Approaches Employed by the Human Rights Watch to Achieve Leverage in Highly-Resistant Environments
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a non-profit institution that advocates for the respect of human rights globally. With its main agenda being the investigation of abuses of human rights, communication is a key component that determines the efficiency with which the organization achieves accurately reliable data from various parts of the world. However, since it also attempts to influence decisions that promote the respect of these rights, the communication approach that the organization adopts explains its ability to lobby for legislative procedures that offer long-term solutions.
Notably, the organization can achieve significantly desirable results by utilizing leverage. The stakeholders, in this case, are the authorities, other lobbying institutions, and the locals. In the basic sense, the use of powerful individuals and groups can promote respect for human rights in its target stakeholders (Alaimo 124). For instance, the HRW researched the atrocities committed against innocent people in Mexico and called upon lobbying groups in the country to promote justice for the aggrieved (Human Rights Watch). By contrast, the organization also attempts to exert moral leverage on the target stakeholder. The fact that certain countries and companies cannot afford to damage their reputations allows HRW to “mobilize shame” against them when they violate human rights (Alaimo 124). For instance, the organization identified Israel as a violator of human rights for the discrimination of Palestinians (Human Rights Watch). Hence, the institution’s ability to influence the way society reacts to human rights violations is a significant form of leverage.
However, the utility of leverage is an approach that other companies would not use since it may not work with the same effect on their side. Moreover, the choice of this approach is supported by its effectiveness in reaching the message over other approaches such as social media ads. HRW establishes links with people in the societies of interest. This approach helps them reach the message to the locals who can enhance their advocacy from grassroots’ levels. By creating this link, the locals view HRW as an institution promoting a common cause and gives the organization power when its perception changes among the people. Besides, these people will also support the organization when it targets powerful people for pledges of supporting human rights. In this sense, the audience base increases the effectiveness of exerting moral leverage over aggressors.
Overall, the organizations must have the comprehension of the stakeholders to take responsibility for human rights violations. In this sense, having the ability to devise the best approach for getting the message in the mainstream and determining the people to play that part is a significant element of the organization’s strategies. Necessarily, this is the communication tactic that aims at achieving the greatest leverage by promoting advocacy for human rights in stakeholders who may show high levels of resistance. Leverage communication approach executed by human rights watch should be appropriate to the target audience to gather adequate information that will be used to pursue the rights of the aggrieved people in the society (Malik and Djamaluddin 7). Human rights watch has enacted various leverage communication that will suit the target audience to provide the correct information concerning matters affecting the effective living of humanity in society.
The local members of the public are one of the major watchdogs in the society who have the basic primary information on how events have transpired in the society. In society, people are subjected to many ways of social injustice by the political, economic, and social classes. The local people should report the matter to human watch organization to pursues justice. Some of the social injustice done to people in the society include discrimination against a variety of issues, tribalism, race, age, marital status, employment, ethnicity, gender to mention a few (Michael 2). For instance, the recent killing of Floyd by the white police in the united states of America has resulted in a worldwide demonstration about lack of lives. Globally, there have been numerous cases concerning about how black people have been discriminated against their skin colour. The impact of killing Floyd continues to trigger global justice to ensure that justice is given executed to the perpetrators. Justice should be administered to the family of Floyd after he was strangled to death by a white police officer.
Globally, most people are discriminated against their position on political affiliation. In developing countries, realizing democracy has been a difficulty as some leaders have refused to hand over power when they are defeated in a free and fair election. The constitution is overridden by those in power resulting in anarchy and dictatorial leadership especially in most countries in Africa and middle east nations. Freedom of expression results in unrest, rebellion and triggering of civil war in the society. Political interest with adequate financial power results to leaders inciting their ethnicity against each other. This ethnicity results in death, loss of property, and internal and international peace. Opposition leaders are subjected to political torture, arrests and detentions without trial and convictions. Some African presidents, for instance, Yoweri Museveni has refused to hand over power after being defeated in subsequent elections (Pius 4). The president refuses to concede defeat and surrender power to the genuine winners. Due to the strong influence on the system, they keep imposing themselves as the president of the people in their respective countries.
