. Finally, they offer the reader an opportunity to do something aboutit. Their target audience has been people with a tertiary education, interest in worldaffairs and disposable income. They have gained many donations and newmembers.
fShock advertisementshave worked well in
Ireland and the UK,but not in othercountries.
fLook for important
dates andanniversaries whichmight be helpful to a
campaign. Alsowatch out for dates
to avoid as offencecan easily be causedby planning actionfor a time that is
sensitive in aparticular culture orcountry.
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will take action that is counter-
prod uctive to the strategy.
All action needs to be clearlyrelated to these objectives.This enablesall suggestions for actions to be
measured aga inst strategy and
objective, and allows resources to be
used most effectively.Communications must be clear,
internally and externally. People haveto know what you are saying a nd what
you are asking fo r. This may mean
messages need to be expressed in
differen t ways to differen t aud iences.
Governments and n on-
governmental organ izations (NG Os)
may know wha t th e ind ivisibility and
universality of huma n rights mean.
U pwards of 98 per cent of a broaderpublic radio and television a udiences
will not. I f you say people sho uld
never ha ve to ch oose between freed om
from fear of hunger and freedom from
fear o f torture, you express the same
concept in a way more people can
relate to .
Commun ications must be clearly
related to purpose. A deta iled report
may be the best way to influence
government, but no t the best way ofpersuad ing memb ers of the pub lic to
take action.
Credibility
The messenger can be as importan t as
the message.The word s of Carole
Richard son (see marg in) d escribe how
the campa ign to release her gained
momen tum after leading members of
Br itish society expressed d oubts aboutthe safety of her con viction.
Campa igning organ izations need
to be listened to if they are to stand any
chance o f success. They need to b e
listened to by those from whom th ey are
asking for help an d by those they need
to con vince to take some action to stop
a h uman rights violation. In many
societies, to be listened to ta kes more
than being righ t or just.
AIs credib ility mean s that itsinforma tion is generally believed. It is
widely referred to by journa lists,
academics, policy ad visers, other
campaigning o rganizations, diplomats
and government departments. Oth er
individuals or organizations could be
making the same claims and calling for
the same action , but th ey will often find
it hard er to be b elieved or to h ave an
impact.
Since organ izationa l credibility isimportant to the success of AIs
campaigning goa ls, it follows tha t
Strategic Campaigning 1 9
Reinforcing AIs credibility: a queue ofpeople wait to present testimony to an AI
delegation visiting Guatemala. JEAN-MARIE SIMON
I think that is what hurts
most. Until... people like thatsaid they had doubts aboutour convictions no one reallywanted to know. Yet nothing
is different now to what itwas 10 or 12 years ago...All that has changed is the
people telling it... Unfair isnta strong enough word for
what I feel about it all, but Icant think of another one.
Carole Richardson, writing from prison, was
wrongly convicted in the UK after an unfair
trial in 1974. She was freed in 1986.
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camp aigner s sho uld both use this
credibility an d be ca reful to protect it. It
is much ea sier for an organ ization to
lose credibility tha n to gain it!
AIs motivation and information
must be trusted and reliable. Its
orga nization al credibility rests on the
following:N the commitment o f its
membership to campa ign;
N the issues it cam paign s on a re
enshrined in intern ationally agreed
standards;
N its infor ma tion is trusted,
its recommenda tions are reasonable
and clearly related to th e problems
identified;
N the co nsistency of its camp aign ing
record that it campaigns on coun triesan d ind ividuals wha tever their po litical
ideologies and a llegiances;
N perceptions of relevan ce and
effectiveness;
N attention to forgotten, hidden
and often un popular situations;
N its focus on the need t o stop
violations rather than winn ing
agreem ent on their causes, which could
easily become an a ttack on ideo logies
or systems of g overn ment;N it can po int to evidence tha t AI
works, such a s ind ividua ls released o r
treated better;
N people relate to the issue of un fair
treatment.
RelevanceAIs campaign ing ha s to con nect with
the people it wan ts to involve. Some o f
AIs camp aignin g is directly or
indirectly related to o ur own societiessuch as:
N campa igning on refugee issues,
ar ms transfers, the d eath pena lty, own
governmen t foreign policy;
N campa igning o n th emes or issues,
including women s rights.
The main focus of AIs
campa igning is intern ation al solidarity.
