374 CHAPTER TEn ■ Human Riht
publicize the issues, put pressure on states (both offenders and enforcers), and lobby
international organ izations. Furthermore, these organ izations have often formed co ali
tions, leading to advocacy networks and social movements.^8
With the Internet and Twitter, individuals and groups can voice their grievances
swiftly to a worldwide audience and solicit sympathizers to take direct actions. These
technologies are particularly effective for shaping discourse surrounding an issue and
generating interest among multiple constituencies. For example, during the 1970s, dis
ability rights groups formed first in Eu rope and North Amer i ca, generally organ izing
along lines of disability type. Activists were fragmented, and there was no overarching
approach. Over time, these vari ous groups adopted a rights based approach. By 1992,
seven of the groups had merged into a loose network, the International Disability
Alliance. As new communication technologies were coming into the mainstream,
disability activists began to elicit the support of established NGOs like HRW and AI.
With the backing of HRW, AI, and funding from the Open Society Institute, a disabil
ity convention was brought to the UN General Assembly. In 2006, the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted.^9 By the end of 2015, 160 states
had become party to the treaty, which obligates signatories to prohibit all discrimina
tion on the basis of disability. This example illustrates how concerted NGO action can
result in substantive international law.
Students in Seattle distribute a poster in support of controversial group Invisible Children’s
Kony 2012 campaign. The campaign was designed to bring Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s
Re sis tance Army, to justice.