Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- List of Contributors
- Introduction: Reflections on Dialogues between Practitioners and Theorists of Human Rights
- SECTION I NORTHERN INGOs AND SOUTHERN AID RECIPIENTS: THE CHALLENGE OF UNEQUAL POWER
- SECTION II INGOs AND GOVERNMENTS: THE CHALLENGE OF DEALING WITH STATES THAT RESTRICT THE ACTIVITIES OF INGOs
- 5 Dilemmas Facing NGOs in Coalition-Occupied Iraq
- 6 Human Rights in Action: Supporting Human Rights Work in Authoritarian Countries
- 7 Driving without a Map: Implementing Legal Projects in China Aimed at Improving Human Rights
- 8 Normative Compliance and Hard Bargaining: INGOs and China's Response to International Human Rights Criticism
- SECTION III INGOs AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS: THE CHALLENGE OF DEALING WITH GLOBAL POVERTY
- Conclusion: INGOs as Collective Mobilization of Transnational Solidarity: Implications for Human Rights Work at the United Nations
- Index
6 - Human Rights in Action: Supporting Human Rights Work in Authoritarian Countries
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 July 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- List of Contributors
- Introduction: Reflections on Dialogues between Practitioners and Theorists of Human Rights
- SECTION I NORTHERN INGOs AND SOUTHERN AID RECIPIENTS: THE CHALLENGE OF UNEQUAL POWER
- SECTION II INGOs AND GOVERNMENTS: THE CHALLENGE OF DEALING WITH STATES THAT RESTRICT THE ACTIVITIES OF INGOs
- 5 Dilemmas Facing NGOs in Coalition-Occupied Iraq
- 6 Human Rights in Action: Supporting Human Rights Work in Authoritarian Countries
- 7 Driving without a Map: Implementing Legal Projects in China Aimed at Improving Human Rights
- 8 Normative Compliance and Hard Bargaining: INGOs and China's Response to International Human Rights Criticism
- SECTION III INGOs AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS: THE CHALLENGE OF DEALING WITH GLOBAL POVERTY
- Conclusion: INGOs as Collective Mobilization of Transnational Solidarity: Implications for Human Rights Work at the United Nations
- Index
Summary
The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) has been involved in human rights implementation in transitional countries in Europe and in the South since the beginning of the 1990s. Not all work is restricted to countries in transition, however. Cooperation also takes place in authoritarian contexts, where activities are typically implemented in close contact with branches of the state. It is a common feature that civil society tends to be weak in these countries. Yet even if civil society has developed, there is a need for interaction between the authoritarian state and external agencies supporting human rights. The degree of state control is typically high and necessitates that avenues are explored to establish trust between donors and relevant branches of the state – even in cases where donors support civil society development. This chapter looks into the dilemmas of engaging in human rights projects in authoritarian countries. It seeks to explore the strategies and choices that are made in these countries on the basis of two cases, namely, China and Rwanda. More specifically, the purpose of the chapter is to examine whether and, if so, how it is possible to secure the consolidation of human rights in such countries. A second concern is whether it is possible to cooperate on human rights ground with oppressive states without legitimizing continued oppression by state forces.
The chapter is divided into three main parts. First, the strategy for DIHR international programs is introduced and then the principles of implementation are discussed.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Ethics in ActionThe Ethical Challenges of International Human Rights Nongovernmental Organizations, pp. 117 - 131Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006