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Elena Tonkacheva: I don’t think of human rights advocacy as of work; attitude is essential there

12.12.2014  |  Society   |  Piotr Kuchta, EuroBelarus,  
Elena Tonkacheva: I don’t think of human rights advocacy as of work; attitude is essential there

On December 10 the National Prize for human rights advocacy named this year’s laureates. Elena Tonkacheva is the human rights defendant of the year.

We agreed on avoiding the situation of a few past months – Elena Tonkacheva’s possible deportation from the country due to some far-fetched reason.

- EuroBelarus Information Service congratulates you on the pleasant occasion. And here is the question: how people come to chose human rights advocacy as their vocation?

- Of course, the idea to practice human rights advocacy was spontaneous and initially was an idea for self-realization. After I graduated from the Department of Law in the Belarusian State University I tried to engage in science and business consulting… But at a certain moment one starts thinking about the priorities: satisfaction or the forced usage of profession. It was clear that business consulting didn’t interest me, although any sphere can give you something for your development. However, I didn’t think of it as of some lively measurement to work with.

I made a lot of decisions and a lot of attempts, but I found my place in human rights advocacy in the current historical period, when the mechanism of the government isn’t yet established. To devote myself to the human rights advocacy is the thing that most corresponds to my inner understanding of the historical moment; and I certainly wouldn’t be able to build myself into the current state model. Understanding that the human rights advocacy is an unknown field for me, I got additional education in the sphere of human rights and understood that this is my thing.

I should also mention here that if I were in one of the above-mentioned groups, I wouldn’t feel that comfortable; that is why I don’t regret the choice I had made. Over the last years I was engaged in a mixture of valuable, professional, and personal aims.

- Does the human rights advocacy presuppose certain aims?

- Of course, human rights advocacy differs from many others. A person who is engaged in systematic human rights advocacy should have some humanitarian aims and believe in human rights as in one’s own rights, understand that the world is developing unequally, and there is no limit to perfection. I prefer to define human rights concept as the most brilliant of all social and humanitarian concepts today. It has changed the modern world a lot after the catastrophes of the previous century. Thanks to this concept we refused from slavery, discrimination, and finally, the Cold War; though, as it turned out, only until the situation with Crimea appeared. At least a huge number of important social changes would hardly be possible in the supranational and suprastate context unless the humanity didn’t admit that this concept should be put into practice. And we should believe in all that; believe everyone who seriously choses human rights advocacy for themselves. I do believe in it.

People I meet with round the world within my human rights advocacy practice are very important for me; we don’t need to agree on principles with them. You meet each other and talk with them in one language. Human rights defendants are not used to saying “oh, this situation is so bad!” Instead, we say, “let’s see what we can do about it”. And that is what differs us. We can complain and analyze forever; we can think that humanitarian development happens only after some ephemeral economic changes happen. We don’t have much space in human rights sector; we are used to meeting injustice with action. It corresponds with my inner stamp. And it is big luck for me that thanks to this activity I can identify people who live according to the same pattern.

- There are several large human rights organizations in Belarus. In there is competition and rivalry in such delicate sphere?

- Of course, Belarusan human rights community has its history of development. And as for now I think that the human rights pool of Belarus is quite balanced. We are trying to abstain from repeating each other; we are able to record common actions and distribute responsibility zonally. Our cooperation is of high quality.

- Is human rights advocacy profession or vocation?

- It is important to understand and remember that one can always develop for the better. It is important to react to everything that you see around you; you can’t merely leave it to someone else, as there is always a chance that if you don’t do that no one will. Even if you see that the state throws this process back, you still have to believe that all the steps you’ve made will sooner or later lead to changes.

Sometimes people undertake human rights advocacy as work, not as willingness to introduce changes and advance them, without orientation at minimization of injustice. However, such people don’t stay in human rights advocacy for a long time. Moreover, I am deeply convinced that human rights advocacy is individual work. It is impossible to make ten people feel alike if they don’t perceive their work as a whole. When people unite for the human rights advocacy they also unite for equal perception of values and approaches. And this is what differs human rights advocacy from business or government sector, where you can do your work well but don’t use emotions. In human rights sector it is impossible to do something without attitude; and this is the distinguishing feature of the human rights advocacy and one of the most important values for me. You can’t have inner conflict in human rights sector for too long; for instance, you can’t accept death penalty and work in the human rights organization. I work here, while I am real there… It won’t work in human rights sphere; you can’t deceive yourself for a long time.

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