Marriage trauma and its challenges are also among the outstanding social injustice in society. According to the human rights proposition, people should have freedom of choice in society. Young peoples forced to marry elderly people in a polygamous society. These children are denied their right to acquire formal education that will enhance their opportunities of securing white-collar jobs in established business organizations. Also, single mothers in the society are denied the opportunity to lead and own land some (Karmela et al.408). This discrimination is rampant in developing countries that are uncivilized. The appropriate leverage communication approach in this audience is the use of social media platforms, print media, and administration open meetings.
Social media platforms provide an easy platform where information can be read and accessed by many people. Currently, there are millions of people who have Facebook or Twitter accounts. These platforms help human rights to gather adequate information about the violation of human rights. The choice of communication to the public also depends on the confidentiality and reliability of the information (Malik and Djamaluddin 4). Sensitive information, especially for the witnesses, should be accessed using private print platforms, for instance, text chats, emails, telex to mention a few (Malik and Djamaluddin 4). This approach protects witnesses who are determined to provide original evidence about an occurred social injustice. In the past, witnesses against atrocities against humanities and other atrocities have been subjected to kidnapping and disappearance. This action of disappearance has been orchestrated by the perpetrators facing conviction of genocide and incitements in the society.
Administering of print media communication approach to, reach the locals faces sufficient challenges. First, most of the local people in other countries have inadequate skills in reading and writing. The weaknesses deny them an opportunity to interpret data. In other scenarios, the citizens of a country are denied an opportunity to access the social media platforms as the government switches of internet connection countrywide. These challenges inhibit human wright to watch the chance to execute its mandate in society. The human right watch organizations should design communication approaches that protect the witnesses but shames the culprits of human rights violators.
Human rights watch organization should design appropriate communication approaches that will help gather information from authorities about the protection of human rights and the freedom to expression (Malik and Djamaluddin 3). The authorities are entrusted with the responsibilities of investigating crimes against humanity. These authorities should be non-partisan in delivering justice to its citizens. Some of the authorities include, education centres, justice system in the courts, government organizations, and business organizations. The authorities are restrained from engaging in any activities that violates the human rights. Some of the social injustices executed in violation of human rights by the authorities includes, dismissing of whistle blowers in an organization, termination of employees contracts without valid reasons, protecting corrupt leaders in the society, acquittal of criminal cases that deserves conviction by corrupt judges, intimidation and oppression of the opposition, discrimination in recruitment and selection process, use of force by the police and armed forces on innocent civilians, and protection of powerful government individual who have performed crimes against humanity and deserve conviction and sentencing .
The human rights watch uses social media platform to force the authorities respect the law. They administer communication approaches that facilitate gathering information from media findings, local legislation, international laws, policy documents, lobby groups data and the society in conducting interviews and surveys (Mahadi et al. 5). The research conducting processes is designed depending on the matter under investigation. Human rights watch also use sentencing data to verify whether the constitution was adhered to when delivering the sentence. Some people have been accused falsely of the wrong doings that they did not participate leading to unlawful conviction. They have continued to investigate all matters that are of public concern and that violates the human rights in a country. The social media platform enhances wide coverage of the information that relates to violation of human rights. Human rights watch also has held government institution accountable for disappearance of journalists that are kidnapped and killed by the government machinery. The use of social media and detailed reports provide evidence against the disappearance of the journalists and court witnesses (Collen 63). The communication approach assists the human right watch to deliver its mandate and force the government to adhere to the constitution and legislative processes that are in alignment with humanity.
Despite the positive recommendations associated with social media and print media communication approaches in administering its mission and vision, it has also received backlash from the governments and other independent institutions that do not want to be ashamed of their evil acts. In Lebanon, defamation laws denied the journalists the freedom of expression and right to information (Collen 63). Mass protests in Lebanon condemning economic, political and social crimes resulted to arrests and detention of people. Most of the journalists were arrested and convicted by criminal courts in Lebanon (Collen 63). In the event of these unlawful conviction, the human rights watch ascertained that the prosecuting agencies wanted to intimidate and silence people against demanding their own rights. The powerful local people used their financial power to intimidate online publication agencies in order to silence them from revealing the social atrocities performed to people. The powerful people in the society could use their financial power to influence the court decisions that lead to innocent people being sentenced to various jail terms (Collen 63). Human rights watch defended the innocent convictions that lead the court of appeal to overturn previous court ruling.
