PART I LAW HUMAN RIGHTS JUSTICE & ACCOUNTABILITY PROCESSES Governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) utilize a number of processes to pursue justice. Here are five important processes we can use to seek truth and accountability. 1) Human Rights Monitoring & Fact-finding Monitoring is a broad term that means the close observation of a situation (e.g. conflicts, detention centers, refugee camps) or specific events (e.g. elections, trials, demonstrations) over an extended period of time. Activities include the purposeful collection and verification of information. Advocates then draw conclusions of fact based on the information and immediately use their findings to determine what action should be taken to remedy human rights problems. The product of monitoring and fact-finding is usually a report that includes an assessment about the situation and recommended steps for action. 2) Human Rights Advocacy Human rights advocacy is a set of organized actions taken by members of the public and civil society organizations that pressure and persuade state authorities, international financial institutions, and other powerful actors to influence and change public policies, social attitudes, and laws. 3) Media Advocacy Media advocacy is the strategic use of local, regional, national, or international media to bring attention to social issues and, in turn, influence and change public policies, social attitudes, and laws. 4) Transitional Justice Transitional justice is a set of measures implemented by countries after a conflict in order to move societies from war to peace, address violations, rebuild community trust, and implement laws that are rooted in human rights. The transitional justice measures typically used are: • Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. These entities are established to investigate a past history of human rights violations in a particular country, including violations by the military, other government forces or armed opposition forces. These commissions are tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoings in the hope of resolving any residual conflict. • Institutional Reform. The rebuilding of government after a conflict. It is the process of reviewing and restructuring state institutions (such as police forces, militaries, and courts) so that they respect human rights and preserve the rule of law and are accountable to their constituents after a conflict ends. • Reparations. Simply put, reparations are compensation for an abuse or injury. More specifically, they are measures taken by states to recognize systematic violations of human rights and provide some form of support for victims. Reparations can be symbolic or material. They can be in the form of public apology for past violations or can be financial compensation for injuries, psychosocial support, educational funds, micro-finance, etc. FOR MORE INFORMATION To read more in-depth reports about human rights monitoring and transitional justice, see the “Additional Resources” listed at the end of this section. 5) Criminal Justice and Accountability This refers to the process of holding perpetrators accountable for the crimes they committed. It through this process that crimes are investigated, evidence gathered, arrests made, charges brought, defenses raised, trials conducted, sentences rendered, and punishment carried out. 8 VIDEO AS EVIDENCE: VIDEO BEYOND THE COURTROOM V 1.0