The New Tactics online dialogue “Using Shadow Reports for Advocacy” explored the various tactics in using shadow reports for supporting democracy and promoting government accountability in human rights. In the beginning of the dialogue, participants defined what constitutes a shadow/alternative report and identified the pros and cons of its use. After establishing a common understanding of shadow reports, the participants transitioned into discussing some of the deeper topics and challenges: issues of credibility, effective process of writing a report, using reports for advocacy, and addressing non-state actor torture by shadow reports.

Role of Shadow Reports in Advocacy

NGOs use shadow reports to supplement or offer an alternative perspective to the governmental reports that states must submit under international treaties. At the start of this dialogue, participants distinguished between a shadow report and an alternative report. Then, the relevant committee receives an “alternative report” before the government releases its official report. In contrast, NGOs publish a “shadow report” after or in response to the governmental report.

For this summary, we will use the term “shadow report,” though we recognize that some of the participating organizations have previously worked on alternative reports. Shadow reports are a unique tool through which NGOs can present opinions of civil society on government action and present it to the United Nations’ Committees. One of the participants has described the role of civil society as the “monitor of monitors,”that illuminates what the government has done with respect to what it claims to have achieved.

Strengths & Weaknesses of Shadow Reports

Participants identified strengths and weaknesses of creating shadow reports:

• Opportunity to review evidence on a topic and your own work over the past four years – possibility to reveal the “big picture.”
• The process provides you with an international forum where you can raise your concerns; it is an opportunity for advocacy in an international legal environment.
• It enables civil society – NGOs and others – to present another side of the story to the committee than the one presented by the State Party.
• Advocates can use the shadow report in other advocacy work and, with a little editing, turn it into an annual report for the NGO.
• The resulting Concluding Observations issued by the committee can be very useful in subsequent advocacy work.
• The process presents a good opportunity to work in coalition with other organizations.
• Creating a shadow report is very labor intensive and requires a lot of resources.

Impact of Shadow Reports

In this initial portion of the dialogue, participants have shared powerful examples of how producing a shadow report has had an impact on the Concluding Observations and subsequently on state party behavior. Here are a few examples:

• Committee on the Administration of Justice – Northern Ireland: CAJ’s use of shadow reports to monitor torture in Northern Ireland is outlined early on in the dialogue , and the tactic through which they achieved it has been documented in one of the New Tactics Tactical Notebook:  International Monitoring Bodies
• Defense for Children International – Palestine: Based on DCI’s shadow report addressed the treatment of children in miltary courts. As a result the Concluding Observations included an appeal for the establishment of a “youth court.” 
• IWRAW: Given IWRAW’s wide geographical scope, several examples of impact were mentioned in this dialogue.

Creating a Shadow Report

When discussing the process of creating a shadow report, four main areas are relevent:

1. Credibility and accountability
2. How to effectively create a report?
3. Shadow reports and advocacy
4. Challenges in shadow reports: Non-state actors and non-recognized territories

Credibility and Accountability

As shadow reports aim to present an alternative view to that presented by the State Party, one of the primary challenges is its credibility. The dialogue raised the issue whether cooperation between the organization and the government can jeopardize the credibility of the report. Some of the recommendations included: possible re-wording of goals in order to be more effective with the state party, and communicating with former NGO workers that are now in government but be careful as to not to compromise their position. Furthermore, organizations ought to maintain transparency with civil society by creating awareness, for example by creating round table discussions such as the one in Albania. A crucial issue in maintaining credibility is the process of data collection.

The dialogue emphasized the need for accuracy. Potential forms of reasonable proof included: the use of sworn affidavits, victims’ testimonies, reference recent reports, and court cases. Experts advise identifying potential causes of why victims hesitate to provide sworn affidavits (e.g., fear of retaliation) and mentioning them in the report.

Effectiveness

While investing time and resources into collaborating with other organizations can contribute greatly to the report. Collaborating with larger NGOs can add an international dimension and foster legitimacy of the report, collaborating with local NGOs has the potential to strengthen the on-the-ground work related to the issue, as well as continue building awareness in civil society. BAOBAB, an organization in Nigeria, shared their story of how writing a shadow report in a colaition helped advance women’s human rights.

Advocacy

The effort invested into shadow reports will pay off more, if it is a part of a long-term strategy. Shadow reports can be utilized as tools for education in civil society, ways to provide the media with a tangible document, as resources in collaboration with other organizations that work on similar goals – as shown by this example by Fahamu in Kenya.

Challenges in Shadow Reports: Non-State Actors and Non-Recognized Territories

Non-State Actor Torture: During the dialogue, the issue of Non-State Actor Torture (NSAT) has had increased, for there is a lack of legal means to address NSAT, and it can be more difficult to present such shadow reports to the Committee. The Canadian example demonstrates how shadow reports can break new ground and serve as a case study for those tackling issues that international law overlooks. Non-Recognized Territories: Another challenge comes with trying to write a report about a territory that is not officially recognized by the UN, and the applicability of certain human rights norms may not be legally recognized in those territories. DCI – Palestine shared their experience in one of their posts.