People take action about huma n rights
violations in a coun tr y they may neverhave heard o f for ma ny reasons.
Sometimes they feel it is their
respon sibility or d uty. More o ften they
respond because you made them
interested. In terest might not be
eno ugh o n its own, but it is genera lly an
important starting point.
Perceiving someth ing a s relevan t is
a m ajor motivating factor in persona l
an d o rganizational beh aviour. AI seeks
to ta ke ad van tage o f it routinely inoutrea ch work (see Cha pter 10). We
seek to involve tra de union ists in AI
campaigns by demonstrating th at some
of th e individuals we are working for are
trad e unionists.
The price of liberty is etern al
vigilan ce is an often used q uote. It
suggests tha t we all sha re an interest in
protecting our righ ts even when ours
are not b eing violated or threatened.
The a rgument th at we are a lldiminished by allowing acts of injustice
to go o n aro und us is ano ther way of
appealing for people to see the
relevan ce of taking a ction. Wha tever its
truth , it will appea l to some but n ot to
others.
Many other campaigning
orga nization s can rely on a clear sense
of relevan ce an d sometimes self-
interest when a sking people to ta ke
action . This applies to en vironm enta lcampaigners, for example, who are
trying to stop a to xic dump in their
2 0 Amnesty International Campaigning Manual
Car na tions a nd Colombia : cha llenging assump tions
Researching information on Colombia in preparation for the international campaignin 1988, the Australian Section discovered that Colombia was a major exporter ofcarnations. This surprised many, partly because Colombias image wasoverwhelmingly of drugs and drug-related violence.
One aim of the campaign was to change these perceptions and highlight the
human rights violations in Colombia. Carnations proved a positive and attractiveway of challenging these images. For example, a local AI group in Townsville, a smalltown in Queensland, was filmed during a publicity action in which they usedcarnations. They were then interviewed on a major regional television network.
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comm unity. AI campaign ers often ha ve
to work hard er and mo re creatively to
make issues seem relevan t to th e people
from whom support is wanted .
People define relevance in man y
differen t ways. Ho wever, mo st
campa igners asking o thers to take
action are likely at some time to be
asked Why should I? The an swerneeds to satisfy their needs which
might be quite different from the
campaigners motivation.
In short, interest, concern, a nger
an d shock can all make people feel
emotio na lly an d intellectually involved
in an issue.
Campa igning also ha s to offer a
solution relevan t to the problem. Some
people will take action no matter h ow
ho peless the ca use seems. Man y others,ho wever, will want to kno w tha t:
M the solutions AI a re suggesting are
practical an d rea listic;
M their support or a ction will be
effective.
AI communications need to stress
both. If members and supporters do
no t see AI o ffering relevan t solutions to
problems, they may well take their
support to other organizations or simplystop believing they can do anything . Let
the memb ership kno w of ever y success
to which th ey have contributed.
TimingThe same action will have different
effects at different times.As acrob ats,
acto rs an d com edian s say, timing is
everything!
AIs campa igning , what ever its
extent, is only one factor in the
dynamics of ch an ge. The success or
failure of campa igning is sha ped by itscontext an d th e interplay of a wide
ran ge of facto rs. Timing is on e of the
most important factors.
N U rgen t Actions (U As) were
developed by AI in response to
chan ging patterns of human rights
violations and the increa singly
apparent n eed for action to be ta ken
ver y quickly if it was to b e effective.
N Issuing a m ajor human rights
report on a countr y prior to a meetingof an a id consortium on tha t countr y is
more likely to build p ressure th an
releasing th e report a fter the m eeting.
N A med ia conferen ce or media
release issued on a q uiet news day is
more likely to get co verage th an on e
that competes with o ther ma jor n ews
stories.
N Action in the lead-up to discussion
of legislatio n is more likely to h ave an
impact than a fter the law has been passed.N It is usually best not to o rganize
major membership activity during a
ho liday season.
Strategic Campaigning 2 1
M a king it easy to sa y yes: a non-AI ca mpa ign
Tim Anderson was convicted in 1991 of charges arising from the bombing of the1978 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sydney, Australia. Heimmediately lodged an appeal and applied for bail pending the appeal. Thecampaign group protesting his innocence decided to seek support from prominentAustralians for the bail application. The stated objective was to get bail, although the
secondary objective was to gain widespread support and favourable mediacoverage.A short statement expressing concern over aspects of the conviction and calling
for his release on bail was drafted. It included a pledge to provide $A 1,000 insurety to support bail, which was intended to demonstrate the commitment of thosesigning the statement. Over 30 leading Australians signed. The bail application wasrefused, but the judge remarked on the extent of community concern over the safetyof the conviction and this received substantial media coverage. (The conviction wasquashed in the appeal court six months later.)
