Chapter 9 Advocacy strategies A trial-monitoring programme must adopt advocacy strategies that seek to inform, engage, and influence local authorities and other stakeholders on the direction of future reforms. This chapter addresses programme activities and strategies for how to engage stakeholders in the process of reform and how to promote positive responses to monitoring results and recommendations. 9.1 Strengthening working relationships through the process of reporting The ability of a trial-monitoring programme to effect change is limited. Power to make reforms and take action resides with the relevant governmental authorities. If a trialmonitoring programme has no connection to the government institutions, authorities, or officials that have the power to make reforms or if the authorities have no interest in reform, then even the most accurate and incisive report will have little effect. A programme must therefore constantly strive to seek partnership and relevance to local authorities, institutions, and other stakeholders. Trial-monitoring reports will often present critical descriptions of legal practice in the host state. This may include findings of a systemic nature, incompetence, or sometimes even professional misconduct. Although reports will usually not identify legal actors by name, they often indirectly question the competency of local authorities or institutions. Despite the need for such objective assessments, comprehensive justice reform will often require commitment and buy-in from some of these same legal actors. The importance of building constructive partnerships with stakeholders at every step in the process cannot be overemphasized. As a programme seeks such relationships with local institutions and authorities, reporting and other monitoring activities must be seen as useful, as well as inclusive or even collaborative. An advocacy approach should not only engage local institutions and authorities in a dialogue regarding monitoring and the reform process at an early stage, but should give them a stake in the process and outcome. The following sections address advocacy strategies that seek to more closely incorporate national authorities and actors in the work of the monitoring programme, including the formulation of recommendations. Such strategies range from methods to increase the impact of public reports directly, to creating linkages between the trial-monitoring programme and other complementary rule-of-law programmes or processes with the aim of supporting and influencing the direction of reforms. Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners 117