- Advocacy actually is a form of political activism.
- If 1. is true, advocacy is part of a struggle.
- What struggle? Ultimately, I contend, a part of the struggle for power.
- If 3. is true, advocacy is a dialectical exercise of the fight of opposing
forces and boils down to power brokering to change the balance of power
in favor of people whose rights are being violated.*
- Therefore, advocacy is about gaining the upper hand, gaining positions of
strength.
- Therefore, advocacy is about empowerment of progressively growing
numbers of individuals and organizations.
- If 1. through 6. are true, what concretely does this compel us to do in
Human Rights work? This, I will leave for you to answer…
(But remember, whatever cakes you bake are the ones you will have to eat).
After this, I need to further ask you: should you be advocating for, on-behalf- of, or with the people whose rights are being violated?
…Advocacy involves taking a political stand on particular issues and principles –and this often antagonizes governments. Ultimately, people need to take their own fates into their own hands, and it is that which most (Third World) countries’ governments do not like.
*: Keep in mind that the side without power is always the side accused of being irrational. (X. Zhang)
Claudio Schuftan, Ho Chi Minh City