Had the statement asked people to state a belief in Tim Andersons innocence,rather than concern over the conviction, many fewer people would have signed it.
The strategy would have failed. Its success lay in making the statement easy tosupport.
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N Many UN d iscussions of h uman
rights happen on a fixed timetable.
Ind ividual Sections need t o lobby
governmen ts mon ths before such
meeting s occur.
N A news release issued immedia tely
after an event ha s the greatest chan ce of
winn ing an d influencing coverage. Anews release a few d ays or a week later is
mor e likely to be ign ored .
CommitmentAIs campa ign will no t stop until the
violations end. This commitmen t is
important because:
N people suffering a nd at risk of
hum an rights violations ha ve placed
trust and h ope in AI an d AI ha s a
responsibility toward s them;N governments must be den ied the
hope that they can simply ignore the
campaign unt il AI gives up and goes away.
Try different strategies and
techniques to discover the most
effective.A comm itment to creativity is
importa nt fo r several reasons:
N it helps to ma ke campa igning
interesting, to yourself and oth ers
an d helps to mo tivate people tobecome in volved;
N it can get your campaigning
noticed;
N it makes it mo re difficult for
governmen ts to come up with ef fective
coun ter-strategies and tactics.
Think of who you are trying to
influence.
N H ave they become familiar with
and a dept at hand ling the lettersgener ated by AI members?
N Will a d ifferent ap proach, or
perhaps an approach to a different part of
government or society, help to rega in the
impact th at th e first wave of letters had?
cTIPS
c Keep it simple
Simple plan s are usually easier toorga nize and t herefo re more likely to
ha ppen. Simple ideas are easier to
explain an d mo re likely to be
understood an d acted on by others.
Less can go wro ng with simple ideas.
c Make it easy
The ea sier it is for someo ne to do
somet hing , the m ore likely they are to
do it.
If you send an appeal asking for ado na tion, h ow easy is it for someo ne to
respon d? Ha ve you ma de it clear who
the payment should be made to ? Have
you provided an en velope for them t o
return th eir donation in? Is the postage
pre-paid?
If you a sk an org anization or
individual to send a letter on behalf of a
prison er, have you pr ovided all the
information they need, such as the
add ress, background inform ation,points for letters?
If you are a sking a trade un ion or
other a ssociation to pass a m otion o f
support , should you pro vide th em with
a m od el resolution tha t is likely to n eed
minimum mod ification?
c Do not ask people for what they
cannot deliver
Whether in lobbying, o utreach o r oth er
campaigning, it is important to find outwhat the person you are approaching is
able to do . Journa lists, for example,
may not be able to guarantee that a
stor y will make it to print o r to a ir as this
decision is taken by an editor.
G overn ment officials may not be senior
eno ugh t o take the n ecessar y decisions.
Making un realistic deman ds of
people may lead to frustration on both
sides, and can make AI look
unprofessional an d b adly inform ed.Representa tives of governmen ts
must be clear abo ut wha t AI is asking
for: the immediate release of a prison er
of con science, abolition of th e death
penalty, etc.
c Success breeds success
Ever yone is mo tivated by ach ieving
what they set out to d o. Successes create
new opportunities and lead to n ew
cha llenges. They also crea temomen tum and attra ct support.
Defining success and failure is
part ly in your ha nd s. If your cam paign
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aims to end to rture in six mon ths,
people will be d isappo inted if it fails,
even if your campa igning ha s secured
access to d etention centres by the
Intern ational Com mittee of the Red
Cross (IC RC) a major safegua rd
against torture.
If, however, you had stated accessto detention centres as an aim and th en
ach ieved it, peo ple will be motivated to
continue campaigning because they
can see tha t they have helped to achieve
chang e. The first and perh aps most
difficult step ha s been won a nd you will
probably be able to build o n this
success. The r esults of th e cam paign
were the same but one is seen a s a
failure, the oth er as a success.
