Challenges for NHRIs when using a HRCLD Approach Facilitating a human rights community-led development approach comes with challenges. It can be: • Time-intense: Effective relationships take effort to develop. Suspicion and distrust can develop quickly if the intent of the NHRI is not seen as authentic. Personnel and community leadership changes can also disrupt these relationships. A change in NHRI personnel and/or priorities could shut down a programme before it is completed. • Costly: Face-to-face is the most effective form of engagement. This will mean travelling to where people are and bringing people together – over a period of time. The costs of the engagement can be high. • Dominated by certain voices: It is not always clear who the most appropriate community leaders are, and whose views and experiences are silenced. Those who are more able to make themselves heard or who claim representation of a particular issue or sector, can threaten to dominate the HRCLD activity. • Challenged by diverse viewpoints / lack of coordination: Communities, organisations and leaders often, and understandably, differ in their viewpoints and positions issues. • Resisted: Communities, particularly those targeted at any one time, can become resistant to constant demands for time and input. This is particularly so when the benefit to the community is not apparent, or when there is no return accountability. • Personally costly for the HRCLD practitioner: who is often away from home and in some circumstances, facing risk. Despite these challenges, the long-term and ongoing contribution that using a HRCLD approach to external engagement can make to a NHRI’s successful outcomes, is enormous. Benefits for NHRIs when using a HRCLD Approach A HRCLD approach enables an NHRI to fulfil its mandate by building human rights communities where members identify, examine, document, and monitor local human rights violations and advocate for ways to address them. Human rights communities add value to NHRIs by becoming: Advocates – raising awareness of relevant human rights issues and giving voice to the marginalised or under-represented. Community champions – working alongside the NHRI by promoting and protecting human rights conditions in the community. Experts – bringing community-based knowledge and experience to shape the NHRI’s strategy and programmes. Human rights defenders – protecting and promoting human rights within the community. Watchdogs – holding the NHRI to account. APF HRCLD Guide 24