Why I care so much about supporting civil society leadership capacity -

This morning I read Human Rights Watch’s Annual World Report (https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024). It got me thinking me about why I have been doing the work I have, and why I care so much about supporting civil society leadership capacity. And I was reminded why I believe in means AND ends. My call to action for anyone who reads this?

·      Get clear about what you believe and why.

·      Do a gut-check to see whether there is alignment between your values/beliefs and the work you are doing.

·      Make steps towards greater alignment, no matter how small.

The role of governments – my evolving journey

I have worked in human rights and social justice my entire adult life. I have mixed views on the efficacy of international human rights instruments, and hold a sad scepticism with regards the positive role that governments can play in curbing human rights abuses. I notice my default assumption is that governments care about profit before people, and hence cannot be counted on to take ethical actions if it would mean compromising trade deals.

I haven’t always had this sad scepticism. I recall having far more hope in the positive power of government/s, especially when I was living and working in South Africa. Perhaps it was a function of greater proximity to power? For example, I knew we could get an audience with high-ranking officials. Or if not an audience, we could exert uncomfortable pressure until a meeting was granted. Looking back, I am so grateful that I came of age politically and professionally in a country like South Africa at the time that I did. I cut my policy and advocacy teeth about 12 years after the country’s first democratic election.

I remember one of my Political Philosophy Professors grimly remarking that me and my classmates were products of the negotiated settlement that ended Apartheid, and as such had unwavering faith in political compromises. This kind of optimism can of course be attributed to age and lack of experience. Though I do think I carried a certain flavour of this that was uniquely South African. I came of age seeing a powerful dictatorship crumble and a new government installed that was grounded in values and principles that I still find inspiring and moving.  For example, here is a line from the preamble to the South African Constitution:

“…We therefore…adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to –
Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice, and fundamental human rights…”

It is true that since 1994 the South African government has not lived up to many Constitutional promises. While I don’t want to gloss over this, my point here is that my conception of government was formed in a Nelson Mandela – Desmond Tutu Petrie dish. And this coincided with being at the general age in which one is perhaps most susceptible to optimism and hope. And I was lucky to get to work on an issue (gun violence) that the South African government (at the time) cared about and wanted to change.

 So, taking all of this into account – isn’t it expected then that I would experience an inevitable crash and loss of faith in the positive role that governments can play? From such a profoundly optimistic view surely there is only space to dial back? I’m not sure.

The role of civil society – my passion and commitment

Back to this morning and reading the Human Rights Watch Annual World Report. As much as I was looking for a report card account of ‘good governments’ and ‘bad governments’ (which I got), I also came away with an expansive picture of the NGOs and community groups who are courageously demanding their rights. In last year’s report Tirana Hassan, Human Rights Watch Executive Director, correctly cautions against putting misplaced expectations on protestors. In her keynote essay to the report, she cautions -

“It is easy to celebrate the protesters who take the fight for human rights to the streets. But we cannot expect the protesters to diagnose the problems—which they do at great risk to themselves and their families—and to hold those responsible for the deprivations they have suffered to account by themselves. Rights-respecting governments need to lend their political stamina and attention to ensure that needed human rights change comes to fruition. Governments should live up to their global human rights responsibilities, not just ponder and posture about them” (Tirana Hassan, “A New Model for Global Leadership on Human Rights” – keynote essay for the HRW 2023 World Report).

Mindful of this caution, I urge you to look through the report paying attention to the images of protestors and the many examples of non-state actors who are bravely defending and promoting human rights. Governments might not inspire me in the way they once did, but these people and institutions do. I believe in the collective power of ordinary people to effect change, as well as the crucial role that professional civil society groups can play in upholding rights and justice. I witnessed this repeatedly during my years serving the grantees and partners of the Open Society Foundations.

I also believe in means and ends. I believe that how we work to achieve a policy or advocacy outcome is as important as the outcome itself. I have experienced this in my own work with the institutions I have been part of, as well as the grantees I have supported. For example, I have witnessed policy and advocacy ‘victories’ that may have won the outcome, but left organisations and relationships in tatters. It is my assertion that if the means we choose are characterised by hatred, lies, and coercion – then the ends we achieve will bear those same characteristics.

This is why I am so passionate about supporting the internal workings of individuals and institutions who are working in human rights and social justice. How we work matters. How we talk to each other matters. How we relate to ourselves matters.