HUMAN RIGHTS: NEW TACTICS TRAINING FOR NGO COMMUNITY

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001514 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR DRL/SEA E.O. 12958: NA TAGS: PHUM PREL HR SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS: NEW TACTICS TRAINING FOR NGO COMMUNITY REF: ZAGREB 1466 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. SUMMARY: Through a joint POL-PA project aimed at sharing with the Croatian human rights community concrete planning strategies for combating, reducing, and eliminating human rights violations, Embassy Zagreb brought New Tactics in Human Rights Project Training Manager Nancy L. Pearson to Croatia 11-15 December. The visit included several round table discussions and training sessions on tactical mapping and planning, an NGO forum on war crimes, public outreach to the Croatian Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture and training for the GOC Government Office of Human Rights. END SUMMARY TACTICAL MAPPING AND OTHER BEST PRACTICES -------------- ¶2. Through close cooperation between Post and the quasi-governmental Croatian Center for Human Rights, Pearson (from the Minneapolis-based Center for Victims of Torture) facilitated Human Rights workshops and training sessions in Zagreb and Osijek. Sharing best practices among NGOs ranging from Latin America to Asia, the New Tactics program offered training in "tactical mapping" to Croatian NGOs as well as the GoC Office of Human Rights, demonstrating how to plan strategies and agendas for promoting positive social change and reducing human rights violations. ¶3. Of particular note, Pearson addressed a forum of NGOs working on war crimes in the city of Osijek in Eastern Slavonia. The city was heavily damaged during the war and is the site of a high-profile war crimes investigation implicating MP Branimir Glavas (reftels). Forum attendees included the OSCE, Osijek-based Center for Peace, Croatian veterans groups, survivors of torture, victim's assistance organizations, and representatives from human rights NGOs operating throughout the region. Pearson, a licensed social worker and therapist, not only trained participants in tactical mapping tools, but also allowed for a sharing of best practices among participants. A frank and candid discussion on reconciliation in a community that still feels the scars of the recent war culminated the event. HUMAN RIGHTS DAY RAISES PROFILE -------------- ¶4. In addition, GOC officials, UNHCR, OSCE, Croatian Red Cross, and numerous Croatian NGOs celebrated the December 10th Human Rights Day through a series of concerts, award ceremonies, and public outreach efforts on Zagreb's main square. These events, when coupled with the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights annual awards ceremony, attended by Ambassador Bradtke, all helped to commemorate Human Rights Day in a positive and constructive light. These events and the New Tactics project will enhance efforts to promote reconciliation, positive social change, and human rights throughout Croatia. BRADTKE