Expanding your work space: Increasing tolerance and acceptance

Your work may affect the objectives or strategic interests of someone who does not care much about human rights, leading to a hostile working environment for defenders. In order to gain acceptance, or at least consent, for your work, it is important to limit the confrontation to a necessary minimum. Some suggestions for how to do this:

• Provide information and training about the nature and legitimacy of defenders’ work. Government officials and other actors may be more inclined to cooperate if they know and understand your work and your reasons for undertaking it. It is not enough just for higher officials to be aware of what you do, because defenders’ daily work usually involves many levels of officials in different government bodies. You should make a continuous effort to inform and train officials at all levels.

• Clarify the objectives of defenders’ work. In all conflicts it is useful to clarify and limit the scope and objectives of your work. This will reduce misunderstandings or unnecessary confrontations that can stop defenders achieving their aims.

• Limit your work objectives to match the socio-political space of your work. When defenders’ work affects an armed actor’s specific strategic interests, the actor may react more violently and with less consideration for his image. Some types of work make defenders more vulnerable than others, so make sure your objectives match your risk situation and protection capacities as much as possible.

• Allow space in your strategies for “saving face”. If you have to confront an actor about human rights abuses seek to leave them a way to gain credit for taking action to address the situation.

• Establish alliances widely with as many social sectors as possible.

• Find a balance between transparency in your work, to show that legitimate defenders have nothing to hide, and the need to avoid giving out information that could compromise your work or security.

• Finally, remember that the legitimacy and quality of your work are necessary conditions for keeping your work space open, but it may not be enough. You may also need to be able to dissuade potential attackers (see below).