Sometimes it is useful to state yourobjectives as the th ings you h ope t o
ach ieve if ever ything you can con trol
goes to plan and circumstances are
favourable. B ut it is also u seful to state
rea listic aims tha t you th ink you will be
able to ach ieve if some th ings do no t go
to plan or extern al circumstan ces are
not favourable.
Measuring the effect o f AIs work is
no t a lways easy or possible. P rocesses of
chang e in any society are complex, andit can be very hard to judge AIs precise
impact o n a situation . Yet it is no rma lly
possible to build in to o ur strategies
some indicat ors of success (for
example, the number of governments
or NG Os support ing access to deta inees
by the IC RC), even if the impact of this
on th e pattern o f torture is a ma tter of
infor med guesswork for some t ime.To ch eck how specific and
mea surable your strateg y is, ask yourself
what you hope and what you expect will
be different a fter the cam paign . Write
do wn the an swers.
c Set the agenda
Campaigning on the death penalty
provides a go od example of how
differen t sides of the debat e try to
defin e the issue in d ifferen t ways. Tho sein favour o f executions want th e death
pena lty defined as a law and ord er issue
an d seek to play on fea rs of crime or
violence to mob ilize public opinion
an d put pressure on po liticians and
governmen ts. Abolitionists try to
ensure the dea th pen alty is defined as a
human rights issue an d seek to keep the
debate focused o n the cruelty of the
punishmen t and the unfairn ess of the
justice pro cess. Abolition ists will oftenhave to explain th at th ere is no
evidence th at th e death pena lty is a
deter rent to crime. This mean s
acknowledging and trying to counter
the fact th at th e death penalty is seen by
man y as a law and o rder q uestion.
O ther examples of th is principle
can be seen in the responses of
governmen ts to AIs campaign ing.
G overnmen ts often seek to divert AIs
campaigning by trying to redefine theissue, for example by presentin g AIs
report on to rture as an infringement o f
na tion al sovereign ty. They may also
atta ck AIs credibility, motivation an d
infor ma tion, or d eflect the discussion
into a deba te about which rights are
more important than o thers.
N Quotations
Estab lish a file of useful quo tation s.
Include statemen ts tha t you see in themedia or obtain th rough campaigning
from politician s, huma n rights activists,
business lead ers, etc. These quot es can
Strategic Campaigning 2 3
Maris-Stella Mabitje, a former politicaldetainee in South Africa, meets AI members
who successfully campaigned on her behalf ANDERS KALLERSAND
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be useful, for exam ple by sho wing the
deg ree of support for AI or th e issues AI
is campa igning o n. A collection of
q uotes is included in Append ix I.
Too ls for build ing
strategies
Stra tegic ca mp a igning cycleAIs globa l strateg ies to imp rove huma n
rights in pa rticular count ries an d in
relation to particular themes need to be
explicit to ena ble na tiona l strateg ies to
contribute to them. Nationa l
camp aignin g strateg ies also need to b e
explicit to ena ble AI group s an d ot her
memb ership structures to campa ignstrategically.
N Decide what the problem is (issue).
This is distilled from an a na lysis of the
huma n rights violations of con cern to
AI, the do mestic political environm ent
in which th ey occur, the forces
(including individua ls) that are directly
or indirectly responsible for th e
violations, an d th ose inside or ou tside
the countr y who may influence them.Oth er factors worth con sidering a re
infor mat ion on the effectiveness of past
campaigning, whether current
perceptions a re adversely affecting
dom estic or internation al action o n the
problems, and whether the
governmen t or security forces have
developed strateg ies to evad e
accountability.
N Agree on the specific change in thepresent situation that AI needs to work
for in the short and long term (aims).
This could be the repeal of pa rticular
legislation, the release of specific
prisoners, an acknowledgement that
violations ha ve occurred a nd an
explicit commitment to end them,
ratification of internationa l human
rights instrument s, etc.
N Decide the best way to achieve theseaims based on your earlier analysis.
This could be:
M memb ership action, such a s letter-
writing to th e target governm ent by
members;
M outrea ch, such as letters or
statements by law societ ies an d lawyers
to the go vernmen t and judges in the
target countr y;
M lobbying/intergovernmental
organization ( IG O) work, such as raisingthe issue at th e UN Co mmission o n
Hum an Rights and a sking memb er
governmen ts to pass a resolution;
M media work, such as publicity abo ut
military supplies an d train ing tha t are
cont ributing to human righ ts violations.
