Success Stories: Leadership

Center for the Study of Human Rights
Columbia University
Submitted by: Margaret Ladner

Issue(s) you addressed?

Today, one of the greatest challenges faced by communities in developing countries around the world is the impact of the global economy. Few of the leaders working in those communities have access to the institutions where the economic policies that affect their lives are made. Moreover, those who gain access are often not prepared with the knowledge, skills, and contacts necessary to influence the process.

What did you do to achieve results? (If applicable, you may want to mention partners here.)

Through academic courses, skills-building workshops, and networking opportunities, the Human Rights Advocates Program (HRAP) prepares human rights leaders from developing countries to participate in national and international policy debates on rights and the global economy.

Challenges you faced and/or still face?

Our greatest challenge is securing the necessary financial resources for the Human Rights Advocates Program.

Achievements--current and/or anticipated?

The 178 Advocates who have participated in the HRAP since 1989 returned to their home organizations with strategies for the promotion of human rights and new funds to sustain their work. Participation in the HRAP has had significant impact on the lives and careers of grassroots activists, their organizations, and their communities.

Among the many success stories, the following example demonstrates the long-term, concrete impacts of the HRAP on the work of Advocates and the communities they serve: Delphine Djiraibe, founder of the Chadian Association for the Promotion of Human Rights, exemplifies further impact of the program. As a 1999 Advocate, Delphine raised the transparency and governance problems of her country at an international level. Largely resulting from her tireless advocacy while at Columbia, the former President of Chad was indicted on charges of torture in a groundbreaking case in Senegal in 2000. Delphine also instigated an influential international study on the environmental impact of the extraction of Chad’s oil that contributed directly to the trade and revenue management arrangements developed by the World Bank for the project. Delphine discussed the HRAP’s effect on her work: “The Advocates program enabled me to create a network around the main issues that my organization works on: the Chad-Cameroon pipeline project and the prosecution of Hissen Habre, the former dictator of Chad.”