The ICAR Foundation in Romania pressured the government to help victims of torture. First, they requested physical premises for torture treatment centers. Second, they demanded rights to free medicine and to insurance coverage for the specialized care and services required by torture survivors.
A Strategy for Accountability
ICAR’s tactic is part of a strategy to convince the government to take responsibility for the nation’s past. And in doing so build a better future. Many of the torturers from communist-era Romania escaped with impunity. Some now occupy influential positions in society. Victims face a society in which many would prefer to forget the past and its victims. ICAR advocates for than learn from that past. And by so doing, build a deeper civil commitment to democracy and human rights.
Building Trust with Victims
ICAR first sought to gain the trust of victims. Working with the Romanian Association of Former Political Prisoners, they identified the group’s unmet needs. These included access to appropriate medical care and financial and legislative support. To meet these needs, ICAR targeted, a range of poeple to provide professional services. These included, among others, civil servants, medical professionals and officials at city, municipal and state agencies, such as the Ministry of Health. ICAR also created alliances with other small civil society organizations. They also collaborated with the media and the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) in Denmark.
It took ten years, but ICAR was persistent. They convinced Romania’s government to acknowledge its responsibility. This was important for those who had suffered at the hands of the former regime.
For more information on this tactic, read our in-depth case study.
Identifying and, when possible, punishing abusers is only part of the equation. In seeking to redress human rights abuses, some groups seek compensation for victims, often in the form of treatment, financial compensation or the return of confiscated property. To be successful, groups must often force the current government to acknowledge its part in the abuse, and to take responsibility for compensating victims or helping them obtain treatment. ICAR’s success was hard-won, and depended in large part on the political transition Romania was undergoing at that time. ICAR recognized, and used its connections to take advantage of, this political opening. New laws and the newly open society also allowed victims to organize without fear of reprisals. ICAR’s tactic served the dual purpose of compensating victims and ending government impunity.
New Tactics in Human Rights does not advocate for or endorse specific tactics, policies or issues.