N Decide the best way to get the
action you need (action forms).
This could be a m ajor camp aign
involving m ost of th e membership(countr y campaign) , a very quick
worldwide respon se (ra pid response or
U A), lob bying of key governmen ts,
long-term work by a few groups, a
publicity splash, etc.
N Evaluate the analysis of violations,
the context and any changes, as well as
the existing strategy and actions, and
adjust to them as required.
Loo k at AIs position in your society an dthe links between your society and the
target coun try cultural, economic,
institutional, political an d/or militar y
links (see Cha pter 2). Then look at th e
oppo rtun ities an y of these links may
offer for influencing the human rights
situation in the target coun try, an d
develop strateg ies for exploiting t hese
opportunities.
Building a countr y stra tegyAnswering the following q uestions may
help you develop a co unt r y strat egy:
gQUESTIONSg What is the human rightssituation in the target country? Aretorture and ill-treatment ofprisoners, or disappearanceswidespread?
g What specific changes do wewant to see? Do we want action toimprove the treatment of prisoners,
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to begin investigations into cases ofdisappearance, etc?
g Who in the target country isdirectly responsible for the humanrights situation that we are trying tochange? Are they prison officials,opposition groups, etc?
g Who in these countries isindirectly responsible for humanrights abuses? Are they politicians,prison authorities, etc?
g Who in the target country couldinfluence those responsible? Arethey health professionals, themedia, religious organizations,trade unions, etc?
g Who in your country couldpersuade the influential people inthe target country to act? Are they
doctors, journalists, politicians,religious groups, etc?
g How can you persuade the
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people or organizations in yourcountry to put pressure on thosewith influence in the target country?What campaigning techniquescould you most effectively employ:lobbying public events, petitions,media work, writing letters, etc?
The ne ed for specific countr ystrategies
Ever y coun tr y strat egy is differen t. For
example, AI con demn s the death
pena lty in th e U SA as much as it does in
Ch ina. It is equ ally comm itted to
achieving a bolition in bo th countries.
In bo th coun tries governmen t
legislation allows the state t o kill
citizens. In bo th co untries achievingabo lition po ses a ma jor cha llenge for
AI. Will the same strategy work in bo th
countries?
A campaign for abolition of the
death penalty that d oes not recogn ize
the differences between Chinese and
U S society will be unlikely to succeed in
either coun tr y. The b oxes on th is page
sho w just some of t he differences.
These need to be reflected in differen t
internation al cam paigning strategies.For examp le, it may ma ke sense to
try and ch ange public opinion in the
U SA on t he dea th pen alty as local
politician s would then n ot win votes by
promising to put more people to d eath
tha n t heir po litical rivals.
It may no t make sense to target
public opinion in Ch ina beca use it is
not clear h ow public opinion a ffects
governmen t policy on crime, nor
whether public opinion is in favour or
opposed to the d eath penalty.
Possib le ob jectives forcampaignsThis section looks at some possible
campa igning objectives for AI and
whether they are long or short term,
specific or gen eral.
N The release of all prisoners of
conscience in a country
This is a fin al ob jective in rela tion to a
countr y with an AI man date concern .At certa in times, such as when a
governmen t ha s chan ged, it may be a
sho rt-term an d final o bjective.
N The release of specific prisoners
of conscience
As a sho rt o r mo re specific objective on
the way to a chieving th e release of all
prisoners of con science, AI may decide
to concen trate on pa rticular ind ividuals
or g roups of ind ividua ls. This is a t acticthat worked in relation to In don esia in
the 1970s, an d was used to high light th e
cases of peo ple such as And rei Sakharo v
in the former Soviet Un ion and b y the
anti-apartheidmovement in SouthAfrica in relation t o Nelson Mand ela.
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CHINA
N Central government decrees punishments for different crimes
N Public opinion is not thought to have a major influence on the death penalty
N Trials are often summary and unfair
N Thousands of people are executed annuallyN Many crimes are subject to the death penalty
N No known organizations campaign against the death penalty
N Race is not known to be a factor in verdicts and sentencing
USA
N Elected state government decides punishment options
N Public opinion is thought to have a major influence on the death penalty
N Trials are long and costly
N Executions are increasing but still less than 100 annually
N Few crimes are subject to the death penalty
N AI and many other groups campaign against the death penalty
N Race is believed to be a factor in verdicts and sentencing
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N The reduction of sentences for
certain prisoners
This is rarely a stated external objective of
AI, but may be an interna l (or expected
rather than h oped for) o bjective.
