Cablegate: Human Rights: New Tactics Training for Ngo Community

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UNCLAS ZAGREB 01514

SIPDIS
R 271333Z DEC 06

FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7084
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001514

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR DRL/SEA

E.O. 12958: NA
TAGS: PHUM PREL HR
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS: NEW TACTICS TRAINING FOR NGO COMMUNITY

REF: ZAGREB 1466 AND PREVIOUS

1. SUMMARY: Through a joint POL-PA project aimed at sharing with the
Croatian human rights community concrete planning strategies for
combating, reducing, and eliminating human rights violations,
Embassy Zagreb brought New Tactics in Human Rights Project Training
Manager Nancy L. Pearson to Croatia 11-15 December. The visit
included several round table discussions and training sessions on
tactical mapping and planning, an NGO forum on war crimes, public
outreach to the Croatian Rehabilitation Center for Victims of
Torture and training for the GOC Government Office of Human Rights.
END SUMMARY

TACTICAL MAPPING AND OTHER BEST PRACTICES
------------------------------------------

2. Through close cooperation between Post and the quasi-governmental
Croatian Center for Human Rights, Pearson (from the
Minneapolis-based Center for Victims of Torture) facilitated Human
Rights workshops and training sessions in Zagreb and Osijek.
Sharing best practices among NGOs ranging from Latin America to
Asia, the New Tactics program offered training in "tactical mapping"
to Croatian NGOs as well as the GoC Office of Human Rights,
demonstrating how to plan strategies and agendas for promoting
positive social change and reducing human rights violations.

3. Of particular note, Pearson addressed a forum of NGOs working on
war crimes in the city of Osijek in Eastern Slavonia. The city was
heavily damaged during the war and is the site of a high-profile war
crimes investigation implicating MP Branimir Glavas (reftels). Forum
attendees included the OSCE, Osijek-based Center for Peace, Croatian
veterans groups, survivors of torture, victim's assistance
organizations, and representatives from human rights NGOs operating
throughout the region. Pearson, a licensed social worker and
therapist, not only trained participants in tactical mapping tools,
but also allowed for a sharing of best practices among participants.
A frank and candid discussion on reconciliation in a community that
still feels the scars of the recent war culminated the event.

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY RAISES PROFILE
-------------------------------

4. In addition, GOC officials, UNHCR, OSCE, Croatian Red Cross, and
numerous Croatian NGOs celebrated the December 10th Human Rights Day
through a series of concerts, award ceremonies, and public outreach
efforts on Zagreb's main square. These events, when coupled with
the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights annual awards
ceremony, attended by Ambassador Bradtke, all helped to commemorate
Human Rights Day in a positive and constructive light. These events
and the New Tactics project will enhance efforts to promote
reconciliation, positive social change, and human rights throughout
Croatia.

BRADTKE

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