In November of 2013, we asked the community to help us prioritize conversation themes for 2014. We wanted to know which themes would be the most relevant to your work in the coming year. We heard from 86 of you and one of the most popular themes identified by you was Seeking Justice. After human rights violations have taken place, there is often a strong motivation to seek justice for victims. Many groups around the world have been working at the local, national and international levels to bring perpetrators to justice, demand acknowledgement of crimes, and secure compensation for victims. Through tactics of redress, societies can begin to come to terms with past human rights abuses and send a message to future perpetrators that they will be brought to justice. Explore our tactic examples and resources related to Seeking Justice.

April 21 to 25: Engaging Regional Human Rights Mechanisms, in partnership with the International Justice Resource Center

Link: https://www.newtactics.org/conversation/engaging-regional-human-rights-m...

Regional human rights mechanisms play an important role in monitoring government compliance with human rights obligations. These courts and commissions provide a way for individuals and groups to hold governments accountable for the failure to protect human rights. In the Americas, Europe and Africa, regional human rights bodies receive individual complaints, monitor and report on human rights conditions, and issue emergency protective measures.

May 12 to 23: Transitional Justice in Practice, in partnership with the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) and Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)

Link: https://www.newtactics.org/conversation/transitional-justice-practice

Although established, the field is still developing and heavily contested, with practitioners and scholars in the global North and South debating its impact to date, whose interests it serves, and the extent to which it should maintain its focus on individual criminal accountability or widen its parameters to address broader issues, such as historically based structural harms, gender inequity, and questions of memory, among others. The online discussion is an opportunity to discuss how transitional justice processes are understood and practiced in widely varying country contexts.

June 9 to 13: Working Safely and Effectively with Documentation Tools, in partnership with HURIDOCS and Benetech

Link: https://www.newtactics.org/conversation/working-safely-and-effectively-documentation-tools

How can defenders, who are not technologists, ensure that their information is secure? How can defenders reduce their own risk of harm throughout the documentation process? How can defenders make sure that they have the ability to uphold their commitment to safeguarding the information of vulnerable populations?

July 21 to 25: Using Video for Documentation and Evidence, in partnership with WITNESS

Link: https://www.newtactics.org/conversation/using-video-documentation-and-evidence

This online discussion is an opportunity for practitioners of law, technology and human rights to share their experiences, challenges, tools and ideas to help increase the chances that the footage citizens and activists often risk their lives to capture can do more than expose injustice – it can also serve as evidence in the criminal and civil justice processes.

August 25 to 29: Expanding Access to Justice through Community Paralegals, in partnership w/ Namati and Reinventing the Rules

https://www.newtactics.org/conversation/expanding-access-justice-through...

This online discussion is an opportunity for practitioners of law, development, and human rights to share their experiences, challenges, and ideas about how to improve the effectiveness of community-based paralegals.  We will also explore how the community paralegal model might be applied to new issue areas and places, as a means of reinforcing or advancing existing efforts to promote human rights.

October 13 to 17: Improving Access to Justice for Children and Teens, in partnership with Child Rights Connect

https://www.newtactics.org/conversation/improving-access-justice-childre...

This online discussion is an opportunity for practitioners working to expand and improve access to justice for children and teens, to share their knowledge and experience and learn from peers.

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How can you participate?

Our online conversations are open to anyone interested in sharing their experiences and ideas on these topics. All you need to do is join the New Tactics online community by going to https://www.newtactics.org/user/register and add your comments to the dialogue when it is open.

For more information about our online conversations, visit these FAQs:

• What is a New Tactics online conversation? https://www.newtactics.org/resource/what-new-tactics-conversation
• How to participate in an online conversation? http://www.newtactics.org/resource/how-do-i-participate-new-tactics-online-conversation

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If you are interested in helping to lead or facilitate one of these topics, please contact me or add a comment below!

Thank you for your input,

Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder

Image source: This image comes from our in-depth case study on Reparations: Using civil lawsuits to obtain reparation for survivors of human rights abuses and to challenge the impunity of their abusers.