N Improvement in prison conditions
This can be a final o bjective forprison ers, or an objective on the way to
the final ob jective: the release of a
prison er of con science.
N Change in legislation that would
affect AIs concerns
This can be a final o bjective, but is mor e
likely to ha ve been ident ified as a step
that can be ta ken towards achieving the
final objective of end ing a pa rticular
practice. It could therefore be th e focusof a particular campaign.
N Increase awareness of abuses
This sho uld n ever be a fin al objective. It
may have been identified as an importan t
step towards the final objective of end ing
abuses. As expressed, it is not specific and
is very ha rd to measure. Its relationship to
action tha t would provide evidence of
moving toward s end ing violations is
therefore difficult to establish.
N Elicit a response from or dialogue
with government authorities about AIs
concerns
This is not a final objective, although it may
be the objective of a specific camp aign .The sort of response or d ialogue wan ted
and why a response is important would
need to be explained in th e strateg y.
N Increase the debate within
government circles about human rights
violations
This can be an important campaign
ob jective, pa rticula rly when AI b elieves
tha t th ere is contr oversy and oppo sition
to th e violations within go vernm entcircles. It would n eed to ha ve some form
of measurement, such as comm ents by
min isters or jour na lists, or a p olicy
chan ge. It is not a final ob jective.
N A target government to start
investigations into human rights violations
This may be ident ified as an importa nt
objective as evidence o f a comm itment
Strategic Campaigning 2 7
To w elcome o r condemn? Case O neGovernment A announces a moratorium on the death penalty. Should AI welcomethe decision as a positive step towards abolition or condemn it as a lost opportunityfor abolition? AI has taken both positions at different times in the past. What factorsdo you think may have led to these different responses? What might be theadvantages and risks of responding in either way to such an announcement?
N If AI welcomes the moratorium it risks being accused of retreating from itsposition of calling for complete abolition. A moratorium may not be the best decisionthe government could have made in the circumstances and strong criticism maymake it go a bit further and announce abolition.
N If AI condemns the moratorium it may be excluded from further debate with
the government, and be seen as negative and unrealistic in refusing to acknowledgea step forward. The moratorium may have been the best decision in thecircumstances and defining it as a negative step may mean missing the opportunityof using the momentum of the decision.
To w elcome or condem n? Case Tw o
AI hears reports of government soldiers being involved in a massacre and calls onGovernment B to launch an independent inquiry. Government B announces anindependent inquiry but does not provide details of its composition or terms ofreference. Should AI welcome the inquiry or condemn it? AI has taken both
positions in the past. What factors do you think may have led to these differentresponses? What might the advantages and risks be of responding in either way tosuch an announcement?
N How AI reacts will open up or shut down further campaigning opportunities.
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to en d impunity and the violations
themselves. It is easy to m easure and
open s up further oppo rtun ities for
campaigning.
N Independent access to detainees at
risk of torture
This can b e an important ca mpaignob jective. If respected , access is on e of
the major safeguards aga inst to rture
an d ill-treatm ent. It can be an
important step towards ending torture.
It is also m easurable an d specific.
N Abolition of the death penalty
This is a final objective, a lthou gh it can
also be a sho rt-term on e. Several new
governmen ts in recent years ha ve mad e
abolition o f the death pena lty one oftheir first acts. It is ver y mea surable. A
camp aign objective ma y be to establish
a mo ratorium on executions.
N Reduction in the number of
offences carrying the death penalty
Some AI campaign ing strategies have
taken an incremental approach to
abolition o f the death pena lty on th e
basis tha t focusing effo rts on tota l
abo lition would be unr ealistic andineffective. Abolition rema ins the lon g-
term objective. Abolition in p ractice
ma y be th e mid-term objective, with
restriction o f the death penalty to
agg ravated murd er the sho rt-term
objective.
N Increase awareness of AIs goals
This sho uld o nly be an ob jective if its
relationship to some o ther a ction is
clear if a ca se can be ma de th at it is anecessar y step. Aware ness is
no toriously difficult to measure and for
th is to be a specific objective it would
be necessar y to mea sure awaren ess
before and after the campaign, and to
specify amon g whom aware ness was to
be ra ised.
