New Tactics in Human Rights
New Tactics in Human Rights helps human rights defenders work more effectively so they can achieve their goals and better address human rights violations around the world.
CVT launched New Tactics in 1999 to address challenging human rights violations, including torture, that require a strategic approach and a broad range of tactics and collaborations.
Creating and sharing information and materials
New Tactics has a range of online materials for human rights defenders to use in their work. These publications are available in a Resource Library and include
- An award-winning workbook documenting 100 innovative human rights tactics
- Detailed case studies on practical applications of tactics
- A searchable online database documenting 200 innovative tactics.
Middle East and North Africa Initiative
The Middle East and North Africa Initiative trains human rights defenders and trainers in the region on using New Tactics methods and resources. It does this through in-person trainings, online resources including, an Arabic website, online conversations and social media, and translating existing New Tactics materials into Arabic and making them available online.
Training and mentoring
The New Tactics training and mentoring supports human rights defenders in their work. The training focuses on the tools and methods for creating strategies and then connecting the strategy with tactics that help organizations be more effective in advancing human rights. New Tactics has:
- Conducted workshops in all six regions of the world, including a five-day International Symposium that drew nearly 450 participants from 89 countries
- Reached thousands of people worldwide through tactical innovation and strategy effectiveness trainings.
Building an online community
Monthly peer-to-peer online conversations strengthen the global community of human rights defenders. Activists connect, share what they’ve learned and ask questions.
New Tactics has strengthened the work of thousands of human rights defenders and organizations worldwide. Partners and participants consistently report that the tools, resources and methodologies make a significant difference in the way they approach their work. Human rights defenders in countries as diverse as Uzbekistan, Cambodia and Albania credit the project with making key contributions to successful human rights initiatives in those nations.
In 2009, CVT began building on these accomplishments by launching an initiative to strengthen the capacity of human rights defenders in the Middle East and North Africa region. In 2011, New Tactics opened an office inAmman, Jordan to create a virtual network of human rights activists across the region and train human rights defenders, particularly in Egypt and Tunisia, on the New Tactics strategy and tactics tools and methodology.
