HUMAN RIGHTS : OUR COMMON WEALTH

The Commonwealth Human Rights Network (CHRN) is a new initiative aimed at enhancing the work of civil society groups working for human rights in Commonwealth countries. It will provide a forum :

• articulating and pursuing a broad common human rights theme for the Commonwealth

• sharing of information and collaboration between the diverse groups

• combined advocacy efforts, for instance regarding monitoring of commitments made by the Commonwealth and member countries

• capacity building to increase use of the Commonwealth as a fora for human rights advocacy.

Activities of the CHRN include :

• Facilitating advocacy in the Commonwealth: by informing members of upcoming Commonwealth events and opportunities for advocacy, and providing background material in order to assist in such advocacy.

• Experience sharing and facilitating collaboration: this is primarily web-based including a database of members, resources, information about the Commonwealth and human rights, and regular email updates.

• Monitoring human rights commitments: between CHOGMs the Network will monitor action of Commonwealth governments in fulfilling their human rights promises.

• Capacity-building for human rights advocacy in the Commonwealth: as requested and as funds allow, workshops may be held to increase organisations' capacity for advocacy in the Commonwealth.

• Commonwealth Human Rights Forum: this meeting will be held immediately prior to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to bring together members from across the Commonwealth and to ensure the prominence of human rights concerns at CHOGM.

The CHRN is a joint NGO initiative being established by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), the Association of Commonwealth Amnesty International Sections (ACAIS) and the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (CPSU). The Secretariat is based at CHRI's headquarters in India.

The first meeting of the CHRN was held at the Commonwealth Human Rights Forum, organised by CHRI, Legal Resources Consortium and Nigerian Human Rights Commission (and supported by CIDA, Commonwealth Foundation and British Council), prior to the Nigeria CHOGM in December 2003. The communiqué of this meeting can be found at: http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/advocacy/chogm/chrfnew.htm

Please fill in the Registration Form or contact Clare Doube at the Network Secretariat: email: chrn@humanrightsinitiative.org