N Statement from home government
on human rights situation in target
countryThis is a specific objective th at ma y be
an impo rtan t way of bringing pressure
to bea r.
N Increase AIs membership
This can be a valid int ernal o bjective of
AIs campa igning, part icularly if a lack
of members ha s been iden tified as a
weakness. Specify ho w man y new
members are to be gained over what
period.
N Enhance AIs impartial image
AIs image in th e comm unity may have
been id entified a s a weakness tha t is
ad versely affecting the impact o f its
campaigning. In this case, enha ncing
AIs image is a necessar y step to
ach ieving oth er objectives.
N Increase participation in AIs
activities of a particular section of the
communityThis may be a n importa nt objective in
relation to either a specific country
campaign o r to AIs campaigning more
generally.
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1
M O DERN W O RLDRELATIO N S BETW EENCO UN TRIES
The world has become a smaller place. States aremore closely linked than ever before, throughtrade, international relations and modern
communication systems. Finding those links andmaking the best use of them is an important partof AIs work in the modern world. This sectionlooks at:
N Relations between countries / 3 2
N Information about relations between countries / 3 2
N Links with the government in the target country / 3 3
N Links with society in the target country / 3 4
N Using the links / 3 7
Intergovernmental organizations, such asthe United Nations, are good starting points
for gathering information about yourtarget country and researching links
between your own country and the targetcountry
UN
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office to obtain a hardcopy of
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Rela tions betw een
countries
AI must take account o f the
internation al political environmen t in
which we cam paign . U sually, we have
some ba sic understand ing about thebroad nature of th e relations (or lack of
relations) between our o wn countr y
and the countr y in which the human
rights violations we wish to ad dress are
taking place.* Even when we do no t
con sciously discuss such relat ions, they
influence our plan ned actions.
In tr ying to d evelop a more
strategic approach to campaigning,
discussion a bout the relat ions between
coun tries is often helpful. Sometimes itis useful to ha ve th e discussion on the
basis of existing knowledge. Somet imes
it is worth fin ding o ut the d etails in a
specific area . The impo rtan t th ing is to
develop o ur capacity to use the
information to m ake our campaigning
mor e effective.
There ar e a number of area s where
Sections can cho ose to develop
specialist appro aches:
N Military relations
In this area we have specific policies and
action strateg ies on military, security
an d police (MSP) tran sfers (see next
section) . Some AI Sections have also
developed specialist g roups of military
or for mer militar y people, police or
form er police who are AI memb ers an d
are willing to use their pro fessiona l
skills or status in AI work. The
developmen t o f th is specialist capacitywas prioritized by the 1995
Intern ational Coun cil Meeting (ICM),
AIs supreme policy-making bod y which
is he ld bien nia lly.
N Economic relations
In this area some Sections have
developed specialist gro ups, involving
AI memb ers with a b ackgroun d in the
business world, to m ake approa ches to
compa nies an d business people abo uthow they can con tribute to huma n
rights (see Chapter 10). The fur ther
development of work on company
appro aches was prioritized by th e 1995
ICM. There h ave also been movement-
wide policy discussions about h ow we
can most effectively work for hum an
rights in the con text of the econo mic
relations between governmen ts. Many
governmen ts have policies which link
huma n rights and economic relationswith other coun tries.
N Cultural relations
In th is area t he developmen t of AIs
work has been mo re sporadic. It h as
included outreach to religious
comm unities by many Sections. There
have also been a number of
campa igning initiatives which h ave
been linked to internation al sporting
events, such as the Olympic Ga mes.
Inform a tion a boutrela tions betw eencountriesIn o rder th at Sections can best ana lyse
which links provide th e best strategic
oppo rtun ities, individua l coun tr y
strateg ies provided by the I S sho uld:
N state wh ich sectors of thegovernmen t/society are most
respon sible for huma n righ ts violations
an d which are most likely to be in a
position to influence the huma n rights
situation;
N state which intern ation al links
ha ve the most potential for influencing
a h uman rights situation in a particular
country.
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Sri Lanka and Turkey have both promotedthemselves as tourist destinations. In bothcases AI Sections have used this popularimage and contrasted it with the grimreali
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