Human rights watch has demonstrated against parliament to amend the existing unconstitutional laws in Lebanon that humiliates journalists and people against deformation. Some of the irreducible minimums requires media rules should conform to the international standards especially suspending imprisonment of speeches associated to crime. In Angola, most journalists have been prosecuted for defamation by powerful government officials (Ho-Won 205). Huma rights watch have been in the frontline to force the governments to abolish draconian defamation laws that humiliates journalists and innocent civilians (Ho-Won 205). This abolishment will enhance the journalists and the members of the community to hold politicians and governments accountable against economic, social and political crimes in the society (Ho-Won 205).
Lobby groups have strived to influence decisions that tries to favor the less disadvantaged and minority groups in the society (Afandi, et al 897). They play essential functions in ensuring human rights and freedom of expression are observed. Some of the critical roles of lobby groups include, ensuring there is equal representation of people in various government positions. The youth and women should not be discriminated and denied an opportunity to lead and govern. Most political parties drive their interests to get sufficient support to be in power. They recruit popular figures to represent the party to enhance their, individual interests without adhering the representation right. Lobby groups also mobilize the public to demonstrate against the perpetrators of human rights.
Moreover, they influence policy makers to enact policies that conform to human rights requirement. They participate in policy formulation processes that are of benefits to the minority citizens (Afandi, et al 897). Also, they educate the public to understand their fundamental rights in relation to the law as they monitor the implementation of the of the enacted policies by the government and organization servants. They ensure government gives priority to citizen demands in fulfilling its agenda.
Despite strong opposition and defamation laws, human rights watch has used print media and social media to communicate to the lobby groups to enhance protection of human rights (Afandi, et al 898). They use print media, for instance, electronic magazine, newspapers, and academic journals to communicate to lobby groups to enhance administration of justice to all. Some of the challenges of using social media is that the witness of sensitive information can be ascertained by the culprits. This information lead to their identification resulting to humiliation and intimidation.
Communication teams are groups of communication experts who ensure an organization can handle its internal and external problems efficiently (Malik and Djamaluddin 3). The teams perform organizational functions, for instance, conflict management and offering resolutions, elaborating the implementation of organization policies, monitoring the adherence of organizational policies according to the organization standards, and leading the company in making short term and long term strategic decisions (Malik and Djamaluddin 4). Communication teams ensure there is a smooth flow of information within the organization. It resolves some conflicts that may arise in an organization, for instance, interdepartmental conflicts, power conflict, and allocation of the organizational resources. Organizational structure determines the major decision making in an organization. Some prefer the centralization of decision making. This structure requires a vertical flow of information in an organization while decentralization allows junior staff to make operational decisions independently. Proper communication teams perform some of the following responsibilities.
Motivates employees in an organization to increase service delivery in the organization. They acquire adequate information that is used to convince employees to perform their responsibilities effectively while exceeding their standard targets (Mahadi et al. 5). Employees can understand what is to be done, how is to be, and when is done thus improving their results in performance. Communication teams make employees creative and innovative, consequently developing alternative skills of performing repetitive tasks (Malik and Djamaluddin 4).
Communication teams also play a critical role in developing a positive attitude in the organization. Attitude is an essential aspect that develops into an individual habit and character. Communication team help in uniting different group to develop a positive attitude that eventually results to be the organizational culture (Malik and Djamaluddin 7). Employees can socialize appropriately in driving the organizational goals while measuring actual results against standard results. The process enhances the proper utilization of scarce economic resources at their disposal.
In conclusion, the choice of communication in disseminating information in an organization should be examined appropriately before it is executed. An appropriate channel of communication enables an organization to reach out to its target audience without encountering challenges. Before an organization chooses the correct channel of communication, it should consider the urgency of the information, confidentiality of the message, the target group, and the distribution of the internet network within an area. In the study, the Human rights watch has implemented various communication approaches in passing information to its audience. A specific audience requires a specific communication approach in disseminating relevant information. Finally, communication teams help an organization to solve operational problems that arise as well as gathering the relevant information required for decision making.
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