1. WORKING WITH CIVIL SOCIETY

2. CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Quasi-Autonomous Non Governmental Organizations (QANGOs) Religious leaders Political Parties The Media The Public

3. Know Your NGO Issue focused – Oxford Famine Relief (Oxfam), Clowns without Borders Area focused – American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Religious mission – Caritas, World Vision, Christian Action

4. HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS Governments cannot always be relied upon to do the right thing. Human rights activists apply international legal standards to domestic situations. They document abuses and campaign for accountability.

5. SPEAKING OUT Civil society activists give a voice to those who cannot advocate for themselves. They can make government actors aware of previous unnoticed problems. They provide a safety valve for discontent and a sanity check for policy decisions.

6. ENDING ABUSE In the mid 1990s Brazil’s Federal Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry concluded that killings by police officers were the third largest cause of child fatalities in Brazil. 90% of crimes against children went unpunished. Social exclusion and abuse go hand in hand.

7. FIGHTING IMPUNITY Since the conflicts in Rwanda and Yugoslavia national and international judicial mechanisms for pursuing human rights abuses have proliferated. Civil society activists have played a key role in collecting and preserving evidence.

8. PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE Good governance, democratic accountability and anti- corruption policies reinforce law enforcement efforts. Civil society groups play a vital role in monitoring the behavior of public officials.

9. CIVIC EDUCATION Good governance requires civic engagement and participation. Civil society education programs empower citizens to shape their society and fight intimidation and corruption.

10. WELFARE PROVISION Civil society groups can work with local people to repair damaged facilities such as schools and water supply and provide healthcare. Security and wellbeing are mutually supporting goals.

11. THE MEDIA The Media fulfills a vital watchdog function but is driven in part by commercial considerations – if it bleeds it leads. Some media outlets are controlled by political parties. Don’t pick a fight with someone who buys their ink in barrels.

12. RELIGIOUS LEADERS Religious leaders typically have the ear of the community and a moral authority unmatched by other civil society groups. Churches are typically well-funded and can provide a wide range of social services.

13. OSCAR ROMERO Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador was shot and killed on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass at a small chapel one day after a sermon where he had called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God's higher order and to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights.

14. CONCLUSION “Our values and the laws governing warfare teach us to respect human dignity, maintain our integrity, and do what is right… This fight depends on securing the population, which must understand that we – not our enemies – occupy the moral high ground.” -- General David Petraeus