This manual seeks to provide NGOs with relevant examples and resources to confront intensifying governmental restrictions. The document includes brief case studies from different countries, while recognizing that the new strategies and tactics that NGOs adopt at the national level must be determined by the national context. It identifies five strategic questions, related to specific threats being seen around the world, and enumerates possible responses, evaluating their pros and cons and addressing contextual considerations that may be taken into account.
The manual is organized around five strategic questions:
- To Comply, or Not to Comply?
- Hardening the Target
- Creating Alternative Organizational Structures
- Forging Alliances
- Reshaping Public Perceptions and Building Constituency
Authored for the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations, it includes multiple case studies, illustrating specific experiences of INCLO member organizations: the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), the International Human Rights Group Agora (Agora) in Russia, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), the Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) in Argentina, Dejusticia in Colombia, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) in India, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU), the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) in South Africa, and Liberty in the United Kingdom.
The full publication can be downloaded from the INCLO website.
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