The main information tracks that were examined within the framework of the Training on Legal Literacy and Activism Skills, which took place from August 28-30 in Kyrgyzstan included the use of UN treaty bodies for NGO advocacy activities, collecting evidence, monitoring and documenting human rights violations among LGBT people, and the Universal Periodic Review as an advocacy tool for civil society.
During two introductory sessions, participants from Armenia, Georgia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Macedonia learned how the treaty bodies work and how they differ from other UN bodies and mechanisms, as well as why it is important to work with them and how to do so at the national and international levels. Participants were taught how to find the next dates for submitting alternative reports to UN treaty bodies, and how to submit alternative reports directly to committees, using the examples of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Participants took part in a simulation and submitted reports on behalf of NGO coalitions from their countries.
The sessions examining the goals and objectives of the Universal Periodic Review (UN mechanism) and its importance for LGBT rights advocacy focused on going over with participants how to prepare for each stage of advocacy work with the UPR, from writing a report to advancing recommendations and their subsequent implementation together with a state-party. The information received was consolidated through a game simulating a preliminary UPR session for civil society. During this simulation game, the participants prepared interventions and developed the skills necessary to identify problems faced by the LGBT community in countries participating in the regional program “Right to Health”, drafted brief reports on the nature of these problems, and learned to formulate the desired recommendations and plan additional advocacy steps to promote them.
“It was interesting to note that the participants needed to improve their skills. Those working in the field with the community needed to improve their skills collecting evidence and documentation, while people working more in advocacy needed to improve at using this evidence. I think that the knowledge gained will help us reach a new level of work in countries of the EECA region on documenting cases of rights violations on the grounds of SOGI, in particular of the right to health”, – responded one of the trainers, international expert on antidiscrimination legislation, Irina Fedorovich.
During a theoretical session, participants learned how to formulate desired recommendations based on existing problems in their country, how to find allies, and how to deliver information to listeners.
One of the most important parts of the training was practicing speaking in English for representatives of NGOs from countries where the language of communication is not English. This practical task showed the importance of knowledge of English at a level sufficient for speaking and understanding questions. Much attention was also focused on the logic of constructing an intervention, and on the importance of concentrating and simplifying information, clearly describing the problem, and of avoiding vague formulations.
In the session on monitoring and documenting rights violations, special emphasis was placed on collecting evidence and interviews, as well as on the verification of evidence.
As part of the practical task of documenting cases of rights violations on the grounds of SOGI, participants practiced creating and recording video evidence. During the session, aside from actually recording videos, the future LGBT community advocates also gained knowledge related to safety, ethics, and the technical capabilities and requirements necessary for recording such evidence.
In order to consolidate the knowledge acquired during the training, participants were able to prepare model interventions for a UPR pre-session in Geneva.
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